It's cherry blossom season in Seoul! On Saturday I got lost coming home from the supermarket and suddenly found myself walking along a street lined with beautifully tinted trees swaying slightly in the breeze. It won’t last, I’m told. They’ll be here today and gone in a few days. Even this morning I observed little bits of confetti scattering on the sidewalk on my way back from Yonsei University. An incredibly fragile, short-lived miracle; a message. But only if I am willing to pay attention. What is it saying? Let me juxtapose this with the Lenten worship service that I went to last night, hosted by the human rights committee of the National Council of Churches of Korea, which focused on migrants and refugees. It was very moving. Koreans are a deeply religious people: Christians, Buddhists, whatever, but this does not necessarily make them any more open to foreigners than others. In recent years especially, Korea has reached out to welcome foreigners, but in Kore
John in Korea; The United Church of Canada and the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, in partnership with each other: for justice, peace, and reconciliation -- sharing in God's work of transformation -- in Korea, in Canada, and beyond . . .