An Adventist pastor from the Solomon Islands has been recognised in the 2026 New Year’s Honours for his service to the Seventh-day Adventist Church locally and internationally.
Pastor Lawrence Gilmore Peter Tanabose was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, one of the highest honours conferred in the Solomon Islands. The honour was announced by Governor-General Sir David Tiva Kapu during his New Year’s address and was approved by King Charles III.
According to the Governor-General, the 2026 New Year’s Honours recognise citizens who have made significant contributions across areas including community service, faith, education, health and national security. The awards will be formally presented during King Charles III’s birthday celebrations in the Solomon Islands later this year.
Pastor Tanabose served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 37 years in a range of pastoral, educational and senior administrative roles across the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Australia. His service included leadership positions at mission, union and division levels within the Church.
Speaking on behalf of the family, his son, Gilmore Tanabose, said the honour recognises his father’s representative and leadership roles within the Church at both regional and international levels.
“As with other senior Adventist Church leaders, he was often involved in his duties alongside government and state officials,” said Mr Tanabose.
Among his key contributions was his involvement in brokering peace during the Solomon Islands ethnic conflict between 1998 and 2003, when church leaders worked alongside community and government representatives during negotiations between Guadalcanal and Malaita groups. He also played a role in uniting the Eastern and Western Solomon Islands missions into a single entity.
Pastor Tanabose later became the first Pacific Island national to serve as a senior administrator at the South Pacific Division (SPD), where he held the role of general secretary from 2008 to 2014.
SPD president Pastor Glenn Townend, who was serving as president of the Western Australia Conference and on the SPD Executive Committee when Pastor Tanabose was secretary of the Division, reflected on his contribution. “During that time, Lawrence was an astute spiritual leader, focused on prayer and relationships,” said Pastor Townend. “He read people and situations well. His leadership during the Solomon Islands tribal crisis is legendary. Courage and compassion, and standing for what was right were exemplified in his life. In retirement, Lawrence continued to lead in the same way on his island of Choiseul.”
At 73, Pastor Tanabose said he received news of the honour with gratitude and humility. “It is a privilege to be recognised in this way, and I do so on behalf of my family, the many colleagues, communities, institutions and partners with whom I had the opportunity to serve over the course of my 37 years of ministry,” he said. “Any contribution I made was shaped and strengthened by their commitment, generosity and shared purpose, and I remain deeply thankful for the trust placed in me and for the opportunity to have served.”
Despite officially retiring in 2015, Pastor Tanabose continued to serve. “He continued supporting church work as a retired pastor until his physical and mental strength would not allow him to carry on,” his son said. “Dad was a man of action during his ministry and service in church work. His ministry truly reflects a servant’s heart and a steady commitment to caring for others in both everyday moments and more formal roles.”
Pastor Tanabose’s sister, Annette, said the family welcomed the recognition. “To be recognised like that is a huge honour,” she said. “Our entire family is humbly proud and appreciates that he has received this recognition. Sadly, his wife [Rosina] is deceased and cannot witness this day. They were both quite a wonderful, hard-working couple who served in ministry together in their many years of service in various countries of the South Pacific. Indeed, it’s a great honour.”
