Almighty God, who didst call thy faithful servants John Coleridge Patteson and his companions to be witnesses and martyrs in the islands of Melanesia, and by their labors and sufferings didst raise up a people for thine own possession: Pour forth thy Holy Spirit upon thy Church in every land, that by the service and sacrifice of many, thy holy Name may be glorified and thy kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England celebrates John Coleridge Patteson, First Anglican Bishop of Melanesia, and his Companions, Martyrs, 1871

Image: Carte-de-visite (1860s-70s), © National Portrait Gallery, London (CC BY-NC-ND) pic.twitter.com/jGnZAemaOt

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) September 20, 2023

Almighty God, who didst call thy faithful servants John Coleridge Patteson and his companions to be witnesses and martyrs in the islands of Melanesia, and by their labors and sufferings didst raise up a people for thine own possession: Pour forth thy Holy Spirit upon thy Church in every land, that by the service and sacrifice of many, thy holy Name may be glorified and thy kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

"I must try to be patient and content with very small beginnings, and endings too, perhaps" John Coleridge Patteson pic.twitter.com/T3Wk5ET7mg

— laudablePractice🇺🇦 (@cath_cov) September 20, 2016

This is not the place to write of the Brotherhood, of Ini’s founding of the order of Companions of the Brothers, and of his other ideas, the children of an impulsive but very original mind. He worked first in his own island of Guadalcanal, then in Santa Cruz, then in Sikaiana, which owes him its Christianity, then in Mala, and then for some time in SagSag at the western end of New Britain, opposite New Guinea, where he prepared a number of people for Baptism. One of my memories is of that baptism, when Ini and I stood waist deep in the very cold water of that mountain river for several hours, while streams of people came…to us from the heathen side, were baptised by us and passed over to the Christian side, where the Bishop sat in his chair on a high grassy bank with the few already Christians round him. There the newly baptised dressed in white loincloths, and finally a great procession, led by the Cross, set off for the church, a procession so long that they were singing different hymns in different parts without releasing it, or caring either, so joyful did they feel. That is just one of the many memories of Ini. What great days those were!

Read it all.

Today the Church of England commemorates Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945 pic.twitter.com/eZpNoUKVHy

— Anglican Church SPb (@anglicanspb) June 6, 2015

Loving God, may thy Name be blest for the witness of Ini Kopuria, police officer and founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, whose members saved many American pilots in a time of war, and who continue to minister courageously to the islanders of Melanesia. Open our eyes that we, with these Anglican brothers, may establish peace and hope in service to others, for the sake of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Remembering Ini Kopuria, founder Melanesian botherhood and all Anglican religious. pic.twitter.com/MJsXEQ8UD7

— Phillip Tovey (@tovey_philip) June 6, 2018

Members of the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) should “arise and shine for Jesus Christ,” the Province said this week as it launched a decade-long focus on evangelism and renewal. The programme was launched on Pentecost Sunday with a special service at St Barnabas Cathedral, in Honiara, in which the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, preached. On the eve of the service, the province held an open-air evangelistic crusade in the car park of Honiara City Council.

Writing on its official Facebook page, the province said: “It is believed that this program will significantly transform our lives to be renewed, revived, and reformed so that we can be able to live out the realities of the Gospel truths as we seek God’s Kingdom together.

“Therefore it is a Christian call to all ACOM member to arise, and shine for Jesus Christ and to continue in the work of equipping, mentoring, forming, teaching, discipleship and nurturing those who follow Jesus Christ, individually and as a Church. The way towards the eternal goal, is to honor and glorify God.

Read it all.

Anglican Church of Melanesia launches Decade of Evangelism and Renewal with crusade https://t.co/ZVjdi2z0so

— Melanesian Mission (@MelanesianM) May 22, 2018

Selwyn’s prodigious energy and all-round accomplishments impressed both Maori (whose language he had begun to learn on the passage out) and settler. His first visitation tour began only 10 days after his arrival at the Bay of Islands. It took six months, covering about 2,300 miles, one third of which he walked, travelling the balance by ship, horseback, boat and canoe. He became a competent mariner, mastered the art of navigation, and in his small schooner, the Undine, undertook coastal passages in ill-charted waters, as well as ocean voyages to Melanesia. One sailor commented that ‘to see the Bishop handle a boat was almost enough to make a man a Christian’. However, he was much more than the legendary muscular Christian. He was a high-principled idealist as well as a far-sighted man of action, a combination which was experienced by some as inflexibility rather than resolution.

Read it all.

Today we commemorate George Augustus Selwyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, 1878 http://t.co/FZpOihghpi pic.twitter.com/Zv13uKWdFd

— Anglican Church SPB (@anglicanspb) April 11, 2015

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant George Augustus Selwyn, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to the peoples of New Zealand and Melanesia, and to lay a firm foundation for the growth of thy Church in many nations. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of thy kingdom, that thy Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Today we remember George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop & Missionary 1878, and pray for the Revd Val Nellist #Dailyprayer https://t.co/PoT7iorYCV pic.twitter.com/oP7grPu9Vn

— HolyTrinity Stirling (@HTStirling) April 11, 2018

Thousands gathered at the Provincial Cathedral of Saint Barnabas on Sunday morning to witness the installation and enthronement of the new Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Melanesia the Most Reverend George Takeli.

Archbishop 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 Archbishop Takeli said yesterday’s gathering gave him peace, a swell of encouragement and confidence to take leadership as Archbishop.

“Your attendance at this service also indicated to me of your willingness to working together with me to carry out my vision and plans for mission work of the Anglican Church in the Province of Melanesia as I take charge of this church beginning from today,” he said.

Read it all

This is not the place to write of the Brotherhood, of Ini’s founding of the order of Companions of the Brothers, and of his other ideas, the children of an impulsive but very original mind. He worked first in his own island of Guadalcanal, then in Santa Cruz, then in Sikaiana, which owes him its Christianity, then in Mala, and then for some time in SagSag at the western end of New Britain, opposite New Guinea, where he prepared a number of people for Baptism. One of my memories is of that baptism, when Ini and I stood waist deep in the very cold water of that mountain river for several hours, while streams of people came…to us from the heathen side, were baptised by us and passed over to the Christian side, where the Bishop sat in his chair on a high grassy bank with the few already Christians round him. There the newly baptised dressed in white loincloths, and finally a great procession, led by the Cross, set off for the church, a procession so long that they were singing different hymns in different parts without releasing it, or caring either, so joyful did they feel. That is just one of the many memories of Ini. What great days those were!

Read it all.

Loving God, may thy Name be blest for the witness of Ini Kopuria, police officer and founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, whose members saved many American pilots in a time of war, and who continue to minister courageously to the islanders of Melanesia. Open our eyes that we, with these Anglican brothers, may establish peace and hope in service to others, for the sake of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

An Anglican owned Rural Training Center in Kolaero, in the Hograno district in the Diocese of Ysabel (DOY) is now fully light up with solar [power].

Following its year planned activities, ACoM Solar Project Officer Mr. Holland Sikou installed 400 watts Solar system with 2,400 watts Inverter for the school’s classrooms and administration department and three (3) other thirty (30) watts for three (3) dormitories.

This is a big development and an achievement in the history of the School.

Read it all.

The Anglican Church of Melanesia has a new bishop for the Diocese of Banks and Torres.

The Diocese of Banks and Torres Electoral Board of the Anglican Church of Melanesia has today elected the Revd Patteson Alfred Worek as the third Bishop for the Diocese of Banks and Torres. The meeting which was preceded by a retreat yesterday was held at Tete Ni Kolivutu, East of Honiara.

The Revd Patteson Worek is currently undertaking a Master of Theology Studies at the Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji. He graduated with a Bachelor in Theology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 1998.

Read it all.