The strong links between the Diocese of Norwich and Papua New Guinea were renewed and celebrated when seven people from Norfolk travelled to the Pacific island this month.
The Norwich pilgrims joined church services and celebrations and were treated to joyful welcomes, one involving spear-wielding warriors in ceremonial dress.
The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, led a group of clergy and lay people from the diocese.
The group visited churches, schools, a health centre and a training college for ordinands, and met many local members of the Mothers Union who run vital health and welfare projects.
A (small) earthquake, reports of bandits, a broken-down boat and a stuck-in-the-mud truck did not stop the intrepid pilgrims from meeting as many people as possible. They were in Papua New Guinea on its Martyrs Day, and just before the 50th anniversary of its independence from Australia. They took part in a service to honour Christian martyrs who died for their faith after Japanese forces invaded in 1942, and paid their respects at the graves of soldiers who gave their lives in the Second World War.
Bishop’s Chaplain the Revd Canon Sally Theakston was part of the pilgrimage and said: “It was an extraordinary experience. We were welcomed with such joy and were privileged to share in worship, prayer, meals and celebrations with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Papua New Guinea, who welcomed us with such generosity.”
The link between the Diocese of Norwich and Papua New Guinea goes back many decades and the Bishop of Norwich’s Lent Appeal regularly supports projects in PNG.
The link was established by the first Archbishop of Papua New Guinea, who grew up in Norfolk and spent two years as a parish priest in Tatterford, near Fakenham. Another Norfolk priest, ordained in Norwich Cathedral, who served in Wymondam and Lakenham, became bishop of the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby.
Pictures: Mark Mitchell