Sisters Anita, Aileen and Sue from the UK and Sister Marguerite Mae from Canada were delighted to be able to attend Rebecca Margaret’s Profession in Life Vows in the Solomon Islands.  The profession took place in Rebecca Margaret’s home village and was attended by many guests including the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Derek Sikua (who also happens to be Rebecca Margaret’s Uncle!).

If you would like to see more photos, please click here.

An account of the day by Sisters Aileen and Sue CSC:

The scene – a village out in the bush, so trees all around; Church a large open-sided place, still being built, with rough concrete on the floor and temporary seating of planks resting on breeze blocks.  A huge congregation spills out onto the ground outside, a sea of smiling faces, young and not so young.  A small boy sits outside, lost in his own world, blowing dust into little piles. 

A bell rings at 7:30 in the morning and everyone prepares for this three-in-one celebration: This is the Sunday Eucharist, the Life Profession of Rebecca Margaret and the First Communion of the young people and children whose Confirmation was at Evensong the day before. (60+ of them!) All who can possibly be there from the surrounding area and even further away, are there. Everything is ready, and when the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (Rebecca’s uncle) arrives with his wife and family, the celebrations can begin. 

It is impossible to describe everything in a short space (the whole Newsletter, maybe) but here are a few snapshots:

Warriors dance down the aisle and round the sanctuary, spears and shields prominent

We are all welcomed by Bishop Charles, the Celebrant, and the service begins.

The church choir has already filled the church with song, vibrant and alive (and high!).

The Bible is brought down the church, for the reading of the Gospel, on the front of a canoe, carried by some of the boys.

When the time for the Profession arrives, Rebecca is preceded down the aisle by women relatives dancing and singing, with her close family leading her by the hand.

At the sanctuary step Rebecca is handed over to Anita, the family go to their places, and the ceremony, for which the Sisters have worked so hard over the last few days, reaches its climax.

Rebecca makes her vows before Bishop Terry Brown, our Visitor, signs the Profession Roll, receives her ring and a candle and finally stands before us all as a life professed member of CSC. 

Rebecca looks so much at peace, no-one could doubt the rightness of this.  She is radiant as she stands before Community and her family community, dressed both in habit and custom dress, uniting both her past and her present.

Then, of course, there was the Feasting. Before we left home, at 4:30 am, we had eaten a little breakfast.  When we arrived at the village, Tathiboko, we were offered a second breakfast.  Immediately after the service there was yet another breakfast, to keep us going till the main feast and entertainment at about 1 pm.  Speeches, singing, dancing and general fun filled the next two and a half hours, with people helping themselves to the food the Sisters had spent long hours preparing the previous day. 

We Sisters began to leave around 3:30pm, making sure we did not leave before the Prime Minister, as protocol dictated.  It was much later (perhaps 11 pm) before everyone was back home at TNK, for a well-earned rest.  The Sisters did CSC proud!  In the UK we think we have worked hard when we prepare for a big celebration, but in the Solomons, the preparations take much more time and effort.  Everything was made from scratch, including the parcels in which the rice and pork were cooked. Sue, Marguerite Mae and Aileen had an interesting time trying to master the skills necessary for this. Perhaps it’s best not to say too much about how the home-grown pork got into the parcels!  

It was all, from start to finish, an incredibly enriching experience, which surely none of us will ever forget.  Well done CSC Solomon Islands, and as Sister Vivien Marie would be sure to say –                     ALLELUIA!