The Wesleyan Church of Tonga (old Tongan orthography: Koe Jiaji Uesiliana o Toga), also known as the Wesleyan Mission, was the original Methodist Church in Tonga, functioning as a District under the Wesleyan Methodist Conference of New South Wales. It was established following the arrival of the British Methodist missionaries, John Thomas and John Hutchinson, at Hihifo, Tongatapu in 1826. It was from this body that the Free Church of Tonga seceded in 1885, after communications deteriorated between King George Tupou I (who advocated for Tongan ecclesiastical independence) and the NSW Conference. The Wesleyan Mission was finally dissolved in 1924, when the Tongan District Synod unanimously voted to merge with the Free Church, thereafter renamed the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.
| Wesleyan Church of Tonga | |
|---|---|
| Jiaji Uesiliana o Toga | |
 An impress of the British Methodist Conference Seal, which would have been in use at the time of the Tongan Church's founding. | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Low Church, Evangelicalism |
| Theology | Wesleyan |
| Polity | Connexionalism |
| Governance | Synod |
| Headquarters | Nuku'alofa, Tonga. |
| Territory | Tonga, Fiji, Samoa |
| Origin | June, 1826. Hihifo, Tongatapu, Tonga. |
| Separations | Free Church of Tonga |
| Merged into | Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga |
| Defunct | May, 1924. |
| Other name(s) | Wesleyan Mission in Tonga; Jiaji Fakaogo (post-1885). |
History
editA Failed Venture
editPrior to the arrival of Thomas and Hutchinson in 1826, it was Walter Lawry who had been commissioned by the Wesleyan Methodist Conference in London to sail from Sydney to the Friendly Isles in order to assess the viability of a mission there. Embarking with his wife, a servant and two artisans aboard the St. Michael (which Lawry had been forced to purchase, as there was no other ship traveling that way), the mission party and their crew arrived in Tonga on 17 August, 1822[1].
They made the acquaintance of a certain William Singleton, who was a survivor of the Port-au-Prince massacre in 1806[2][3], alongside the more renowned William Mariner. It was with Singleton's continual aid that they gained the confidence of the chieftainess Paluleleva, to whom Lawry refers as "Palau", [3]. "Palau," according to missionary accounts, expressed interest in their religion, offering them her patronage and a place of residence at Mu'a[2], the principal location of the Tu'i Ha'atakalaua's court. Despite Paluleleva's favour, the mission party were subjected to the hostility of the locals in the cases when she was absent[3]. Notwithstanding this and other challenges, Lawry and company managed to establish a station at Mu'a, with a residence dubbed 'Cokevernal'[1] (named after Thomas Coke, an associate of the Wesleys and missionary to the former 13 Colonies in America) alongside a work shop and an orchard grove.
Besides missionary consumption and barter with the chiefs, the Mu'a station's stores were often the subject of pilfering by locals, and Lawry feared that the depletion of tradeable goods would lead to a gradual rescindment of chiefly protection and toleration of the mission's presence on the islands. The situation was exacerbated by the delayed arrival of material provisions (the anticipation of which occupied the attention of the locals and temporarily staved off advances against the missionaries) and communications from church authorities in London.
When communications with his brethren were finally restored with the arrival of the '', Lawry was roused to action by a written denunciation from the London church authorities, who accused him of disobeying his original call to serve among the Maoris in New Zealand. He resolved to suspend the mission in Tonga, returning to London with his wife to present his defence and leaving his artisan companions in Tonga to manage the station. Palau and the locals with whom Lawry had become acquainted wept bitterly at his departure. From the day of Lawry's leave, the work in Tonga languished until 1925, with the appointment of John Thomas and John Hutchinson to continue the evangelistic efforts in the Friendly Islands[2].
Small Beginnings
editTriumph of Methodism
editThe Great Wesleyan Schism
editThe 'Subservient' Church
editThe Great Wesleyan Reunion
editGovernance
editEarly Mission
editDistrict
editLeadership
editListed below are those who have served as Chairman of the Tongan Wesleyan District, together with the duration of their service, since the establishment of the Wesleyan Mission in June, 1826.
| Chairman | Duration of Service |
|---|---|
| Rev. Mr. Nathaniel Turner | 1827-31 |
| Rev. Mr. John Thomas | 1831-50; 1856-57 |
| Rev. Mr. Peter Turner | 1850-53 |
| Rev. Mr Thomas Adams | 1853-55; 1857-60 |
| Rev. Mr. Walter Davis | 1861-67 |
| Rev. Mr. George Lee | 1867-69 |
| Rev. Mr Shirley W. Baker | 1870-79 |
| Rev. Mr. Jabez B. Watkin | 1880-81 |
| Rev. Dr. James E. Moulton | 1881-88; 1895-1905 |
| Rev. Dr. George Brown | 1888-90 |
| Rev. Mr. James A. Bowring | 1892-95 |
| Rev. Mr. Charles P. Walkden-Brown | 1905-08 |
| Rev. Mr. Rodger C.G. Page | 1908-24 |
Education & Training
editLiterature
editPrimary Education
editSecondary Education and Higher Learning
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Williams, Charles (1828). The Missionary Gazetter. London: Frederick Westley & A.H. Davis. pp. 470–471.
- ^ a b c Smith, Thomas; Choules, John Overton (1832). The Origins and History of Missions. Boston, Massachusetts: S.Walker and Lincoln & Edmands. pp. 177–184.
- ^ a b c Church Missionary Society (1824). The Missionary Register. Vol. 12. London: L.B. Seeley & Son. pp. 78–79.
Category:Methodism in Tonga Category:Holiness denominations Category:Wesleyan Methodists Category:Methodist denominations Category:Christianity in Tonga Category:South Pacific