Le Laau o le Sopoaga: A Plant for a Journey: Planting Samoan Methodism in New Zealand

Abstract

This thesis describes and analyses the history of Methodist Church of Samoa (MCS) in New Zealand as a “plant for a journey” (Laau o le sopoaga), planted by early immigrant Samoans in the 1960s in the hope of retaining a structure and organisation that would preserve the Samoan cultural understanding and outlook. Special attention, therefore, is given to highlighting the contributing factors which made possible the establishment of Samoan Methodism in New Zealand, including Samoan nationalism, independence, identity, and culture. However, since the children and grandchildren of the church’s founders have become a significant part of the church body, this original purpose seems less relevant to many of these second and third generation members, whose participation is nevertheless essential to the survival of the church. Researchers have noted that those Samoan Methodist church members born in New Zealand may have different interpretations and arguments in relation to the church’s original purpose due to their awareness of the church’s social and spiritual environment having changed significantly. The historical data for the study has been collected from stories, focus group interviews, case studies, sermons, articles, presentations, personal conversations, journals of Samoan migrant congregations (api o le galuega), minutes of the MCS conference, and the analyses of statistics pertaining to population samples of Auckland and Wellington MCS congregations. This thesis is the first written analysis of the historical development of the Methodist Church of Samoa (MCS) in New Zealand, and covers that story from the church’s inception to the present day. In particular, the research identifies the way in which the current structure, ministry, and theology of the MCS have evolved; the thesis also seeks to respond to the different views and aspirations of the three Samoan sub-populations living in New Zealand. The project aims to ascertain whether, and to what extent, there are diverging aspirations among the generational groups in the MCS and, based on these findings, to formulate recommendations for the church’s future pastoral strategy.