Fakamua fakaaue ke he Atua ha kua fakamonuina he Matua e tapuakiaga nei he tau fuata/mamatua fifine. First and foremost thank God for allowing this worship between Women to come to pass. Thank you also to our Niuean people, the flock without whom, this event would never have been possible.
Ohifo a mautolu he aho tapu kua mole (14/Aokuso) tapuaki auloa moe tau matakainaga Niue he Ekalesia Beenleigh, haia he faahi toga (lalo) ha Brisbane. Ko e Ekalesia nei e taha Ekalesia lahi ne kua leva e fakatu mae tau Niue he maaga nei. Ko e tau takitaki ko e tau mamatua Akoako ko Reverend Elisi mo Mana Sionetali.
Ko e matua Ulumotua ko Jimmy Heka, Tohi Kupu ko Kaniu Holamotu moe fuata Tohi Tupe, ko Tana Poumale. Feleveia foki moe ha lautolu a tau tiakono moe tau tokoua fakahelehele.
Lahi e fiafia he feleveia moe tau magafaoa, tau kapitiga moe tau mamatua lilifu he Ekalesia Beenleigh.
Ko e fakafetuiaga nei he tau mamatua fifine ko e mena talia auloa he tau Ekalesia tokoua nei, he taha mogo he kamataaga he tau. Koe mena amanaki ke kamata fakamua ki Beenleigh he taha aho tapu ia Me, (aho tapu he tau mamatua fifine poke Mother’s day) kae nakai fakahoko he lavelave a mautolu i Clontarf he magaaho na.
Ti hanei kua kamata tuai. Fakalataha age foki ke he tapuakiaga nei e tau fuata/mamatua fifine he Ekalesia Ipswich ne takitaki he Matua Akoako ko Jameson Taupiasi.
Tokologa foki e tau mamatua fifine mai he falu a Ekalesia kehekehe, nakai ni mai i Ipswich, Beenleigh poko Northside (other Christian churches).
Last Sunday (14th Aug 2022) we went down to Beenleigh Ekalesia Niue, South Brisbane, because their women (FCW) and our women have decided to come together in fellowship. Our women are not affiliated to FCW so we are happy to be known simply as Christian Women of Ekalesia Niue Northside.
This event was planned earlier this year by our two Churches. The initiative first came from Rev Sionetali, Beenleigh, but we still agreed in a decision made by our Executive, Deacons and the Women, because it was an opportunity to fellowship with other Niuean churches. It wasn’t an easy decision because we do have a lot of our own work to focus on but we all agreed to give it a go at least for 2022.
We were supposed to first meet in May this year but we were unable to join that fellowship because we had our own plans.
Whilst the decision was initially only meant for the two Churches, we were still happy to meet up with another Niuean Church from Ipswich and their Pastor, Jameson Taupiasi. Apart from Ipswich and Beenleigh, there were other women who came from other Churches.
The decision to come together is based on nothing other than our desire to fellowship with Beenleigh rather than because we are unhappy with other Niuean churches.
Here are the names of those who represented the congregation at the service :-
Worship Coordinator (Takitaki Tapu) : Mana Sionetali.
Sermons (Lauga) : Mana Sionetali (Proverbs 3:1-6), Pina Mahakitau (Ps 37:23-31), Magaari Taupiasi (Mat 5:1-16).
Reading (Totou) : Jo Falaniua, Moka Tomai, Siliva Sakalia.
Prayers (Liogi) : Fiona Douglas, Moka Puhotau, Mia Poumale.
From the start until the end, Mana owned the pulpit and led the service with authority and care. I could sit there and listen to her all day long as the content and the manner in which she delivered her message was beautiful. She was not shouting nor talking down at people; she was just preaching from the heart like an anointed woman of God which she is. The image she portrayed and the voice was full of love, just like a mother’s gentle voice. Niuean matua like her is a blessing; we need to cherish and respect them the way God want us to. Really enjoyed your message Mana, fakaaue lahi.
Pina Mahakitau, our cherished and highly regarded tupuna from Northside also touched our hearts with a beautifully crafted message, designed to stimulate our emotions to focus on the need to bring up our children in the ways of God. The bulk of her message was based on Psalm 37:23-31, go and read that Psalm. She encouraged us to lead faithful and righteous lives for our Savior Jesus Christ and do more for those coming after us. Truly blessed by your sermon Pina. She said afterwards that she felt the Spirit of God descending on her as she delivered her sermon. Hallelujah! Thank you Lord Jesus.
Our Rarotongan sister, Magaari Taupiasi from Ipswich Ekalesia, also delivered a stimulating sermon which caused a few chuckles. She used her life experience and background as a child of the Cook Island Missionaries/Pastors to further encourage us to pray and walk faithfully in Christ. Hearing about her childhood experience; use of the rainbow song; and her Christian walk reminded me of how important our life stories are in advancing the Kingdom of Christ. Magaari is a fluent Niuean speaker so there is no excuse for us Niueans not to know/speak our first language. Fakaaue ma Magaari.
Our matua Moka Puhotau, Fiona Douglas and Mia Poumale helped us to refocus our hearts on God, with their prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, petition and repentance.
Joanne Falaniua, Moka Tomai and Siliva Sakalia read the Niuean bible passages so eloquently that I sometimes forget to focus on the meaning rather than their delivery. Their different styles, phrasing and accents reminded me of the different villages back home. Well done Jo, Moka and Liva.
And the hymns, oh thank you Lord… hearing those old Niuean hymns took me back to my childhood days in Niue. Indeed a blessing. Who says Niueans cannot sing?
Great to meet up with the following friends and families :-
– Ian and Siale Nevalagi Talagi who are over here for holiday.
– Nora Togahai.
– Suki & Moka Tomai.
– Phyllis Sewak Nosa.
– Falani & Rose & their children.
– Tino Jackson.
– Joe & Laka Tapatuetoa.
– Doug Misipeka.
– Polito & Siliva Sakalia.
– Safanua Hawkin.
– Ati Helagi.
– Malama Tukuitoga.
– Kaniu & Ane Holamotu.
– Tana & Mia Poumale.
– Jimmy Heka.
– Lee Seumanu.
– Matua ko Taupiasi moe tokoua fakahele ko Magaari.
– Raymond Havilitama.
– Friends from Ipswich Niue Church.
– Friends from Beenleigh Niue Church.
We would like to thank Ekalesia Beenleigh – Reverend & Mrs Elisi Sionetali, Mr & Mrs Holamotu, Mr & Mrs Jimmy Heka and Mr & Mrs Tana Poumale, Deacons, Leaders and their people for your kind hospitality, refreshments and everything you did. I am not good with names so if I have not referred to you by name it’s either I don’t know or I’m scared of getting it wrong.
Great to see you too Pastor Jameson Taupiasi and your Ekalesia Ipswich and not forgetting those from other Churches.
Please forgive us if we said or did anything that may have hurt you in some way. We treat all complaints very seriously so if you want to lodge a formal complaint, please let us know. We cannot wait to see you all again in our next Womens’ fellowship later in the year.
Last but not least our Ekalesia Northside women, Ulumotua Togasiua, our Youth, our Children and our Deacons. Sadly, our Ulumotua Ligi Togasiua and some families were unable to attend. Rev Andrew was also away for the past 2-3 weeks. We know who we are and whom we follow. Whatever the world throws at us, we shall not be moved for we shall follow only one God – God the Father, God the Son – Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Our Ulumotua, Deacons, Exec and leadership loves you all. Thanks for reading, God bless you.
