Sereima Lomaloma is a

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Diocese of Polynesia The Diocese of Polynesia, or the Tikanga Pasefika serves Anglicans in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, within the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese's first bishop was consecrated in 1908. The diocese's c ...

and a former government officer in the Fijian government. She was ordained in December 1995, becoming the first indigenous Pacific Island

woman priest The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

Life

Lomaloma was born and raised in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. She holds a master's degree in

social planning Social engineering is a top-down effort to influence particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale—most often undertaken by governments, but also carried out by media, academia or private groups—in order to produce desired chara ...

for developing countries. From 1991 to June 2000, she was the Director for Women and Culture at the Ministry for Women and Culture and Social Welfare,

. Lomaloma is a particular

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

for a

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

-based approach to combating

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

and

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and has contributed to the Anglican church’s organisational policy of zero tolerance of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

in its homes, schools, settlements and parishes. From 2007 she pressed the church to provide resources for survivors of gender-based violence, and in 2009 the House of Sarah was launched with funding from the Anglican Mission Board. The organisation focuses on reducing faith-based violence against women and girls, as well as providing education and training in supporting survivors to clergy and leaders of women's, youth and men's groups. Lomaloma continues to serve on the organisation's management team. She has also served on the board of Homes of Hope (Fiji) and the

Fiji Women's Crisis Centre The Fiji Women's Crisis Centre (FWCC) is a non-government organization (NGO) in Fiji. Established in 1984, it offers counselling and legal, medical, and practical support to woman and children victims of violence in Fiji. History The Women's Cri ...

. Lomaloma is active in the

Pacific Conference of Churches The 'Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC)'' is an ecumenical organization representing Christian churches in the Pacific region. It seeks the visible unity of the church on issues of justice, peace and integrity of creation, initiatives on capacit ...

and was the Secretary of the

. She is a member of the advisory board of the Australian government's Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development program and a member of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

’s Anglican Safe Church Commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomaloma, Sereima Living people 21st-century Anglican priests Tongan emigrants to Fiji Year of birth missing (living people)