23 March 2020
By Martha Taumata Faavae
There will be no Malua ‘Fonotele’ this year in May.
The annual general conference is the main event in the EFKS Church calendar every year, and takes a lot of persuasion to call it off.
The threat of the coronavirus pandemic, however, is serious enough for the leaders of the church to make the difficult decision to re-schedule for next year 2021.
The EFKS General Secretary, Rev. Vavatau Taulafo, released the official decision in a joint statement between the ‘fonotele’ conference committee and the Church elders or ‘Komiti ale au Toeaiina.’
“As the church, country and the world struggles with the threat of the COVID-19 to the children of God, the ‘fonotele’ for 2020 will not go ahead as scheduled in May,” the joint statement announced.
‘We shall continue to monitor the health threat for the future and make decisions more suited to the church accordingly.”
The EFKS ‘fonotele’ draws in close to a 1000 people from overseas delegations of the respective congregations in mainly New Zealand, Australia and the US.
All activities of the church must receive approval from the ‘fonotele’ before they are actioned.