There has been a plea to save the church on Norfolk Island amid fears Christian witness may eventually disappear from the settlement without support from the mainland.

The island, a three-hour flight from Sydney, has a population of about 1500 people and caters for up to 700 tourists a week. There is a hospital, a radio station, and an international- standard airport. The Islanders have their own language as well as a Chief Minister and parliament with power to make and enforce laws.

Norfolk Island was settled in 1856 by descendants of the Bounty mutiny who moved there from Pitcairn Island. This group set about growing Christian ministry on Norfolk and further afield, even establishing a Melanesian Training College to train and evangelise Pacific Islanders.

The Church of England, as the Anglican Church on the island is known, has been a significant part of the island’s life since the 19th century. Its two church buildings, All Saints’ at Kingston (the Pitcairners’ church) and St Barnabas’ Chapel (the church for the Melanesian community), are of historic significance.

However, concern has been raised about the future of the church by the Sydney Diocese’s bishop overseeing the ministry, Bishop Robert Forsyth, and the most recent locum on the island, Canon Bruce Ballantine- Jones. In a report prepared for the Archbishop after consultation with the Norfolk Island parish council, the pair argue that there must be a revival in ministry to address declining numbers at all churches.

"The recent practice of supplying short-term, part-time, retired clergy as chaplains has kept the basic functions going but has not been able to supply the kind of leadership necessary to revive the church and take advantage of the evangelistic opportunities on the island,” the report says. The parish council on Norfolk Island has set up a sub-committee and asked for help in what the report described as “a ‘Macedonian call’ from people who love the Lord, love their church and love their Island”.

The parish council, with support from Bishop Forsyth and Canon Ballantine-Jones, is asking for a $50,000 grant a year, for five years, to help fund a “full- time young chaplain who, like a CMS missionary, will see this as a call from God”. The report warns that without such rejuvenation the long-term viability of the parish is threatened.

Bishop Forsyth and Canon Ballantine-Jones say the parish of Norfolk Island is different from all others because of its isolation.

“Being an island 1500 kilometres from Australia means that if we turn our back on them, they have nowhere else to go for Christian support.”



Feature photo: bertknot