News
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has reinstated the title of director for the WCC staff member Rev. Dr Jooseop Keum, who will continue to head the WCC’s Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME).
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, said, “We are happy with the decision of reintroducing the title of director for Jooseop Keum, as was the case in the past. We hope that he will continue to support the WCC member churches and partners in their quest for a mission that can help bridge the gap between movements and institutions through missiological imagination and creative actions.”
“It is my hope and prayer that the CWME, as part of the ecumenical family of mission, continues its journey together toward life in all its fullness,” Tveit added.
Said Keum, “The CWME has constantly pioneered a new paradigm in ecumenical mission thinking and action. In this regard, I appreciate the change of title for myself, from being the CWME secretary to the CWME director, because in a way it recognizes the significant contributions made by the CWME to the ecumenical movement and the work of the churches.”
“Mission can play a prophetic role in bringing unity and justice discourses to the work of the churches. Mission provides a holistic approach that helps us all to affirm the integrity of the ecumenical movement and how it connects to people and their local contexts,” Keum added.
Metropolitan Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, moderator of the CWME, also expressed appreciation for the decision made by the WCC leadership to reinstate the title of director for the WCC staff team leader for mission and evangelism. “The CWME welcomes this important decision as it does bring back a sense of uniformity and harmony among WCC commissions,” he said.
An ordained minister from the Presbyterian Church Korea (PCK), Keum has been leading the work of the WCC in the area of mission and evangelism since 2007.
Keum holds a doctorate in mission and ecumenism from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and a postgraduate degree from the Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, Korea. He worked extensively with the Council for World Mission before joining the WCC.
At the WCC, Keum has been intensively involved in the study process that led to the new mission statement Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in a Changing Landscapes and in seeding its reception in the churches, the academy, and mission organizations.
