Gilbert and Ellice Islands French captain Louis Duperrey was the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago. He commanded "La Coquille" on its circumnavigation of the earth (1822–1825). Funafuti atoll was named Ellice's Island after Edward Ellice, a British politician and merchant, by Captain Arent de Peyster, who sighted the islands in 1819 sailing on the ship "Rebecca". Ellice owned the cargo of the ship. The name Ellice was applied to all nine islands, of what is now Tuvalu, after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were formerly designated an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code "GE"
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