It was such an important event because as a church they formed together in November of 1968 with my parents being one of the foundation members and one of four families who are still with the church to this day.
My father was also blessed to be one of the last remaining elder Deacons of two other original deacons who was able to see this special occasion come to fruition.
He was also one of the significant people who was able to bring about stability to the Samoan group in it's initial years in bringing families together and sharing the vision of a place to worship with many.
That is quite some legacy as there were some 20 families who joined up at the time but some have passed on with others no longer attending the church but for those of us who have over the years, it has become our village away from the homeland and a place to call home.
It's the place where we are able to come together as a family with spiritual guidance and support as well as a place for rituals to be performed such as weddings, birthdays, religious celebrations like Easter and Christmas etc.
It was a neat celebration service that I was able to attend on Sunday with families wearing a blue and white uniform that was picked out and some neat choir songs that were reminiscent of my growing up days in the choir.
A video then was shown of the families and ministers over the time starting with Rev Sio and Rev Bob Challis who was originally from England and were pivotal in the church becoming what it is today. My father was the origin Samoa group secretary for some 22 years from 1968 to 1990 and still holds the record to this day for his continuous service over the years.
It was then followed by a feast that each family was able to share in and gifts were distributed to the different people who had made a significant contribution over the years. It definitely made me think about the things that God has blessed me with over the years and I thank God for these precious memories to share especially with my parents and something to look forward to for future generations...
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