Re-grounding the Household: Returning to Our Story in Christ
Uniting Church President Rev Charissa Suli spoke at the opening session of Day 2 of the Pacific Church Leaders' Meeting in Fiji, challenging delegates to be re-grounded in Christ
April 14, 2026
As Day 2 of the Pacific Church Leaders’ Meeting gathered momentum in Suva, Fiji earlier today, President of the Uniting Church in Australia Rev Charissa Suli offered an inspiring sermon calling on the Church to rediscover its grounding in Christ, community and story.
Preaching on Luke 24:13–35, the story of the road to Emmaus, Rev Suli reflected on what it means for the Church in the Pacific to find its identity in a time of uncertainty and change. “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!” she proclaimed, before inviting leaders to consider how the risen Christ meets us not only in certainty, but in confusion, grief and transition.
Drawing on her Tongan and Maori heritage, Rev Suli spoke of the importance of knowing where we come from. In Maori culture, she explained, identity begins with whakapapa – naming one’s mountain, river, ancestors and people. “You don’t begin with your opinion,” she said. “You begin with your belonging. Identity comes before direction. Story comes before strategy.”
This grounding, she suggested, is essential for the Church today. Reflecting on the Emmaus story, Rev Suli noted that the disciples were walking away from Jerusalem, disoriented and grieving the loss of hope. “We had hoped,” they say, struggling to make sense of what has happened. Yet it is on this road, away from the centre, that the risen Christ comes alongside them.
“Jesus meets them where they are,” Rev Suli said. “He walks with them. He listens. And then he opens the Scriptures, reconnecting them with God’s story.” In this moment, their understanding begins to change. Their hearts burn. Eventually, at the table, their eyes are opened and they recognise Christ in the breaking of bread.
Rev Suli drew a clear parallel with the Pacific context today, describing a “kairos moment” for the region. Communities face rising seas, migration pressures, and the pain of social challenges, while Churches wrestle with questions of identity and direction. “The question before us is not simply what we do next, but who we are,” she said.
She cautioned that when the Church forgets its identity, it risks borrowing its voice from elsewhere and losing its centre. Too often, she noted, Pacific and Indigenous voices are invited to share stories but not to shape direction. Re-grounding, therefore, requires humility: to listen, to learn and to allow Christ to reshape how we see.
Central to this re-grounding is the image of the household. For Rev Suli, the household is where Christ is recognised, in shared life, mutual responsibility and the breaking of bread. “The household is where we listen to one another… where elders and young people walk together… where Christ is recognised among us,” she said.
“Recognition [of Christ] leads to action. Re-grounding changes direction.”
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The turning point in the Emmaus story comes when the disciples, having recognised Christ, rise and return to Jerusalem to community, to relationship, to the household they had left behind. “Recognition leads to action. Re-grounding changes direction,” Rev Suli said.
She invited the gathered leaders to consider where they, too, might need to turn again – to one another, to their shared story and to Christ already walking among them. “The future of the household may not begin with moving further ahead, but with turning together towards Christ,” she said.
Rev Suli concluded by naming the foundations of the household revealed in Luke’s Gospel: belonging, story, relationship and community. “When these foundations hold, the household stands – and the Church becomes a place where Jesus Christ is recognised again.”
Hosted by the Pacific Conference of Churches at the Pacific Theological College in Suva, the Pacific Church Leaders’ Meeting brings together leaders from across the region to deepen shared vision, reflect on key challenges, and strengthen relational leadership and discernment.
The Uniting Church in Australia is represented by President Rev Charissa Suli, Assembly General Secretary Andrew Johnson, and Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress Co-Chair Rev Ken Sumner, alongside other members of the UCA delegation. The meeting continues until Friday, with a strong focus on prayer, listening and shared discernment for the mission of the Church in the Pacific.
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