Papua New Guinea
Diocesan Press Service. July 20, 1972 [72091]
Jeannie Willis, Forward Movement Publications
Note: Designed to highlight one of the areas remembered during the month indicated in the Cycle of Prayer for Anglican Use as it appears in Response.
Next time you're caught in a traffic jam, reflect for a minute on Papua New Guinea, which has a total of 62 miles of paved roads. And according to World Bank statistics, that makes it only 7th lowest among the world's countries.
Of unpaved roads Papua New Guinea has a-plenty: 7,500 miles of them, which is more than half of the other nations of the world can boast.
Scarcity of roads, however, is not the reason for a recent "Walkathon." The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr. Marcus Loane, and Bishop Ravu Henao of the Territory's United Church, joined the Bishop of Papua New Guinea, the Rt. Rev. David Hand, in walking the arduous Kokoda Trail to help raise funds for the diocese.
The three walkers asked people to sponsor them on their two-week trek, as part of the million dollar appeal being held this year to make the Diocese financially independent.
The Kokoda Trail was the scene of fierce fighting between Australian and Japanese troops in World War II. And it was in this area that Archbishop Loane and Bishop Henao worked as Chaplain and Chaplain's helper in that war, patrolling together some of the most rugged terrain in New Guinea. The trail goes across the mountains, right through the heart of the diocese to within a short distance of Port Moresby, the capital.
NOTE: This press release is designed for diocesan papers as an attempt to bring home the relevance of Response, the devotional guide in praying for mission, following the Cycle of Prayer for Anglican Use. Each press release is based on an item listed in Response for that month asking for intercessory prayer.