{"id":22459,"date":"2025-12-02T15:03:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T04:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:03:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T04:03:42","slug":"weaving-gods-love-in-tonga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459","title":{"rendered":"Weaving God’s love in Tonga"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mafi Pole<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I write this reflection on my trip to the UCA President\u2019s Conference in Tonga, my heart is full.<\/p>\n

Coming into this trip with the theme \u201cWeaving God\u2019s love across cultures and boundaries\u201d, I arrived with no expectations.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know what God was preparing, but throughout every moment, from worship at Si\u2018atoutai College, the weaving workshops, our leaders speaking truth, and our reflections on justice and mission, I felt God gently weaving something new in me.<\/p>\n

This journey reminded me that leadership and discipleship are never about position or status.<\/p>\n

They are about how we choose to love. Real leadership is serving from the heart, listening before speaking, and showing up with humility.<\/p>\n

Discipleship is following Jesus daily with our actions, not just our words.<\/p>\n

One of the key speakers, Penisimani, grounded us with the Tongan values:
\n\u02bbOfa \u02bbOtua: the love of God guiding us
\n\u02bbOfa k\u0101inga: the love we share in community
\n\u02bbOfa fonua: the love for the land and people we are called to serve.<\/p>\n

The weaving workshop was especially meaningful. It reconnected me to my Tongan roots, but it also spoke spiritually. A single strand is weak, but when woven with others, it becomes strong. And sometimes a thread must be unpicked before the pattern can be right. That reminded me that God sometimes unweaves old habits or fears in us, not to break us, but to form a better design.<\/p>\n

Seeing our elders and young people weave their wisdom, honesty, courage, and vision together showed me that the church is strongest when generations stand side-by-side.<\/p>\n

To our young people: your thread matters in God\u2019s design. Bring your voice, your gifts, your faith. You are not just the future, you are the woven strength of the present.<\/p>\n

Keep weaving love, justice, and hope. Even when the pattern is unclear, trust that God sees the beauty you are becoming.<\/p>\n

M\u0101l\u014d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Uniting Church youth delegate Mafi Pole shares the joy that came with being part of the President’s Conference in Tonga recently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,33],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-22459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect","category-youth","tag-presidents-conference"],"yoast_head":"\nWeaving God's love in Tonga - Synod Main Website<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Weaving God's love in Tonga - Synod Main Website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Uniting Church youth delegate Mafi Pole shares the joy that came with being part of the President's Conference in Tonga recently.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Synod Main Website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T04:03:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cef8aa8d2a4ea1f900a1026a8a355f7d\"},\"headline\":\"Weaving God’s love in Tonga\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T04:03:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\"},\"wordCount\":329,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png\",\"keywords\":[\"President's Conference\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Connect\",\"Youth\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\",\"name\":\"Weaving God's love in Tonga - Synod Main Website\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-02T04:03:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cef8aa8d2a4ea1f900a1026a8a355f7d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"President s conference two\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Weaving God’s love in Tonga\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/\",\"name\":\"Synod Main Website\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cef8aa8d2a4ea1f900a1026a8a355f7d\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4514e363e1b13b783d9feaa0c835e1fa285f052b8d64b40fbbf5ec5ccab51b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4514e363e1b13b783d9feaa0c835e1fa285f052b8d64b40fbbf5ec5ccab51b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Weaving God's love in Tonga - Synod Main Website","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Weaving God's love in Tonga - Synod Main Website","og_description":"Uniting Church youth delegate Mafi Pole shares the joy that came with being part of the President's Conference in Tonga recently.","og_url":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459","og_site_name":"Synod Main Website","article_published_time":"2025-12-02T04:03:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cef8aa8d2a4ea1f900a1026a8a355f7d"},"headline":"Weaving God’s love in Tonga","datePublished":"2025-12-02T04:03:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459"},"wordCount":329,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png","keywords":["President's Conference"],"articleSection":["Connect","Youth"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459","url":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459","name":"Weaving God's love in Tonga - Synod Main Website","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png","datePublished":"2025-12-02T04:03:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cef8aa8d2a4ea1f900a1026a8a355f7d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/President-s-Conference-two.png","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"President s conference two"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?p=22459#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Weaving God’s love in Tonga"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/","name":"Synod Main Website","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/cef8aa8d2a4ea1f900a1026a8a355f7d","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4514e363e1b13b783d9feaa0c835e1fa285f052b8d64b40fbbf5ec5ccab51b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4514e363e1b13b783d9feaa0c835e1fa285f052b8d64b40fbbf5ec5ccab51b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au"],"url":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/synod.debug.victas.uca.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}