Hand of God unites all churches: Barnes
By WALLACE KIALA
IT is not hard to dictate the hand of God which has been a factor for Christian unity among churches and people, retired Catholic archbishop Sir Brian Barnes said at his Ecumenical thanksgiving service yesterday.
The service was held at the Rev Sioni Kami Memorial church in Port Moresby. It was organised by the Papua New Guinea Council of Churches to mark Sir Brian’s 49 years of loyal missionary service to Papua New Guinea.
“I have enjoyed my time as a missionary. I started doing God’s work in Aitape and Lumi in 1959. I later became chaplain of the police force for 20 years.
“In 1997, I became the archbishop of Port Moresby until my retirement not too long ago.
“I am very appreciative of the wonderful experiences I have had working in the church, government and other sectors of urban and rural PNG.
“I have enjoyed contributing through the Word of God to educate and spiritually free the people of this country, our country, PNG.”
United Church moderator Rev Samson Lowa thanked Sir Brian at the service for his dedication not only to the Catholic Church but PNG through his perseverance to unite different churches.
Sir Brian Barnes and Rev Lowa once played active roles in the peace-keeping process during the Bougainville crisis.
“This service is to show our appreciation on behalf of the many voiceless people out there for his Christian and community leadership” said Rev Lowa
New Port Moresby archbishop John Ribat said he is prepared to continue the work of Sir Brian.
“This is God’s calling and whoever God calls, only God replaces.
“To retire is to start a new journey and only through God’s guidance and grace can the work of a servant of God be better continued.”
He said that Sir Brian has been a symbol of Christian and social unity in Papua New Guinea.
Church leaders who attended the service included Rev Sommy Setu from the Evangelical Church of Papua, Fr Danny Guka from the Anglican Church, Fr Nick de Groot of the Catholic Bishops Conference, and Andrew Kalai from the Salvation Army.

Army youths dedicate evenings to Mary
By ALISON ANIS
YOUTHS from the Taurama Barracks and surrounding communities in the Moresby South electorate have formed a special prayer group that spent time on the mountain praying the Holy Rosary and making special intentions for their families, communities and the country as a whole.
The youths, led by a group of adults from the army barracks, meet every evening to ask for the help and intercession of Mary - the Blessed Mother of Christ - through offering petitions by saying the Holy Rosary together.
As devout followers of the Catholic faith and the Holy Rosary the youths have erected a wooden cross on top of one of the mountains and dedicated it to the Blessed Mother.
More than 20 youths from the barracks which include children of soldiers were involved in the devotion.
Each evening the group would climb the mountain where the cross was and pray the Rosary together. One of the petitions offered during the prayer sessions was the upcoming World Youth Day in July 2008 in Sydney.
Sometimes fasting and praying was involved especially when holding camps on weekends.
Last weekend, the group was joined by youths from other denominations also in the barracks who decided to camp there for the night.
Today (May 1) is the beginning of the month of Mary. At this time thousands of Catholics from around the world make pilgrimages or hold special devotion in honour of Mary the Mother or by saying the Holy Rosary every day for the month of May.
The youths are planning a big camp on the mountain sometime this month in honour of the Blessed Mother.

Parish reps learn people skills
EIGHTEEN representatives from different parishes in the archdiocese of Port Moresby graduated after attending a two-week integral human development course.
The programme was jointly facilitated by Caritas PNG and the Catholic archdiocese of Port Moresby.
The course covered areas relating to peace and justice, project proposal writing, project management, good governance and disaster management.
The course was held at the Sivarai Namona Pastoral Centre at Bomana outside Port Moresby.
Speaking of the participants, Gwen Bakini from the parish of Popendetta thanked the course facilitators Tom A’afa and Theresa Kekai from Caritas PNG national office and Clement Waiker of the archdiocese Apostolic Centre for making the course possible.
She said with the skills acquired they will use it to go out and help develop their communities.
Caritas PNG director Mary Toliman urged the participants to use the skills they learnt to promote peace and justice in their communities in accordance with the Gospel and the teachings of the Catholic church.

United Church Hela gets cruiser
THE United Church Hela region in Southern Highlands province last weekend received a brand new vehicle to support its peace programmes in Tari district and the Hela region.
Tari-Pori MP James Marabe delivered the new K130,000 Toyota landcruiser to the Young Ambassadors of Peace (YAP).
Mr Marabe said church and government should work together to address and serve the needs of the people.
He said the vehicle would assist the organisation to advance and extend its peace mediation process and negotiations throughout Tari and the Hela region.

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Revival Centres International Wewak zone pastor Edward Gunigasa giving words of encouragement to three sisters shortly after their baptism in Wewak, East Sepik province, last Sunday. The pastor spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit to followers who gathered for the occasion. - Nationalpic by GABRIEL FITO