9 December 2020
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From Queensland to the South Sea Evangelical Church: an evangelist mission in the Solomon Islands (Part Two)

En 1901, le Commonwealth Restricted Immigration Act prive la Queensland Kanaka Mission (QKM) de sa raison d’être en interdisant le recours à des travailleurs étrangers dans les plantations australiennes. Les missionnaires se trouvent alors face à la question du devenir des convertis chrétiens une fois rentrés dans leurs archipels d’origine. La situation des îles Salomon apparaît particulièrement préoccupante à leurs yeux car il n’existe encore quasiment aucune présence chrétienne dans l’archipel à cette époque et donc aucune église pour accueillir les nouveaux chrétiens. C’est ainsi que, depuis l’Australie, la QKM va se tourner vers les îles Salomon.
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25 November 2020
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From Queensland to the South Sea Evangelical Church: an evangelist mission in the Solomon Islands (Part One)

Christian missions were involved very early in the history of colonisation in the Pacific. From the end of the 18th century, the conversion of local populations was a major challenge for the Western churches. It was seen as a divine mission: to "save" the souls of the "pagans" from the clutches of false divinities. Evangelisation, which was closely associated with the colonial process, was carried out by large religious organisations, such as the London Missionary Society in Polynesia and the Catholic Church through the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Mangareva, as well as by a multitude of lesser-known missions, often stemming from Protestant currents of Christianity. Among these, one church in particular has left its mark on the history of the Solomon Islands archipelago to this day: the South Sea Evangelical Mission.  Read More