Eleventh Hour Ministry, a Christian denomination, has become the first church to go into politics.

It plans to contest the election.

Church Leader Pastor Tuiloma Tawaivuna says they will lodge their application to register their proposed new party tomorrow.

The proposed party is called the “All People’s Party”.

Mr Tawaivuna said they were confident their proposed party would be registered.

“We wanted to form a party which would benefit everyone.”

“The party will not only give importance to one religion but to all religions.”

“The idea to form this political movement was shown to me in a vision a long time ago but we were just waiting for the right time, and I believe that this is the right time.

Mr Tawaivuna said anyone could apply to become a candidate.

“Once we register and it gets approved, we will then work towards the number of candidates standing on behalf of the party.

People around Fiji have contacted us willing to stand as candidates,” he said.

“The foundation of the party is love and we will not segregate people due to their religion, race or colour because in the eyes of God we are all one.”

He declined to give more details to the media until they had received an outcome from the Fijian Elections Office.

Archbishop Peter Loy Chong in Suva on July 14, 2020. File Photo: Ronald Kumar

The president of the Fiji Council of Churches, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong, said he could not speak on behalf of all churches because all churches had their own understanding and teachings involving politics.

‘No doctrine, no law’

“There is no doctrine, no law regarding this but I will say it is more of a Catholic view probably on something other churches can consider.”

“In churches, getting involved in politics means they support a political party,” Archbishop Loy Chong said.

“If a church leader joins a political party this means that he uses his role as a church minister or uses his church to support a political human institution, and when you do that, you are not faithful to what the churches should involve in as being primary, and that is God’s kingdom.”

“That is what we stand for as church ministers and we are at the service of God’s kingdom.”

“When you go and use your church or church status to support a political party then you are lowering what you should stand for as a church,
that is to serve God’s kingdom and not a political party.”

“When the church minister joins a political party, he loses his capacity to bring people together because once you join a political party there are people in the church who will support or oppose that party, so you become a source of division and that way you lose your primary role as a church minister that is to unite people under God’s kingdom.”

“You lose your position as someone who unites people under God.”

He added that church ministers should not get involved in party politics, but their role is just to help people act responsibly or to help form minds or the conscience of people.

Feedback: wati.talebula@fijisun.com.fj