27/05/2026
For the people of Tuvalu, the earth is not simply the ground they stand on — it is intrinsic to who they are. Land shapes their culture, anchors their ancestry, and forms the living thread of their relationship with God the Creator. To lose it is not only an environmental catastrophe; it is a profound threat to identity, community, and faith itself. Their struggle asks one of the most searching questions of our time: how do we hold on to God’s promises when the very foundations of home and belonging are slowly disappearing?
It is precisely in that space — where faith, culture, and crisis meet — that partnership takes on its deepest meaning. The renewed agreement between the Uniting Church in Australia and the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu (EKT) is more than a formal commitment. It is a covenant to walk alongside the Tuvaluan people as they face the compounding challenges to their home, their identity, and their spiritual resilience — bearing witness together that Christian hope does not finally rest on the ground beneath our feet, but on the faithfulness of a God who never abandons God’s people.
This week, the UCA is honoured to stand in solidarity with the EKT as a delegation attends the 29th General Assembly in Tuvalu. The delegation includes UCA President Rev Charissa Suli, Moderator of the NSW/ACT Synod Rev Faaimata Havea Hiliau, Moderator of the Queensland Synod Rev Bruce Moore, Associate General Secretary of the Queensland Synod Rev Linda Hanson, Rev Malcolm Scanlan, and UnitingWorld International Partnerships Manager Rev Dr Apwee Ting.
Alongside the signing of the partnership agreement, the delegation met with Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Penitala Teo, Governor-General Reverend Sir Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, and Australian High Commissioner David Charlton — conversations that reflect the UCA’s commitment to advocacy that is both relationally grounded and prophetically engaged.
President Rev Suli reflected:
“As the Basis of Union reminds us, Christians in Australia are called to bear witness to a unity of faith and life in Christ which transcends cultural and economic, national and racial boundaries.”
“To this end the Uniting Church commits itself to seek special relationships with Churches in Asia and the Pacific.”
“This partnership with the people and Church of Tuvalu is an expression of that calling — walking together in faith, solidarity, justice, and hope.”
The UCA’s commitment to climate justice is not abstract. It is lived out in relationships like this one, standing alongside communities on the frontline of a crisis they did not create. We continue to advocate, pray, and act with our Pacific siblings.
