The Men's Club
Julia Ines Fuentes
One of the things that has impressed me in Fiji is the involvement of men in the activities of the church. In Chile, where I come from, it's unusual for men to be involved like this. It's mostly the women who are involved in the activities in the church.
On arriving in Ba parish at the beginning of 2007, I heard about the Men's Club in the parish. I was so surprised and jokingly asked the men if I could join the club or was it an exclusive Men's Club.
They invited me to join them around the tanoa (wood bowl) of yaqona (traditional drink) and sing Fijian songs with them. It was there I learned more about the Men's Club and what they were doing. One of the members, Lawrence, explained the history and purpose of their club.
"Our purpose is for us Catholic men of the parish to share and enjoy our faith. This was the dream of our founding fathers, our president Eddie Lokington and Columban Fr Palenapa. We meet every Thursday evening from 6:30pm-7:00pm for adoration. After this we start the meeting.
We begin by planning our activities for the coming week. We then sit around the tanoa, drinking yaqona, sharing stories and singing. We wondered what to call the group and finally decided to call our club ‘Theophania Men's Club' which means ‘See yourself in God.
Since we began we have had several activities. The biggest project has been to restore the Catholic cemetery which was somewhat abandoned. We started by cleaning it up. Then an idea came to build a large cross in the centre of the cemetery.
The Cross would have a special position. On this hill overlooking the Ba river, it would face that river down which the first missionaries travelled by boat, taking the faith from here to the Yasawa Islands 150 years ago.
It was hard work, but we enjoyed it. Our Catholic cemetery now looks good and we are proud of it. This is a special place where our family members rest in peace."
I have joined the Men's Club and listen to their stories and join them in their activities. It has been inspiring for me to observe them share and practice their faith.
Julia Ines Fuentes is a Chilean lay missionary working with the Columbans in Fiji.
