Global Ministries Engages Pacific Partners in Fiji and Taiwan
From the shores of Fiji to the churches of Taiwan, one theme emerged repeatedly during Derek Duncan’s April journey across the Pacific: the church is being called to respond to urgent challenges with courage, clarity, and deep solidarity.
Derek Duncan, Global Relations Minister for East Asia and the Pacific for Global Ministries, traveled to Fiji and Taiwan to attend three significant gatherings: the Pacific Church Leaders’ Meeting of the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Taiwan Ecumenical Forum, and the 71st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Though each meeting addressed distinct regional realities, they shared a common question: What does faithful witness look like in a world shaped by ecological crisis, political tension, and human vulnerability?
In Fiji, church leaders from across Oceania gathered around the theological vision of the Pasifika Household of God, a powerful image of interconnectedness, belonging, and shared responsibility. But this was not only theological reflection. For Pacific communities, climate change is an immediate and existential reality. Rising seas, stronger storms, displacement, and threats to food security are already reshaping daily life.
The gathering marked the Pacific launch of the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action, affirming the Pacific’s prophetic role in global climate advocacy. For these island nations, climate justice is not an abstract political issue; it is about survival. Churches are increasingly stepping forward not only as spiritual communities but as advocates, organizers, and moral leaders.
Yet environmental threats were not the only pressing concern. Leaders also spoke candidly about the growing drug crisis affecting Pacific communities, where addiction is rising while treatment and rehabilitation resources remain scarce. In many places, local congregations have become first responders, offering pastoral care, community support, and hope where systems are limited.
From Fiji, the journey continued to Taiwan, where conversations shifted toward peace and the church’s public witness in a tense geopolitical landscape. At the Taiwan Ecumenical Forum, theologians and ecumenical partners explored self-determination and the church’s role amid rising regional militarization and uncertainty.
The discussions revealed how churches often inhabit a delicate space – called to speak truth while fostering dialogue, peace, and reconciliation. In Taiwan, the church continues to hold a uniquely visible place in civic life, engaging both theological and public conversations with remarkable courage.
Amid these serious discussions, moments of hope shone brightly. One particularly meaningful event was the signing of a new partnership agreement between the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and Ekalesei Kelisiano Tuvalu. For churches in smaller Pacific nations with limited international partnerships, such relationships are powerful reminders that no community stands alone.
The trip also highlighted stories of personal resilience. Duncan met with partners in Fiji who shared updates about Rev. Dr. Nikotemo Sopepa, a longtime Global Ministries friend and former mission co-worker who has been dealing with health challenges. His perseverance reflects the quiet strength present throughout the region.
Perhaps the deepest lesson from the journey was this: accompaniment matters. In a region confronting climate disaster, political uncertainty, social upheaval, and questions of identity, relationships remain essential. Global Ministries’ partnerships across the Pacific are not simply organizational ties. They are commitments to mutual presence, listening, and shared witness.
As new opportunities for accompaniment emerge in places like Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, and French Polynesia, the work ahead is clear. The Pacific church is not waiting on the margins of history. It is speaking, leading, and inviting the global church to walk alongside it. And in that invitation lies both challenge and hope.