HORSHAM Uniting Church’s Reverend Tupe Ioelu is bidding farewell to the Wimmera after six years.
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The family is moving south-east to Geelong so Reverend Ioelu can take up a new role within the church.
He said he wanted to thank the Wimmera community for its support and kindness over the years.
“I’d like to express my gratitude and thanksgiving to the people of the Horsham community for their acceptance of my family. From day one, we were made to feel so welcome in the community,” he said.
Born in Samoa, Reverend Ioelu was raised in a family devoted to God.
“My father was a Minister of the Samoan Methodist Church but I never wanted to be a Minister,” he said.
“Although I grew up in the church, when I was young I didn't want to be part of it at all. But when I came to Australia and joined the Uniting Church it was completely different.”
Rev Ioelu first moved to Australia in 1998. Two years later he returned to Samoa where he married his wife, Ala, before they moved back to Australia in 2000.
The couple has two teenage children – Taliai, 16, and Catherine, 14 – who are both heavily involved in the community. Taliai plays football for the Horsham Saints, while Catherine plays netball for the team. Ala is a nurse at Sunnyside Lutheran Retirement Village.
“My whole family has been very involved in the community,” he said.
Reverend Ioelu found his calling later in life following a family tragedy.
“When my dad passed away in 2002, that was when I decided to go into the Ministry. We had a very close relationship, so it was a way for me to continue on that relationship,” he said.
“I started college in 2009 in Melbourne. It was a long gap between preparations. I was also told at the time that I wouldn’t be able to complete the tertiary studies because of my level of English. But that was good in a way because it challenged me.”
After graduating in 2011, he came to Horsham in 2012.
“There were positions available in Melbourne, but it was my preference that I wanted to bring my family to the country,” he said.
“Growing up as a Samoan, community life was so important. When you’re a part of a community, you kind of lose your identity as an individual.
“Going outside of that community gave me space and time to discover my own. It was a long wait of nine months until Horsham came up. Because I come from that environment where community is so important, anywhere in the country, I find, still has that sense of community.
“It’s somewhere where I can fit both an as individual as well as a member of a community.”
He said one of the highlights of his job was helping people during times of hardship.
“I have probably done over 100 funerals since I’ve been here. I really enjoy going through a journey with people during those times – they are the real moments in people’s lives where you can contribute something to the struggle they are going through,” he said.
“That comes from my own experience of losing my dad. I have also lost a nephew through suicide. I see death and funerals as the highlights of my Ministry. We will hold funerals for people who don’t usually attend the church. It doesn’t matter – we offer those services.”
Reverend Ioelu has also been able to celebrate his own culture with parishioners.
“There were no Samoan families when we first moved here, so I believe that we have created the Samoan community within the church,” he said.
“We felt so welcome from the beginning, and I could feel that sense of hospitality in people’s lives here at the church and we feel like we belong. That’s something we will always have – a connection to the families in Horsham.”
Horsham Uniting Church covers the whole district and holds services at a number of smaller towns.
“Four of us work as a team and we spread out on a Sunday to take services at different places,” he said.
“The numbers are declining in the communities. The smallest is about eight people at Goroke, the biggest is Horsham which ranges between 80 to 130 on a Sunday.”
During his time in Horsham, Reverend Ioelu has been an active member of the community, often speaking at events for local groups and organisations.
The family will soon move to Geelong for Reverend Ioelu to take up a position at Wesley Uniting Church.
“It’s a city church. One of the challenges will be working by myself because I won’t have a team like I have here,” he said.
“There will be some benefits to that as well; I will be able to develop that church community as an individual with my own dreams and ambitions.”
Reverend Ioelu will hold his final service at Horsham Uniting Church on Friday, called the Severance of Pastoral Ties.
“That means when I leave here, no one will contact me and I won’t have anything to do with the Ministry. But those personal relationships that we’ve made with people will continue on,” he said.
Reverend Tupe Ioelu's farewell and final service:
WHEN: Friday, November 17 from 7pm
WHERE: Horsham Uniting Church on Friday
