“May the stillness of Advent hold us in grace, a stillness that listens, laments, and loves until the world is filled once more with the song of peace,” writes Moderator Rev Salesi Faupula.
Each year, Advent begins not with noise but with a small light.
A single candle flickers in the dimness, while the world outside hums with traffic, headlines, conflict and exhaustion. Yet this fragile light insists on hope. It says, “There is still room for peace. There is still room for faith”.
As we move toward the end of another year, Advent invites us again to pause, to breathe and to remember who we are: Pilgrims of the Spirit.
We are people on a journey, not always certain where the path will lead, but trusting that God travels with us, in our joy, in our weariness and even in our waiting.
As I write, I am preparing to travel to Tasmania to meet with the Presbytery and to join in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Leprena Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, a gathering that honours faith, resilience and First Peoples’ leadership within the Uniting Church.
I look forward to listening, learning and deepening our shared covenant in the gospel.
Another recent encounter that has stayed with me was my visit to Melton Uniting Church (Grace Community). Within the broader suburb, there had been deep grief following the tragic deaths of two Sudanese boys, a loss that particularly affected the Sudanese community in Melton. Some of that community are part of the Grace congregation and, while not everyone was directly touched, the church stood with those who mourned.
They offered prayer, presence and embrace, small acts that spoke of a Christian ethic of empathy.
Recently, the Parliament of Victoria passed the Statewide Treaty Bill 2025, making Victoria the first jurisdiction in Australia to enshrine a Treaty with First Peoples in law.
This marks a significant step forward, but not the whole journey. The Treaty process will continue to evolve, demanding truth-telling, humility and commitment.
For the Church, this moment invites us to deepen our covenant with the UAICC, walking alongside First Peoples, not as guests, but as companions in God’s story of justice and renewal.
On October 9 a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Gaza, a moment received with cautious relief. Yet even as the headlines spoke of truce, reports of renewed strikes and continuing hostilities remind us that true peace remains fragile and unfinished.
Advent speaks into this reality: it is the season of already and not yet, of promises glimpsed but not fully seen. We hold hope not as denial of suffering, but as defiance against despair, trusting that God’s light still burns even where peace feels uncertain.
Advent carries that same paradox: the ache for peace in a violent world, and the belief that peace is still possible. To weep is not to lose faith. It is to love deeply. Lament, when shared, becomes solidarity, the resolve to say, “We are still here. We will not turn away”.
There is a Tongan proverb: “Piki piki hama, kae vaevae manava”, meaning bind your canoes together, and share your very breath.
It comes from the image of Pacific voyagers caught in a storm, who tie their canoes together and share what little they have to survive.
We are those canoes, different in shape, size, and story yet bound together by faith and love. And in binding ourselves to one another, we find strength to endure and grace to continue.
So may we be pilgrims who pause long enough to notice the light that has never gone out. May we bind ourselves together, share our breath and walk humbly toward the One who comes to meet us again.
And as we wait, may the stillness of Advent hold us in grace, a stillness that listens, laments and loves until the world is filled once more with the song of peace.
Rev Salesi Faupula
Moderator, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
