EP 93: Can We Keep Fa’a Samoa Alive in America? | Rev. Dr. Liona Thompson | Ia Outou Manuia

Faith, Culture, and Belonging: Building a Samoan Community in Long Beach What does it take to build a Samoan diasporic community where our culture endures and our people thrive? In this interview, Rev. Dr. Liona Thompson reflects on the development of Samoan church leadership in America. Early military men and other action oriented leaders gathered families, established churches, and created places of belonging. Their practical priorities often received greater attention than formal theology or denominational distinctions. A later generation, including Liona, brought theological training and deeper questions about belief, spiritual leadership, and faith in everyday life. Both contributions matter for Long Beach today. Building a strong Samoan community requires the founders’ resolve, thoughtful spiritual leadership, and a shared commitment that reaches across churches, families, and generations. We need places to gather, opportunities to teach our language, relationships that support young people, and networks that connect families with help and opportunity. Liona identifies a “sweet spot” between Samoan communal values and American individualism: the community nurtures the individual, while each person’s gifts and contributions help the community flourish. Preserving our identity means making room for individual aspirations alongside our responsibilities to one another. The conversation also considers Jewish experiences of preserving cultural and religious identity across generations in the diaspora. For Samoans, this raises a practical question: how can we participate fully in American life while keeping our language, faith, and cultural inheritance alive? Family hospitality offers one example. Welcoming relatives through hardship can protect people from homelessness, but sustaining that care requires reciprocity, gratitude, and contribution according to one’s ability. For Long Beach, the invitation is clear: build a connected Samoan diasporic community where people can find belonging, develop their gifts, care for one another, and pass a living inheritance to the next generation. Welcome to Second Samoan Church! Talofa lava ❤️ We are a faith-filled community grounded in God’s Word and the love of Jesus Christ. Through worship, biblical teaching, and authentic fellowship, our mission is to strengthen faith, empower our youth, and share the hope and goodness of God within our families and community. On this channel, you’ll find: 🙏 Weekly sermons & worship services 📖 Bible-based encouragement & teachings 🌺 Samoan faith and cultural values 🎙️ Ia Outou Manuia Podcast — real conversations rooted in faith, culture, family, and purpose from a Polynesian perspective Ia Outou Manuia is a Samoan podcast connecting the global Samoan family through conversations about faith, culture, leadership, history, language, family, and community. Broadcasting from Long Beach, California, we explore the traditions of Fa'a Samoa, the challenges facing Samoan communities worldwide, and the wisdom passed from one generation to the next. Whether you're in Samoa, American Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, the continental United States, or anywhere across the diaspora, this is your electronic village—a place to learn, share, and reconnect with your aiga. 📖 “Let all that you do be done in love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:14 🌐 Visit our website: secondsamoa.com 📍 Join us in person: 5600 Linden Ave, Long Beach, CA 90805 All are welcome! Connect with us: Facebook:   / secondsamoan   YouTube:    / @secondsamoan   Subscribe and join us as we praise, learn, grow, and walk together in faith. Fa’afetai lava & God bless! 🌺🙏 #SecondSamoan #IaManuiaPodcast #SamoanChurch #FaithBased #ChristianPodcast #FaaSamoa #Polynesian #BibleStudy #SundayService #PastorMisiTagaloa