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Book details growth of church on Kosrae
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Posted on Nov 21 2005
Watermark Publishing of Honolulu has released the first comprehensive history of the Micronesian state of Kosrae.
More than 150 years of church and secular history are chronicled in Island of Angels: The Growth of the Church on Kosrae, including the author’s own observations and those of historical figures within and outside the Kosrae Congregational Church.
Funded primarily by a grant from the Kosrae Department of Education, Island of Angels provides Kosraeans with a clear history of their church and state, while introducing others to this distinctive Christian community. Author Rev. Buck is a United Church of Christ clergyman who served the church on Kosrae and in the Marshall Islands from 1958 to 1981.
One of four island states comprising the Federated States of Micronesia, the one-time kingdom of Kosrae is now home to more than 8,000 islanders, most of whom are devout members of the Kosrae Congregational Church. The book was begun in conjunction with the church’s 150th anniversary in 2002.
Each chapter in Island of Angels is prefaced by a summary in the Kosraean by a summary in the Kosraean language. The book also includes 32 pages of color and black-and-white photos, as well as detailed appendices of Kosraean kings, church leaders, missionaries and others.
Pacific studies scholars will appreciate the wealth of knowledge compiled from journal accounts and church documents. “The volume is a welcome contribution to the history of Christianity in the Pacific and Pacific Island Studies in general,” says Dr. Robert C. Kiste, professor emeritus at the Center for Pacific Island Studies, University of Hawai’i.
Island of Angels: The Growth of the Church on Kosrae (ISBN 0-9753740-6-0) is available for $24.95 at bookstores, from the Kosrae Department of Education or direct from the publisher at www.bookshawaii.net. Contact Watermark Publishing, 1088 Bishop St., Suite 310, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone 1-808-587-7766; toll-free 1-866-900-BOOK; fax: 1-808-521-3461; e-mail sales@bookshawaii.net. (PR)
