Torres Strait “The Coming of the Light”

© ABM/Jazz Dow.

Click here for sermon notes and worship resources relating to The Coming of the Light

Click here for a reflection by former ABM Missioner, Rev’d Jasmine Dow, on the Coming of the Light

2021 marks the 150th anniversary of The Coming of the Light to the Torres Strait Islands. The London Missionary Society with Melanesian leaders landed on the shores of Darnley Island and introduced the Bible to the people who lived there. This event, The Coming of the Light, is an integral part of cultural identity to Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is marked as a public holiday within the region and there is much joy around its anniversary. It is also an important anniversary for the national Anglican church, hence its being in our lectionary.

The Coming of the Light invites us to reflect on our national history, on the good and the bad. It invites us to celebrate mission and ministry, particularly within the Torres Strait, and it invites us to listen to the church in the Torres Strait, which is made up of vibrant communities of hope.

In 2020, the Melanesian Brotherhood established a household on Thursday Island. The Melanesian Brotherhood is the world’s largest Anglican religious order and is headquartered in the Solomon Islands. The Brothers will live and minister at the cathedral on Thursday Island, nurturing community and supporting clergy and lay ministers across the islands of the Torres Strait.

The Anglican Church of Australia faces many challenges, and in the words of the Rev’d Canon Victor Joseph, it is time for the church to be “missioned to” by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian leaders. The church in the Torres Strait has much to teach the church around Australia, much salt and light to offer. The Coming of the Light is not simply an historic event, it is an invitation for all of us to be changed by the work of God in the Torres Strait.

ABM invites you to celebrate and support the vibrant ministry and mission of the Torres Strait Islander Anglican Church. Funds donated to this project will be used to support priority mission activities by the church in the Torres Strait under the oversight of the Bishop of North Queensland.

» This project needs $50,000 in 2021 AU023TS is non tax-deductible

---

 

PROJECT UPDATE

August 2021 – Read an update on this project in a letter from Bishop Keith Joseph, Bishop of North Queensland here

---

 

 

  

 

• Alternatively, for donations by cheque/money order (made out to the Anglican Board of Mission – Australia), telephone or email, view contact details here. Please don’t forget to include the project name and/or code AU023TS with your payment details.

Gifts to ABM will be applied to the support of project(s) selected. In the unlikely event of the project being oversubscribed or not proceeding to completion, donations will be applied to a similar project to the one(s) selected.

 

This is part of the Reconciliation Program:  Learn more about ABM’s Programs

 

< Back