Update from Bishop Andrew

Oro! Oro! Oro!

These are words of welcome, acknowledgement and peace which come from the Oro Province in Papua New Guinea. Oro Province is on the northern coast of the main island of PNG a short 30 minute flight over a steep range which divides that part of the island. Oro Province is home to many important landmarks and features of PNG life; a strong tradition of Anglican ministry, Martyrs’ Memorial College (Anglican) which commemorates the martyrs of WW2, the site of Japanese invasion at Gona Beach, the Kokoda trail, Modawa Institute of Higher Learning including Newton Theological College, the Sisters of the Visitation, the Society of St Francis, Anglican Health Services and many schools and parishes. Oro is also home to a very distinctive pattern of art and the use of tapa cloth from the Paper Mulberry tree for clothing, hats, decorative art and more. 

Our second week of mission in PNG was spent in Oro Province in Oro Bay, which is to the east of the main township of Popondetta. Oro Bay is home to the port for Oro Province which is one of only two sources of imported goods from overseas and around PNG, the other being Girua Airport closer to town. In Oro Bay our attention was focused on the community of Eroro Village and the surrounding 5 villages, as well as Katereda/St Margaret’s Hospital. Anglican ministry and mission was welcomed into Eroro in 1921 and continues to be a strong element of village and community life. As in all of PNG the threefold mission of the church to Preach, to Teach, to Heal is also present at Eroro. St Andrew’s Church stands on firm concrete foundations that were the remains of an American Army base during WW2. These strong foundations meant that the church was the only building in the village to outlast the violent storm surge of Cyclone Guba in 2007 which destroyed the village and displaced the community. The community did return and have rebuilt including a redeveloped St Chad’s School on the village site. St Margaret’s Hospital is about 3km east toward the port and while orginally at Eroro was moved many years ago to be closer to the port for easier access for patients travelling from further afield. 

Over the three days in Eroro we spent time working on the project to restore a sustainable power supply source for St Margaret’s Hospital, and also to restore clean running water to the hospital. Can you imagine running a health facility managing without any running water and no power, relying on phone lights to deliver babies at night? The fortitude of the staff at St Margaret’s to cope with these conditions is incredible, and even more remarkable when you hear that they provide services for around 25,000 people in their catchment area. The aim is to have the work required to restore power and running water completed soon in the next few months, now that we have a clear understanding of the issues and the way to resolve them. The remainder of our time was spent running a Community Resilience Worshop over two days - similar to the one we ran in Movi the previous week. This was spread over two days because of the travel times required to be off the road by mid-afternoon to avoid rascals and trouble spots. The workshop began with around 20 participants and very quickly grew to include about 140 people from 6 villages in Oro Bay. The level of engagement was very high and we were extremely pleased with the feedback from participants. The workshop included 8 short homilies from me to ground the work we were doing in scripture and theology about how we prepare to respond to disaster. 

The end of our time in Oro included the opportunity to visit the Sisters of the Visitation, the SSF brothers and Modawa Institute. Our visit to the Sisters was particularly poignant as provided an opportunity to convey our respects and condolences to the community following the death of Sister Beverly recently. Sister Beverly was indeed a very faithful, joy filled and enthusiastic servant of Christ. We continue to commend her to God’s care and keeping.

Once we headed back to Port Moresby there was an opportunity to visit the Nature Park and enjoy spending time with cassowary, crocodiles, snakes, tree kangaroos and birds of paradise - the feathered kind. On Sunday we attended the Cathedral and I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in leading worship alongside the Dean, Fr Theo, by preaching. 

The visit has been memorable for the work our team with Anglican Missions has achieved, but even more so for the fruits of deep engagement and recognition of trust that has been developed over the past 12 years of visiting, partnering and getting to know and be known by the communities within ACPNG. 

+Andrew