wfn.org | ACNS3645 Funeral of the seven Melanesian brothers who died in

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3645     |     MELANESIA	  |	23 OCTOBER 2003 

Funeral of the seven Melanesian brothers who died in Solomon Islands

The Melanesian Brothers who were allegedly killed by followers of the
militant leader, Harold Keke, will receive a final burial on Friday 24
October. The seven Brothers, murdered earlier this year on the remote
Weathercoast of Guadalcanal, will be laid to rest at Tabalia
(Headquarters of the Melanesian Brotherhood) in West Guadalcanal.

The ceremony will be attended by families and relatives from all over
Solomon Islands, as well as from Papua New Guinea, home country of
Brother Robin Lindsay who was Assistant Head Brother in Solomon Islands
and Head Brother in Papua New Guinea for four years. Alison Sparham,
Chester Diocesan Link with Melanesia, writes: "The coffins of the
Brothers are due to leave Honiara Cathedral at 6:30am by road, with a
commendation by the Dean. Villagers will be lining the 20-mile road to
pay their respects, and the service at Tabalia will begin at 10:00am.
Three families have already arrived, and their grieving is very
painful." Alison asks us to remember especially Brother Richard Carter,
the MBH Chaplain, as he copes with everything.

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Revd Canon John L.
Peterson, who visited the Melanesian Brothers in October last year, sent
his own message of condolence. "I want you to know that all around the
Anglican Communion there are prayers being lifted up for the ministry of
the Melanesian Brotherhood and for the Church in Melanesia. We [in the
Anglican Communion] can be proud of a witness where Jesus' radical words
to be a peacemaker have been lived in such a dramatic way."

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