Coming of the Light - Mission and Ministry in North Queensland and the Torres Strait
2021 marks the 150th anniversary of Coming of the Light – Mission and Ministry in North Queensland and the Torres Strait. The London Missionary Society with Pacific Islander evangelists 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 culturalidentity 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 it 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.
This November members of the Melanesian Brotherhood will begin a new household in the Torres Strait. 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. They will also conduct outreach visits to Yarrabah and the communities of the Cape York Peninsula.
The Anglican Church of Australia faces many challenges, and in the words of the Revd 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 bear. The Coming of the Light is not simply a historic event, it is an invitation for all of us to be changed by the work of God in First Nations peoples.
ABM invites you to celebrate and support the vibrant ministry and mission of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Church. Funds donated to this project will be used to: support the establishment of the Melanesian Brothers’ ministry in the Torres Strait, provide for the work of the Ministry Development Officer for the Cape York Peninsula, and assist with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ministry formation in the Diocese of North Queensland.