Postage stamps and postal history of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Tuvalu. The Gilbert Islands issued stamps under that name before attaining independence on 12 July 1979 as the Republic of Kiribati. The first stamps of Kiribati were a pair issued on 19 November 1979 to mark the independence of the country. The Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau was established on 1 January 1976, which was the day the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony was dissolved and Tuvalu established as a separate British dependency. The first stamp issue was a set of provisional overprinted definitive stamps and a commemorative set of three stamps. The first postage stamp cancellation devices were put into use
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