The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea held its 106th General Assembly in the city of Cheongju (about two and a half hours south of Seoul) from September 28 to 29, and I was privileged to observe, if only briefly.Korea remains in its fourth wave of COVID-19, so the PROK was not able to host an in-person General Assembly as originally planned. Instead, delegates gathered in four churches in the Cheongju area and met online as one assembly, but distributed with social distancing throughout the four venues.
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| the view from Cheongju Jeil Church |
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| the view from Seong Dong Church |
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| the view from Wooam Church |
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| the view from Cheongju East Church |
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| all together online |
One notable event was the installation of Rev. EunKyoung Kim as the first female Moderator of the PROK, and the first female leader of a major Protestant denomination in Korea. Rev. Kim has her work cut out for her in that there are very few women serving as senior pastors in PROK congregations, and of the 644 delegates to the General Assembly, only 61 (less than 10%) were women. The PROK acknowledges that it needs to work harder at creating space for women’s voices to be heard and for women to exercise their gifts in leadership, but as we have found in Canada with regard to addressing climate change or the legacy of residential schools, making good intentions is one thing, but actually putting them into practice is another. The election of a woman Moderator of the PROK is therefore a significant step for the Korean church. As one of my colleagues said to me, please pray for Rev. Kim to become a leader in helping to build a healthy Korean church!
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| Outgoing Moderator Rev. GunHee Lee welcomes incoming Moderator Rev. EunKyoung Kim |
The venue where I attended the General Assembly was Cheongju First Church. Following opening worship I was invited to come forward to be introduced, along with my other mission co-worker colleagues: Yuki Nagao from the United Church of Christ in Japan; Abigail Reed, an intern from Global Ministries (the joint mission agency of the United Church of Christ in the U.S. and the Disciples of Christ); Kate Underwood and Grace Fulda, interns from the Presbyterian Church (USA); as well as Hyeyoung Lee, also from PC(USA), who coordinates the Young Adult Volunteers program. (Another intern from Global Ministries, Lydia Yang, who was helping out at one of the other churches, is not in the picture.)
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| About to enter Cheongju Jeil Church (after confirming my vaccination status!) |
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Mission co-workers being introduced to the 106th General Assembly of the PROK
(Yuki, me, Abigail, Kate, Grace, Hyeyoung) |
It was not all business. This was the first opportunity for all four interns to be in the same place at the same time, so we took the opportunity for them to have some bonding time together. On our way to Cheongju we stopped at Sangdang Sanseong Fortress, which overlooks the city. And on our way back we took the opportunity to educate ourselves on the history of Japanese rule in Korea by visiting the Independence Hall of Korea, located not far away at Cheonan.
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| Lydia and Abigail at Sangdang SanSeong Fortress |
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| Grace and Kate taking pictures |
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| At the Independence Hall of Korea |
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| Yuki explaining to us details about the history of the Japanese occupation of Korea |
After so many months distressed by covid, it felt good to start stepping back “into the light,” something that is also expressed by the theme of the 106th Assembly:
어두움 후에 빛이 오며 - 생명, 치유, 회복
(After Darkness, Light Comes: Revive, Restore, Redeem!)
This way of expressing it reminds me that this is something we cannot do for ourselves. We need each other. As an outsider working in the PROK, I can see many of the ways in which the PROK seems to be “stuck,” in this or that area of their work — they can see where they want to get to, but they have difficulty getting there. The role of women in leadership is one example that is really obvious to me. But it is not my role to step in and try to fix it, even if I had the solution. That would be a complete misunderstanding of the meaning of partnership! Even when it comes to gender justice, for example, we ourselves in Canada still have a long way to go and there are many things we still have to figure out. There is a lot we can still learn from our partners — just as there is a lot they can learn from us. Partnership does not mean always agreeing with each other; sometimes we might even have different goals. But by learning from each other, little by little, by supporting each other, challenging each other, and encouraging each other, we can move closer into God’s light.
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| Hurray for Partnership! |
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Coming up soon!
Watch for my "booth" at the United Church’s Love and Justice Gathering
November 3-7
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