Rev. James is married to Maelin (Fiji/Kiribati/Samoa) and has two children. He is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church in Fiji and licensed to preach and celebrate the sacraments in the Anglican Diocese of Polynesia. A descendant of indentured labourers from India, James has roots in the vanua of Noco (Notho) in the province of Rewa and maternal links to the Vanua of Macuata (Mathuata). He holds a Bachelor of Divinity in Ecumenical Studies (Hons.) from the Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji and a Master of Theology in Christian Social Ethics from the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea. He was elected General Secretary of PCC at its 11^th General Assembly in Auckland in 2018. He is a passionate advocate for ecological stewardship and climate justice, with particular focus on care for the ocean and self-determination issues, and is also an active gender justice advocate. He is a keen Stand-Up-Paddler and long-time volunteer chaplain and crew member and trustee of the Fijian traditional voyaging society, the Uto Ni Yalo Trust and mentors several ocean health collectives.