Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) members in Beibangara and Beiporo, East Vella La Vella, Western province can now worship God each Sabbath on Saturday in a new church building.
This follows the officially dedication of their new church which was held a day before new year on 31st December 2013.
Called the Beibangara Seventh Day Adventist Memorial Church, the church is located at Beibangara village.
The official program kicked off with a ribbon cutting, singing of a song before the congregation entered the church.
The program then continued inside with the official dedication and sermon being conducted by guest speaker Pr Piuki Tasa who thanked the community for their support and hardwork which resulted in the completion of the church building.
He also reminded them of the importance of building a sanctuary or church to allow God’s presence in their community.
The occasion saw people from in and around the community of Beiporo and Beibangara such as Gizo, Kolombangara and Choiseul converging into Beibangara to witness the occasion.
Some of the guests included provincial members, retired pastors, chiefs, doctors lecturers and government officials.
During the occasion, the history of the missionary work and how the church was first established in the area was also mentioned.
The church has a mixture of people from Choiseul, Ranoggah and Vella worshiping in it.
The dedication program was described as very successful with the positive turn out of people.
The event concluded with feasting and all the guests and visitor travelled back to their respective communities and islands.
The Solomon Star was able to visit Beibangara few days after the official opening and caught up with Pr John Wesley who is a retired minister of the gospel and a member of the church.
Speaking to the Solomon Star in an interview he said it took nearly ten years to complete the church.
“The church was built after many years of planning, fundraising and work. So we are so proud and honoured to see this new church complete,” he said.
He added, it costs around $200, 000.00 to have the church building completed.
The retired minister said support both in finance and kind came from far and near.
And he thanked those who have dedicated their time and resources to support the construction of the new church building.
Pr John also acknowledged the builders who have dedicated their time, resources and energy in building the church which resulted in the completion of the church.
He said the dedication program was a huge success for the community and the church members.
In the past, the members used to worship in a semi-permanent thatched building which is now old and will be used for other church activities.
Pr John said there are not many people worshiping throughout the year.
“About 12 families are using the church to worship but during the Christmas and new year period when most of the relatives and family members are returning to the village for the holiday, the numbers increased.”
The church building is made of timbers and has been painted with white and offers a big space.
The church is equipped with plastic chairs for the members to sit on while worshiping.
Outside there is a water tank which the members can use to quench their thirst during worship time.
At the back of the church there is an ablution block with flash toilets for both male and female.
So the church is well equipped with some of the facilities required of a church.
Some minor works are yet to done on the church, the members of the church said during the brief visit.
By MOFFAT MAMU
