WEAVERS
Weavers’ establishment as a programme of the South Pacific Association of Theological Schools (SPATS) was the result of a consultation on Women and Ministry in the Pacific held in Tonga in 1989, attended by delegates from SPATS’ member schools. The consultation was co- sponsored by SPATS and the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC).
Women involved with theological education in Suva, Fiji formed a committee with a mandate from SPATS Executive to promote theological education for women. The name ‘Weavers’ was adopted to emphasize the communal and participatory nature of the act of weaving. Weavers encourages women to weave together a distinctively Pacific way of doing theology.
In 1994 a full-time Coordinator was appointed to the SPATS’ Secretariat to coordinate the programme and liaise with church leaders and principals of theological schools to promote theological education for women. The twenty members of the current committee were invited according to their sub-regional and denominational affiliations, and their interest and support for theological education for women.
God’s mission in Jesus Christ is very clear; Jesus came to give life and more meaningful life. SPATS promote quality theological education for Pacific Island church leaders and laity. Weavers advocates for women to be fully
involved in theological education throughout the Pacific churches to give life and more meaningful life to the Body of Christ.
Weavers’ goal is to seek equal opportunities for both women and men, clergy and laity in theological education and in church ministry.
Focus on Weavers’ Activities
The committee meets each alternative month for business, fellowship and discussion on various topics of interest. Besides monthly activities, three public forums on relevant theological topics are scheduled each year. The initial focus on advocating theological education for women is visiting theological training institutions and women’s fellowship groups.
Objectives for visits to schools are:
- To foster a working relationship with church leaders and principals of theological schools
- To share the Weavers’ mandate of advocacy for women in theological education
- To liaise and consult with schools’ principals and church leaders concerning opportunities for women in theological schools and church ministry.
Weavers continues to collaborate in consultation with the Pacific Conference of Churches. Weavers enjoys and appreciates the support of the PCC as a cooperative effort to seek opportunities for women in theological education and in church ministry. Over the last few years, we have worked together through exchanging and sharing of personnel and material resources in seminars, consultations and other meetings of women in the region.
In 1995 Weavers initiated a scholarship programme as an incentive to women who wished to pursue theological studies. The main purpose of creating this scholarship was to encourage women students by providing financial assistance, as women are often forgotten and/or overlooked in the allocation of the churches’ scholarship funds. Lack of scholarship funding has been one of the greatest obstacles hindering many women from pursuing formal theological education.
More than fifty women in the Pacific have already graduated with theological degrees. Only a few are employed in the Pacific churches, while the remainders serve as spouses of clergies or in different voluntary capacities.
Weavers is now phasing down this scholarship programme, but sees the importance of raising awareness among women’s groups to raise their own scholarship funds. We also seek to identify scholarships from donor partners and church organizations within and outside the Pacific region which are available for women.
PACIFIC JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY
The Pacific Journal of Theology was first published in Samoa in December 1962. For twelve years it regularly published articles on the theological foundations of life, witness and current problems of the church in the Pacific. In 1989 the SPATS Council commissioned Series II of the Journal and defined its vision as being to stimulate theological thinking and writing by Christians living in the Pacific. The Journal has continued to act as a forum for the exchange of ideas and to record and preserve for future generations what is still largely an oral tradition of cultural and religious faith.
The Pacific Journal of Theology is published twice yearly.
Topics
Over the past years the Pacific Journal of Theology has featured articles on many topics of interest including:
- Emerging Pacific theologies
- Women in Pacific culture, church and theological education
- Conflict in the Pacific, including the war in Bougainville, nuclear testing
- Arts and Music in Pacific Christian liturgy
- A focus on Samoa
- The life and work of Roman Catholic Bishop Patelisio Finau
- New Religious Movements in the Pacific
- The Celebration of 200 years of the work of the London Missionary Society in the Pacific
- Contextual Pacific theology
- Pacific Women’s theology
- Uprooted People
- Ministry in the Pacific
- Tongan Theology
- Globalization
- Indigenous Issues
- Contextualization and Inculturation
- HIV and AIDS / Religion and Science in Post Modernity
- Violence Against Women and Children
- Melanesian Contextual Theology
- Tongan Contextual Theology
- Conservation and Theology
Issues may have a strong thematic emphasis, or may be a collection of unrelated articles on issues of current importance to Pacific churches.
Contributions
The Editorial Board welcomes various kinds of writing which express an emerging Pacific theology. These may include:
- Original articles in the theological disciplines
- Articles relating theological thinking to Pacific cultures, contemporary issues and other academic disciplines
- Helpful material for pastors and church workers (liturgical, pastoral, educational);
- Artistic expressions of the Christian faith (poetry, visual art, music);
- Notes and reviews of books which are relevant for Pacific Christians;
- Information about ongoing research in the theological disciplines in the Pacific.
SPATS member schools are encouraged to submit student’s work for evaluation by the Editorial Board. Faculty members at our theological schools are invited to allow the Journal to publish their work and share their Pacific theological reflection with the wider world.
The Editorial Board will consider for publication all manuscripts of scholarly standard and in keeping with the overall policy of this journal. Poetry, photographs, black and white drawings are also welcome. Articles should be clearly typed in double spacing on one side of the paper only. Any sources quoted or paraphrased should be listed in endnotes and a bibliography at the end of the article, including author, title, city, and publisher.
Subscribers
The Pacific Journal of Theology subscription list includes theological libraries in all parts of the world as it is the only journal of its kind produced in the Pacific region by those directly involved in Pacific theological education and discussion
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INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING
Introduction
One of the recommendations of the Strategic Planning Exercise of SPATS Commission in 1996 was the creation of a new programme – Institutional Strengthening. As its name suggests, it aims at helping, developing and enhancing the member institutions belonging to SPATS. The name of Roger Landbeck has been associated with it from the programme’s inception.
Aims
The Committee draws up long term project proposals from time to time, and aims at addressing or targeting areas in our member colleges that need continuing support from friends and partners. In SPATS’ dealing with its friends and partners, it has been made aware that most, if not all of them, are committed to seeing talents of the Pacific people fully developed, especially in theological education.
SPATS continues to aim to be instrumental in offering higher quality theological education in this region
Future
The other areas included in this programme are directed more on the area of ‘capacity building’ for our member schools’ teaching staff and principals. SPATS believes that its member schools are like the ‘theological laboratory’ of the Pacific region. New events and ideas are surfacing and affecting lives of the Pacific people and churches, needing proper research and reflection. Issues like globalization and partnership in theological education, financial management and leadership are issues that will help our member schools face the new world we find ourselves in today.