Vaimoso Methodist Church Christens new $1.5m tala Church Building

By Talaia Mika

APIA, SAMOA – 18 JUNE 2022: Twenty nine church families – Matafale of the Vaimoso Methodist Church and leaders of the church celebrated the christening of their new $1,519,208.07 church building last Thursday and Friday.

The celebration started with cultural presentations – Ta’alolo on Thursday of fine mats, food and money that raised SAT$224,700.

A Po Siva in the evening raised a further SAT$106,535.40.

During the dedication of the new church on Friday morning, monetary donations through invitations collected a further SAT$150,500.

The church Secretary, Manuleleua Asiata Ioane, said the church project was funded by a loan from the main Methodist Church with a 5% discount and the funds raised during the dedication will go towards the loan repayment.

The project began in June last year and faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown and shipping costs which impacted on the overall cost of the project.

“We’ve encountered many obstacles along the way with the pandemic and so forth but finally, all our hard earned efforts have been paid off, “said Manuleleua.

The church builder was paid WST$330,000 for his work – which is included in the cost of the church building.

Manuleleua confirmed that the church had a remaining loan balance with the Ekalesia although he could not confirm the amount.

However, after a successful two-day event with cultural gifts through the Taalolo and gifts from various people, the amount of money collected was overwhelming and will contribute greatly in repaying their loan to the Methodist church.

Manuleleua, on behalf of the church acknowledged the unwavering support of those who have donated and gifted the church with money and other things such as the relatives and friends of the church based in overseas countries who raised and donated about $300,000 to the church project.

The modern design building has air conditioning, sliding glass doors and windows and can cater for up to 400 people.