Gilbert and Ellice Islands the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180°, west of the International Date Line. The Ellice Islands are midway between Hawaii and Australia. The Ellice Islands are recognised as part of the Polynesia subregion of Oceania. In 1606 Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted Butaritari and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje (‘good trip’ in Spanish) Islands. The Gilbert Islands were named in 1820 by a Russian Admiral, Baron Johann von Krusenstern, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who encountered the archipelago in 1788 while exploring an Outer Passage route from Port Jackson to Canton.
United Church in the Solomon Islands and the LMS people. The United Church acquired people of Reformed background too. After independence of Solomon Islands in 1978 a movement in Bougenville seeking secession from Papua New Guinea disrupted communication with within the church. Half of the church in the Solomon Islands and in Papua New Guinea separated from the Church in 1996. The church in the Solomon Islands maintained connection with the World Council of Churches, Pacific Conference of Churches. It has 50,000 members and 300 congregations. Member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches and the Council for World Mission. United