The primates and general secretaries of the Anglican Church in Australia, the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, the Anglican Church of Melanesia, and the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand, and Polynesia made the commitments in a communiqué following their recent regional meeting in Fiji.

As part of its commitment to tackling climate change, the church leaders:

• Encourage investment into sustainable energy as a valid option for investment funds
• Encourage their various trust boards "to consider restructuring their investments to maximise returns from such innovative ideas
• Ask Anglican schools in the region's four provinces to integrate "climate change topics into the current curricula."

On gender-based violence they:

• Welcomed the work of The House of Sarah - an initiative of the Diocese of Polynesia, which works to end violence against women and children
• Encouraged and supported the zero tolerance for violence policy as promoted by the House of Sarah
• Encouraged all provinces to adopt and implement the Anglican Consultative Council's (ACC) Safe Church Charter
• Committed themselves to review and respond to the guidelines coming from the International Safe Church Commission,

This is the second time in two years that the Anglican leaders in the Oceania region have met in this way.

They will meet again in Melanesia next year, and in Papua New Guinea in 2020.

They were joined at this year's meeting by an Anglican Communion delegation led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Source

• anglicannews.org
• Image: anglicannews.org

And on the same weekend the Anglicans will consecrate the fifth bishop of Temotu (Santa Cruz).

Archbishop, Christopher Cardone was appointed the Catholic archbishop of Honiara in June.

The Chairman of the Installation Committee of Holy Cross Parish, Mr. Aloysius Po'oina has confirmed that the festivities to welcome Cardone will start on Friday 9th September.

The installation will take place on Saturday 10th September.

Cardone succeeds Archbishop Adrian Thomas Smith.

A native of Long Island, New York Cardone has been the bishop of Auki, in the Solomon Islands, since 2004.

Anglican bishop-elect, Father Leonard Dawea will be consecrated on 11th September.

Dawea, 44, succeeds the Most Reverend George Takeli who was enthroned and installed as the archbishop of the Anglican Church of Melanesia and bishop of the diocese of Central Melanesia in April this year.

He is currently serving as the Diocesan Secretary to the Diocese of Temotu, a post he has held since 2015.

Dawea holds a Bachelor of Theology with Honours from the University College of Chester, now Chester University, in the United Kingdom.

He comes from Malubu Village in the Reef Islands, Temotu Province.

He is married to Mrs Dorah Dawea of Guadalcanal and they have two children.

Prior to joining the Anglican priesthood, Dawea was a member of the Church's Melanesian Brotherhood for twelve years.

Source

• sibconline.com.sb
• abmission.org
• www.opeast.org
• Image: google.co.nz and google.co.nz

Takeli, from Ulawa in Makira Province, is the sixth Archbishop of Melanesia and Bishop of the Diocese of Central Melanesia.

Speaking to the congregation after the enthronement service Takeli said yesterday's gathering gave him peace, a swell of encouragement and confidence to take leadership as Archbishop.

He said he deeply treasures a new working relationship between his church members and wants to visit various offices to discuss more on how different organisations can better support each other towards building a strong, peaceful, and prosperous community on the many islands throughout Melanesia.

Sunday's service was witnessed by the Governor General Sir Frank Kabui, Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, the Opposition Leader Jeremiah Manele, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu government representatives, representatives from SICA and SIFGA churches in SI and those representing the religious orders in Solomon Islands.

From overseas, were the representatives from the Anglican Churches of Canada, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and England.

Also in attendance were the mission partners from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America and representatives of the New Zealand Advisory Council and Melanesian Mission Trust Board.

Takeli, 56, was born in Suholo Village on Ulawa in Makira Province.

He was ordained a priest in 1995 and consecrated as the fourth bishop of Temotu in August 2009.

Takeli holds a master's degree in theology from the Auckland University, New Zealand and is undertaking a doctoral degree in theology at Charles Stuart University in Australia.

He married his second wife, June Mole, last December. His first wife, Lillian, died in 2014.

Source

• Facebook
• Image: theislandsun.com

Solomon Star West Guadalcanal stringer John Toki reported that more than 30 members of the Melanesian Brothers, Selwyn College students and members of the surrounding communities participated in the program.

The Melanesian Brotherhood was founded by Ini Kopuria, a Solomon Islander on the Island of Guadalcanal, in 1900.

After being educated at the Anglican church schools of Pamua and later in Norfolk Island he joined the British Protectorate's native armed police force.

In 1924, when he was recovering in hospital from a leg injury, he received an experience of Christ, which was to change his life.

He believed that Christ had spoken to him and told him that he was not doing the work that Christ wanted him to do.

He began, with the encouragement of Bishop John Manwaring Steward, to realise God was calling him to start a community of indigenous Solomon Island men who would evangelise people in the most remote islands and villages throughout Solomon Islands; people who had not heard the message of Christ.

The Brothers went out in pairs and lived as brothers to the people, respecting their traditions of everyday life.

They take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience for three years that can be renewed.

Today, the work of the Brotherhood has reached other countries beyond Solomon Islands.

The Melanesian Brotherhood has three regions in the Pacific:

• Solomon Islands - includes Brothers in the Philippines and Vancouver
• Papua New Guinea
• Southern Region - that includes Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Diocese of Polynesia.

The Brotherhood became well known around the world for their efforts at peace-making during the ethnic tension that existed in the Solomon Islands from 1998 to 2003 .

Source

• solomonstarnews.com
• ordersanglican.org
• Image: orderanglican.org

The ordination is scheduled to to take place this coming Sunday March 2.

A spokesman for the objectors, Philemon Ling, whom the Vanuatu Daily Post describes as "another candidate", says they have 20 objections to the consecration of Patteson Worek because they oppose they way his application has been approved.

Mr Ling also says the candidate does not meet expectations of someone assuming the vacant post.

Sources from Gaua where Patteson Worek is to be ordained say a prominent member of their community is going to read out a list of twenty serious allegations against him to "object" to his ordination.

The Vanuatu Post reports that the points to be read out include a claim the Bishop elect was arrested and charged for a serious crime as far back as 2004 for which he did serve time in jail in Luganville.

Another is that he was also involved in a serious crime for which he offered a custom settlement to the family of the victim.

The Supreme Court in the Northern Town is going through the records to verify the allegations to confirm whether or not he was involved in any of the allegations or if he was actually convicted and for what crime exactly

Anglican Bishop of Vanuatu Bishop James Ligo has been contacted and has yet to comment on the allegations against the Bishop elect.

The Electoral Board of the Diocese of Melanesia elected Worek as the third bishop of the Diocese of Banks and Torres in September 2013.

He comes from Motalava in the Banks and Torres group and is married with five children.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that Worek's father, the late George Worek, was one of the fathers of the independence of the Republic of Vanuatu.

Worek graduated with a Bachelor in Theology from the University of Auckland New Zealand in 1998 and was ordained priest in 2000.

He served as a priest in various Districts in the Diocese of Banks and Torres before becoming the Mission Secretary of the Anglican Church of Melanesia Board of Mission based at the Provincial Head Office in Honiara

At the time of his election Worek was studying for a Master of Theology Studies at the Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji.

Sources

• Radio New Zealand International
• Solomon Star
• Vanuatu Daily Post
• Vanuatu Daily Post
• Image: Vanuatu Daily Post

In the Solomon Islands, the sea level rises of 8 millimetres per year, almost three times the global average, survival of communities on the low-lying atoll of Ontong Java is already threatened.

Resettlement is the last option for atoll communities impacted by climate change. But the situation is becoming critical as the encroaching sea erodes Ontong Java, which is an average of 2-3 metres (6-10 feet) above sea level and has just 12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles) of land area.

Adaptation activities, including an atoll agriculture project and installation of rainwater tanks to provide salt-free drinking water, are currently being implemented by the Anglican Church of Melanesia's mission programme.

George Bogese, aid and programme officer for the Church of Melanesia's Board of Mission says "The focus of our energy at the moment is the food security project, so they are able to stay and live on the island for as long as possible."

Source

• Catherine Wilson/Thomson Reuters Foundation
• Image: farm6.staticflickr.com

As the country enters a new phase with the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) withdrawing military personnel this year, many Solomon Islanders acknowledge progress toward reconciliation, but also the need to continue addressing issues of land ownership, development and restoration of a healthy society.

"People have been reconciled and you can see there is healing when there is acceptance, restoration of relationships and communal activities slowly come back," Rev Graham Mark, Secretary of the Anglican Church of Melanesia's (ACOM) Commission on Justice, Reconciliation and Peace, said. "All those things tell us we have achieved something, but the challenge is to sustain what has been achieved."

Resentment by the indigenous Gwales of Guadalcanal towards Malaitan settlers on their island escalated as unemployment and hardship worsened during the 1997-98 Asian economic downturn.

The island of Malaita, 100km east of Guadalcanal Island, is heavily populated and, from the early 1900s, Malaitans dominated migrant labour on Guadalcanal's plantations and then urban jobs as Honiara became the hub of services and employment.

The local Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM) evicted Malaitan settlers, accusing them of taking land and jobs, before taking up arms against rival resistance group Malaita Eagle Force (MEF). By 2002, 35,000 people, or 9 per cent of the population, were displaced, several hundred had died or disappeared and many more experienced or witnessed human rights violations.

The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) began hearing people's testimonies in 2010 and delivered its final report to the government last year, although it is yet to be passed through Cabinet before public scrutiny.

Reuben Lilo, director of peace and reconciliation in the Ministry of National Unity, says the TRC programme captured the experiences of many people, but more attention is needed to support this occurring in rural areas where there are limited government services. Continue reading

Sources

• The New Zealand Herald
• Image: Commonwealth Secretariat