Thoughts on faith, culture, and public life.
New Guinea's northern coast near Sialum, Morobe Province. Photo: Assistant District Commissioner Bob Hoad, 1972. By Rod Benson New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland. The human history of New Guinea extends far beyond the appearance of the Lapita cultural complex about 3,300 years ago. Archaeological, environmental and genetic evidence indicates that …
Continue reading "Before Lapita: The earliest human settlement of New Guinea"
Vocational education and nation-building in Papua New Guinea By Rod Benson Lae is a city shaped by its geography. It lies at the head of the Huon Gulf, close to the mouth of the Markham River, where a broad valley opens between formidable mountain systems and the sea. Behind the coastal plain rise the Atzera …
Tradition, diversity and growth Pope Francis shares a moment with Mundiya Kepanga, a Papuan activist and leader from Papua New Guinea, at the Vatican May 8, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) The history of Christian liturgy and worship in Papua New Guinea is a remarkable development in modern world Christianity. Within little more than a century, …
Continue reading "Liturgy and worship in Papua New Guinea (Part 1)"
The oldest existing structure in Lae, Papua New Guines is the St Andrew’s Lutheran Church in the suburb of Ampo, erected in 1933. Photo: Malum Nalu, 2021. Papua New Guinea (PNG) presents one of the world's most remarkable contexts for Christian ecumenism. Home to more than 800 living languages and immense cultural diversity, it is …
Continue reading "A history of ecumenism in Papua New Guinea"
