The Bose Ko Viti has asked the Indian Division of the Methodist Church to give further explanation to the name they would propose for their church.

This was after a motion was moved by the Indian Division to change their name because it is a race based name.

The church’s communication secretary, Reverend James Bhagwan said the church as part of its new Exodus was going back in history to look at its work.

Reverend Bhagwan said over the past few years they had gone back to using the name Methodist Church of Fiji which was the official name.

“Over the year things has been added, some refer to it as Methodist Church in Fiji, Rotuma or Methodist Church of Fiji, Kioa and Rabi,” he said.

Reverend Bhagwan said the challenge was how to become an inclusive church.

He said the understanding in our current society that people know that Fiji encompassed everybody.

He said the church was moving towards that style of understanding.

Reverend Bhagwan said over the last decades the Indian Division of the Methodist Church had been looking at symbols that gave its identity.

He said 50 per cent of the Division was non-Indo Fijian members.

“We have a lot of people who like the different styles of worship that we have in our services. We have a number of services that have contemporary services you could say they are the pilot for contemporary worship,” Reverend Bhagwan said.

He said it had been in discussion for the last few years in the Indian Division.

“Also recognising the wider group that we exists with and the symbol of the diya which is the little bowl that has the ghee and the light has been a symbol of the Indian Division in many years now, first used by the former president of the Methodist church, Reverend Daniel Mustapha,” he said.

He said they had been looking at what sort of name for the Division.

Edited by Maraia Vula

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