Christian Leaders From Indonesia To Visit N.Z.

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30602, 19 November 1964, Page 18

Christian Leaders From Indonesia To Visit N.Z.

Four Indonesian Christian leaders will arrive in Christchurch next Tuesday to begin a tour of New Zealand as guests of the New Zealand National Council of Churches. The visitors are the Rev. S. Marantika, general secretary of the N.C.C. in Indonesia, Dr. N. P. Panggabean, Mrs Mary Sorongan and Mr Nico Sorangan. In announcing the visit the general secretary of the New Zealand council, the Rev. D. M. Taylor, said that the visit was intended “to build up understanding between churches in New Zealand and churches in Indonesia.” Mr Taylor explained that : the visit was a long-awaited return of the tour of Indonesia given 17 New Zealanders 1 in 1960. A visit was arranged for a group of Indonesians i in February, 1961, but it had to be cancelled for diplomatic ! reasons. 1 Mr Marantika, as general secretary of the N.C.C., coordinates the efforts of some six million Christians, who 1 are a small proportion of In- 1 donesia’s population of 100 million. He is a pastor in the ] Protestant Church in Indone- ■ sia and a graduate of Djakarta Theological Seminary. i Dr. Panggabean is a senior government taxation official, : with degrees in economics i and law from the University ;

of Indonesia. He is a member of the Batak Church, which is Lutheran in origin and has more than 690,000 members. Mrs Mary Sorongan is an Australian-born Indonesian citizen and a staff member of the N.C.C. in Indonesia. During 1961 and 1962 she was a member of the office staff of the Australian Council of Churches in Sydney. Mr Nico Sorongan, Mrs Sorongan’s brother-in-law, is an importer and a member of the Minahassa Church. To tour New Zealand the group will be divided in order that more places may be seen. Included in the itinerary are Nelson, Wellington, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Hastings, Napier, Gisborne and Whakatane. The team is part of a larger group of Indonesians who will visit Australia under the sponsorship of the Australian Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. Mr Taylor explained that "the Australian Council of Churches has been active in the last two years in trying to increase person-to-person relations with Indonesian churches. “The growth of international tension between Australia and Indonesia in the last year has increased the determination to press on with this project.”