Office of the Manu Folau
“Celebrating the Gift, the Gifting, and being Gifted”
Abundance in scarcity is one of the mysteries of the gospel. Such abundance becomes the embodiment of harmony, the nucleus of spirituality, the benchmark of memory. Moreover, it becomes the reason for revolution and transformation. This culture of abundance is not a moral code. Nor is it an institutionalized system of thought. It is also not about celebrating more at the expense of less. We come from cultures where celebration underpins life. Every gift of abundance or scarcity is matched not initially with negation, but rather with celebration. To lose the gift of celebration is to lose the realisation of being gifted. This is why even scarcity is celebrated. A complex, relationally laden mystery that goes back to the beginning of time to God, the source of abundance. It is a mystery constantly manifested not when we have more, but when we have less. It is moments of scarcity that we often have a deep sense of collective sharing. That we recognise that we are inextricably connected with all that is. That we realise that faith is languaged with a neighbourly accent. This is the ‘whole of life’ vision of God.
PTC is a living witness to this philosophy. Its life is one of abundance in scarcity. Today, we celebrate how PTC was able to embrace such tension by harnessing the ability to navigate both worlds, abundance and scarcity. We celebrate 60-years of being a transformative educational institution. God’s Spirit provided the indicators and signs, whispering the way home, even if it means crossing the wilderness of scarcity. We celebrate with the Vanua, who in 1961, offered their land and their culture as gift to build a home for PTC when we had none. We celebrate with our member churches. In 1961, our forebears decided to create a centralised school as a gift to the region to train prophetic leaders for the Pasifika household. Today, built on this vision, our churches believe that there is a need to expand this gift by forging a transformative educational pathway for leadership competent to read the signs of our time and provide solution to the erosion of our life affirming values system. We celebrate with our partners who for many years have gifted us radical neighborliness especially in our times of scarcity. We helped and stood for each other because we belong to each other. We celebrate with our alumni who have considered PTC as their alma mater, their nourishing mother. We celebrate with our past and current leadership, faculty, and staff whose gifts of service and commitment allowed us to become resilient and drive transformative changes for PTC. We celebrate with our current Toloa (students) whose very presence furnishes hope and gifts us a sense of realisation of our vision. As we launch the Pasifika Communities University (PCU), we are launching not just another regional University, but rather a transformative regional movement born from scarcity, grounded in the prophetic, ‘whole of life’, love-riveting life of God. A love that is realised mostly in times of insufficiency. This launch not only marks the beginning of a journey in University level, but also a movement to redefine education from a Pasifika ‘whole of life’ perspective that has shaped PTC’s journey.
Blood has memories. When our mother (PTC) gave birth to us, she gifted such memory to us through her blood. Anyone who graduated from PTC should carry the DNA of Ecumenism. Leadership. Decolonisation. Indigenisation. Contextual Theology. Relationality. She was a gift to the region for 60 years now. She was the first regional educational institution to be established in 1965. She was the first degree offering regional educational institution in Pasifika, offering a Bachelor programme in 1966. She was the first to advocate for the importance of indigenous and contextualised education since the early 1970s. She was the first of its kind to offer leadership education in the regional level. She was the first to offer a Masters degree in 1987 and an independent Doctoral degree in 2008 amongst the theological schools in the region. In fact, PTC is a ‘mother of the many firsts.’
Therefore, it is no accident that PCU, the long awaited child of the Pasifika churches, was birthed under the shadows of the post pandemic era and the looming polycrises impacting the world today. As we begin the ritual of cutting and burying the umbilical cord of the new child in the soil of our Pasifika household, we must slow down and pause, remembering many who have contributed to PTC, even in times of scarcity. Let me take this opportunity to wish PCU a journey of maturity into the ‘whole of life’ vision and a growing passion for transformative education.
Tautai a’e!