A warm Pasifika Welcome to Professor Joerg Rieger & his wife. Today, our Pasifika communities had the joy of welcoming Professor Joerg Rieger and his dear wife into our midst. The PCU community honoured them with a traditional ceremony of welcome, a sign of our deep respect and shared values of community, faith, and learning.
Professor Rieger whose work explores the intersections of theology, justice, and grassroots movements, currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Theology and Founding Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt University. His scholarship bridges academic insight with lived community struggles, always reminding us that faith must speak to real-world issues of equity and liberation.
Prof Rieger had previous collaborations with PTC, now PCU, through the current Manu Folau (Vice Chancellor), Revd Prof. Dr Upolu Luma Vaai. They both co-edited a volume called ”Methodist Revolutions’ published in 2022 to challenge the role of the global Methodist Church to return to the ‘social holiness’ movement of John Wesley, in order to address social justice issues such as economic injustices, climate change, and others. They also shared other visions as members of the Oxford Methodist Theological Studies, hosted by the University of Oxford. Prof. Rieger was also involved in supervision of a PhD student who had recently completed his PhD.
This week, we look forward to lectures, workshops, meetings and collaborations in the spirit of Pasifika heritage, values of talanoa (open dialogue), and the strength of our communities.
