Lutherans prepare for 500th anniversary

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MORE than 1.2 million members of the Lutheran church in the country will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the church’s reformation.
The reformation started when monk Martin Luther broke away from the Roman Catholic Church to establish the Lutheran Church.
Launching the event yesterday, Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae told church members at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby that the event would be an important one for churches in the country.
PNG will be among countries around the world celebrating the anniversary of the reformation on Oct 31.
“We have little over a month to go before celebrations for the 500-years anniversary start,” Sir Bob said.
“The church itself has been in this country for the last 131 years.
“This event will be a major one in the history of the church in Papua New Guinea.”
The Lutheran Church is the second biggest Christian denomination in PNG with more than 1.2 million followers.
The Papua district anniversary committee has drawn up a programme for the opening of the celebrations on Oct 27 and the closing on Oct 29 at the Sir John Guise Stadium.
Sir Bob hoped that the launching would inspire other Lutherans around the country to join the celebrations.
The Lutheran Church in PNG was set up at Simbang in Finschhafen, Morobe, in 1886 by missionary Johann Flierl of the Neuendettelsau Mission Society of Germany.