Rev Salesi Faupula will be installed as Moderator on August 30.
By Andrew Humphries
When Rev Salesi Faupula is installed as Moderator of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania later this month, it will be 25 years since the death of his father Haloti.
Yet Haloti continues to have a profound influence on Salesi’s faith journey.
In a real sense, Salesi is the son who followed in his father’s footsteps.
Haloti came to the Northern Territory in 1972 as a missionary with the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, before becoming a minister in 1979 with the still relatively new Uniting Church in Australia.
He was, says Salesi, a humble man of deep faith and conviction, traits Salesi will carry into the role of Moderator.
Salesi will honour his father at his installation on August 30 by wearing the blue alb that once belonged to Haloti.
And while his father won’t be there to see his son become Moderator, that alb will be an important companion for Salesi during the ceremony, and a reminder that Haloti still walks with him in spirit.
It’s the same alb Salesi wore when he was ordained in 2012.
“Dad was a little bit shorter than me and a little bit smaller”, Salesi says with a laugh, “but it fit me perfectly when I was ordained, and I felt such a strong connection to him then.
“I feel incredibly proud to be able to wear it at my installation as Moderator.”
Salesi says there will be a touch of sadness around his father’s absence on such an important day.
He would, he admits, give just about anything for an opportunity to tell Haloti how much he inspired him.
“My father never forced or imposed anything religious on me, and my relationship with him was very strong,” Salesi says.
“Towards the end of his life, I was still part of the Church, and I think part of that was wanting to be like him.
“But my father died in 2000 before I went down the path of ordination, so he never got to see me ordained.
“His death was a significant moment for me, because the relationship I had with him had defined a sense of place for me, and so I was devastated when he died.
“The relationship I had with him was one that I finally found with God, and it’s one that has deepened over time.
“My mother would often say to me when I was a minister that ‘I’m sure you wish your dad was alive so you could share some of the joy and many questions you might have’.”
Salesi with Moderator Rev David Fotheringham after the announcement in 2023 of Salesi’s appointment as Moderator-elect.
Salesi confesses to some uncertainty about what lies ahead, but is focused on what strengths he will bring to the Church as Moderator.
“There is a level of excitement around it all, but there is some nervousness there as well,” he says.
“There is definitely a sense of expectation, both from the Church itself and I, but being nominated, and then elected Moderator, had me thinking about the different gifts that I have and how they translate into such a role.
“The connections and relationships I have formed in congregational ministry, at a presbytery level, and within the Synod itself, have been very important to me and will continue to be as Moderator.
“I have had the privilege of being able to participate on both presbytery and Synod-level committees, and have seen both the blessing and struggles that exist within all of that.
“There is a blessing involved in being able to work together, but within that are the struggles involved in making difficult decisions that can take some time.
“I was brought up in a household that focused on the responsibilities rather than the privileges in life, as a way of sending the message that sometimes this world has its ups and downs, but it’s about carrying out duty and being aware of responsibilities.
“When I began my first placement some years ago I can remember walking past this beautiful office, which I knew would soon be my office, and thinking to myself that there was a level of responsibility expected from me that should match that beautiful office.
“It’s with a deep sense of that responsibility that I take on this important role as leader.”
As Moderator, the three themes of diversity, inclusivity and unity will drive much of Salesi’s work.
“These three streams, although individual, combine and for me provide the essence of some core ingredients to being faithful to the realm of the kingdom,” he says.
“As Christians we wrestle with diversity, and inclusivity, and around how we can unite together, yet we also put parameters around them and say that it’s in this ‘form’, but I don’t think that completely describes who God is.
“A character in the movie ‘Conclave’ utters the line that ‘the enemy of faith is certainty’, and that is something I reflect on.
“We are human beings and if we are looking for the perfect we won’t find it because there are always these levels of uncertainty.
“A part of wrestling with diversity, inclusivity and unity is that we have boxed God in, and put parameters around God, so that when we are inclusive it’s in a particular way, but the radical nature of God is different, and we see that in Jesus.
“So we lean in on God for understanding and there are some unclear and uncertain elements around the journey ahead when we do that.”
“I believe that God calls me into this role and continues to equip me for it, and that is where my faith lies,” Salesi says.
But the journey ahead, Salesi says, is what makes it all worthwhile.
“The element of faith in inclusivity, diversity and unity that holds everything together under this banner is grace,” he says.
“I want to be as faithful as I can and there will be parts of this journey that I continue learning from.
“There will be a certain level of me adapting, learning and growing, but also showing an ability to listen intently, so there is a genuine and authentic connection from me.
“I have been shaped largely by the Uniting Church and I love the way in which the Church attempts to wrestle with those aspects of inclusivity, diversity and unity, and the ways in which we try to hold them together.”
There are though, he says, challenges facing the Uniting Church, at both Synod and national level that require careful examination.
“At the moment we measure the health of a congregation based on its finances, but is that the reality when we consider the vitality of a congregation?” Salesi asks.
“We have some congregations that may only have 15 members but have a financial portfolio in the millions, and some congregations that have an overflow of members but struggle financially.
“There is far more to a congregation than just its finances, and if we draw conclusions based on letting finances be the guide we will have a lot of money and property, but hardly any people.
“I don’t think Jesus ever said, ‘wait until that place is financially stable and then go out and minister to it’.
“It also means that as a Church we should sometimes be on the margins, wrestling with some of the more controversial issues.”
With a deep sense of humility Salesi is preparing for August 30 and the beginning of his three-year term as Moderator.
He will, he says, be his own man, and one passionate about fulfilling this particular calling from God.
“I can only be who I can be, and if I try and be (previous Moderator) David Fotheringham, or someone else, I’m going to fail,” he says.
“But I can be Salesi and, however that plays out, I believe that God calls me into this role and continues to equip me for it, and that is where my faith lies.
“I don’t think the role of Moderator is so much about being an individual as wanting to be a cog in the journey of the Synod and the Uniting Church, and when we look at the Uniting Church and where it’s placed in terms of its faithfulness to the gospel, I think we are doing well.”
