PNG mourns death of Adventist leader

The death of the head of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Papua New Guinea has sparked nationwide mourning.

Pastor Geoffrey Pomaleu’s body is being flown around the country for seven separate funeral events over four days. The first service was held on Monday in Lae, followed by services in Port Moresby and Mt Hagen yesterday. Today there will be short memorial services at Madang, Hoskins and Kavieng. Tomorrow the coffin will arrive in Pastor Pomaleu’s home village on Manus Island for final burial.

Yesterday’s service at Port Moresby was attended by three government ministers and two other members of parliament, as well as leaders of various Christian denominations who paid tribute to Pastor Pomaleu’s legacy.

Pastor Glenn Townend, president of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific, presented the Pomaleu family with a new Adventist flag to be draped over the casket. He spoke at both the Lae and Port Moresby services.

“The people of PNG are very sad and the hope of the resurrection of all the believers when Jesus returns is very real to them,” Pastor Townend said.

Pastor Pomaleu, 54, died on July 5 from an internal infection complicated by heart trouble and other health issues.