The United Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands is
United church
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations.
Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...
in
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
and the
Reformed tradition
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the Christian theology, theological tradition and forms of Christianity, Christ ...
.
It was formed in 1968 by merging the efforts of the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...
(operating exclusively in Papua), the relatively marginal
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
church (largely confined to
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
itself) and the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
mission (largely operating in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
and nearby islands, the western and northern
Solomons and the islands of eastern
Papua).
Since 1996, there is a United Church in Papua New Guinea and a separate
United Church in Solomon Islands.
History
The formation of the United Church pre-dates the merger of its corresponding (and one missionary parent though Methodists from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
) denominations in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 1977 in the
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
but such cross-denominational mergers were common throughout the 20th century, particularly in Commonwealth countries: for example; the United Church of Northern India (1924) (now merged in the later and wider
Church of North India
The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the Protestant churches working in northern India. It is a province of the worldwide Anglica ...
,
Church of Pakistan
The Church of Pakistan is a united Protestant Church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Communion of Reformed ChurchesDatabase (9 February 2006)"Sialkot Diocese of the Church of Pakistan" Reformed Onl ...
, and
Church of Bangladesh
The Church of Bangladesh is a united Protestant church formed by the union of various Protestant churches in Bangladesh, principally the Anglican and Presbyterian denominations. The Church of Bangladesh is a member of the Anglican Communion and Wor ...
); the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
(1925) and the
Church of South India
The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of mainline Protestant denominations in South India after independence.
The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Pr ...
(1947). It is particularly strong on the Papuan coast, the
Southern Highlands, eastern Papua, the New Guinea Islands (including
Bougainville, also known as the North Solomons), and the Western Solomons. Unlike the Anglican and
Roman Catholic church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
es in Papua New Guinea for reasons of church tradition as well as for Anglicans' cultural attitudes where it is substantial, the United Church welcomes female clergy. Like Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregationalist and United or Uniting churches elsewhere, its services are primarily for worship with scripture lessons, prayers and sermons, communion being once in a month or every few months. As these denominations in western countries have in recent years lost many members and participants to a lack of worship at all in recent decades, the United Church of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has lost some to more fundamentalist sects.
Local and overseas affiliations
The United Church is a member of the
Papua New Guinea Council of Churches The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches (PNGCC) is a Christian ecumenical council in Papua New Guinea.
The Council has four major programs:
*Social Concerns Desk
*Women's Desk
*Theological programs
*Administration
Its members comprise:
*Angli ...
, Melanesian Council of Churches and the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
. In matters of social policy it tends as with its sister denominations in other
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries to be largely in accord with 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 ...
and
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
churches.
Traditionally, many of the United Church's personnel were recruited from earlier-established Methodist and Congregationalist churches 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 ...
,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
, and
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
; the United Church continues to have close relations with sister churches in these neighbouring island countries. Its theology and social policy tends to be somewhat more akin to these theologically conservative neighbouring countries' long-established evangelical Protestant churches than to those in Australia. On the other hand, the Church is considerably more broad-minded in such matters than more recently arrived
fundamentalist
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...
groups, and it maintains the historic Methodist and Congregational strong emphasis on education and literacy in the broadest sense. As with the Anglican and
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
churches, the United Church has suffered some attrition in recent decades as a result of aggressive proselytising among its constituents by fundamentalist and
pentecostalist
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement groups originating in the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
and, to a lesser extent, Australia.
Many of Papua New Guinea's leaders have had a United Church background.
Eminent United Churchmen and Churchwomen
*
Rabbie Namaliu
Sir Rabbie Langanai Namaliu (born 3 April 1947) is a Papua New Guinea politician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. from 4 July 1988 to 17 July 1992 as leader of the Pangu Party.
Biography
An ethnic To ...
*
Mekere Morauta
The Right Honourable Sir Mekere Morauta (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fra ...
*
Paulias Matane
Sir Paulias Nguna Matane (21 September 1931 – 12 December 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the eighth Governor-General of Papua New Guinea from 29 June 2004 to 13 December 2010. His memoir ''My Childhood in New Guinea'' ...
*
Bill Skate
Sir William Jack Skate (26 September 1953 – 3 January 2006) was a prominent Papua New Guinea politician. He was the son of an Australian father and a Papua New Guinean mother. Though his career was turbulent and often marked by setbacks, he s ...
*
Buri Kidu Sir Buri Kidu, KBE (8 August 1945 – 30 January 1994) was the first national Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea.
Biography
Buri Kidu was educated at Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, where he was School Captain
*
Mari Kapi
Chief Justice Sir Mari Kapi (12 December 1950 – 25 March 2009) was a Papua New Guinean judge who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea from 16 August 2003 until his retirement in 2008 due to health reasons ...
Literature
* Neville Threlfall, ''One Hundred Years in the Islands. The Methodist/United Church in the New Guinea Islands Region 1875–1975'', The United Church (New Guinea Islands Region), Toksave na Buk dipatmen: Rabaul 1975,
See also
*
Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea is a province of the Anglican Communion. It was created in 1977 when the Province of Papua New Guinea became independent from the Province of Queensland in the Church of England in Australia (officially ren ...
*
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea is a Protestant church denomination located in Papua New Guinea that professes the Lutheran branch of the Christian faith. The Church is incorporated by a 1991 Act of the Parliament of Papua New ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Church In Papua New Guinea And Solomon Islands
Churches in Papua New Guinea
Churches in the Solomon Islands
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
United and uniting churches
Christian organizations established in 1968
Christian denominations established in the 20th century
1968 establishments in the United Kingdom