The National Council of Churches in Korea has published a Korean translation of The Light of Peace: Churches in Solidarity with the Korean Peninsula, a book the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship is using to recognize 70 years of unresolved conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Rev. Shin Seung-min, programme executive of the National Council of Churches in Korea, firmly believes that Christians live by the power of prayer. As he looks back at one of the largest global prayer campaigns in which he’s ever been involved, he sees that the year 2020 brought forth the power of prayer in unprecedented ways, even amid a year that brought grave suffering to the world.
Recently the World Council of Churches (WCC) published “The Light of Peace: Churches in Solidarity with the Korean Peninsula.” The article below is linked to the questions in Chapter 15 in the book, a chapter that highlights the road ahead for peace and reconciliation on the peninsula. In this interview, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, president of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, reflects and shares his deep wisdom, and emphasizes the importance of working for peace and justice.
Our series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors highlights those who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Michael Blair is general secretary of the General Council for The United Church of Canada. He is also a member of the World Council of Churches Commission on World Mission and Evangelism.
In a video released on 22 October, Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Susan Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, are promoting awareness of domestic violence and offering support.
As the National Council of Churches (USA) held an online Christian Unity Gathering on 12-13 October, Rev. James A. Forbes reflected to a tired nation: “Does anybody question whether we’ve seen some plagues?”
During the global pandemic it is not any more possible to be present at special celebrations in the ecumenical and global fellowship. The new realities connect the local and global work in a new and innovative way. The WCC is present digitally in many gatherings.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) extended greetings and prayers to the 105th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, which convened under the theme “Restore us, O Lord, in truth and love.”
The legacy of sexual slavery before, during and after the brutal Korean War weighs heavily on the shoulders of the thousands of Korean women who lived for decades under a brutal militarized patriarchy.
A Women of Faith Pilgrim Team gathered, some in person and others virtually, in South Korea from 13-15 July. They were there to listen and accompany Korean church women as they called for an end to patriarchy – manifested in the Japanese colonization of Korea and establishment of ‘comfort women’ and also in the Korean War — and to the resulting pain and injustice that remains a grim daily reality for many today.
Throughout 2020, the World Council of Churches (WCC), together with the National Council of Churches in Korea, has been observing a Global Prayer Campaign,“We Pray, Peace Now, End the War.” As part of the campaign, the WCC is sharing personal stories and interviews that inspire others to work for peace. The story below features the perspective of U.S. war veterans, all of whom are also featured in video interviews.
At a Peace Convocation on 20 June, people holding blue umbrellas as a symbol of unity prayed, walked and called for peace together. The convocation, coordinated by the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, commemorated 70 years since the start of the Korean War. Held at the White Horse Hill Memorial in Cholwon, the observance took place on one of the most ferocious battlefields of the Korean War.
The National Council of Churches in Korea has published a booklet of worship resources for National Reconciliation Week, which is being observed 15-25 June.
As members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship and national councils of churches gathered online on 22 June, they pledged to walk beside their sisters and brothers on the Korean Peninsula in their quest for peace.
A Joint Ecumenical Peace Message for the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War was publicly delivered on 22 June during a live-streamed event. Co-sponsored by churches and councils of churches around the world, especially from countries that participated in the Korean War, the message describes the Korean War as an “appallingly destructive conflict” after which no peace treaty was ever concluded.
In a solidarity message on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of Korean War, the Christian Conference of Asia reiterated its commitment of solidarity with the people of the Korean Peninsula in their struggle for justice, reconciliation, and reunification.
A Joint Ecumenical Peace Message for the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War will be presented at the online event “Ecumenical efforts for peace on the Korean War’s 70th Anniversary,” hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) at 13.00 CEST on 22 June.
Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary, expressed both alarm and dismay at the destruction of the joint liaison office in Kaesong - opened in 2018 to facilitate communication and cooperation between the two Koreas - and renewed threats of military action on the Korean Peninsula.
A Peace Convocation commemorating 70 years since the start of the Korean War will be held on 20 June at the White Horse Memorial in Cholwon, South Korea.