As the Pacific Church Leaders’ Meeting opened in Fiji, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Reverend Professor Dr Jerry Pillay offered a sermon entitled “Resurrection Hope in the Pacific: Life Rising from the Ocean of Struggle.”
Frances Namoumou, programmes manager of the Pacific Conference of Churches and member of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, reads one of the prayers of intercession during the welcome service on Monday.
The Pacific Ocean is not empty space—it is sacred space, noted Pillay.
“For Pacific peoples, the ocean is life, identity, and spirituality,” he said. “It connects islands and generations. It is never just water. It is life. It is memory. It is identity. It is story.”
Yet today, this sacred space is under threat, Pillay said.
“In the language of the WCC, this is not only an environmental crisis—it is a matter of justice, dignity, and life in fullness for all,” he said. “So, when we speak of resurrection, we speak not only of Christ’s victory over death, but of God’s commitment to life amid injustice.”
In the Pacific, the ocean speaks, continued Pillay. “It speaks of life, beauty, and abundance—but today it also speaks of crisis,” he said. “Resurrection hope is therefore justice-shaped hope.”
The WCC has repeatedly called the church to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. “It does not matter whether you are in Fiji, Geneva, Africa, or anywhere else on the earth,” he said. “We are together family, part of God’s creation.”
Resurrection hope does not deny suffering—it names it truthfully, while proclaiming that God is birthing something new, continued Pillay.
“The World Council of Churches speaks of the church not as static, but as a pilgrim people,” he said. “In the Pacific, this image is powerful.”
A story often told in Kiribati speaks of a community that, before relocating, gathered for worship, took sand from their ancestral shore, and carried it with them.
“Resurrection transforms displacement into pilgrimage with God,” said Pillay. “In WCC theology, salvation is never merely individual. It is communal and cosmic.”
God is renewing the whole web of life, noted Pillay. “The World Council of Churches calls the church to prophetic witness,” he said. “Resurrection is not passive comfort—it is active resistance to death-dealing powers.”
Pacific churches have become prophetic voices in global forums, said Pillay.
“Resurrection hope in the Pacific is not abstract theology,” he said. “It is lived reality.”
The Pacific will not be defined by loss – but by life, Pillay said. “May this be our resurrection hope here in Fiji and in every part of the world where hope is needed in the presence of suffering and struggle,” he said.
Reverend Elder Dr Leatulagi Faalevao, moderator of the Pacific Conference of Churches, offered words of welcome.
“We gather tonight with gratitude to God, who has brought us from many islands, nations, languages, and church traditions, and has gathered us here as one in Christ,” said Faalevao.
“We come to revisit the foundations of the Pacifica Household of God, to reflect on the journey we have travelled together, and to discern how we are called to respond faithfully to the realities facing our peoples and our region.”
Faalevao reflected that the meeting is intended to deepen shared understanding, strengthen fellowship, and help clarify pathways toward the future.
“Over the next few days, may we not only meet as church leaders, but gather as sisters and brothers in Christ, listening together for what the Spirit is saying to the churches of the Pacific at this time,” said Faalevao.
The Pacific Church Leaders’ Meeting is currently underway in Suva, Fiji, from 13-17 April.
