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 new World Council of Churches (WCC) publication, “The Light of Peace – The Churches and the Korean Peninsula,” is offering WCC member churches resources for understanding and reflecting on 70 years of unresolved conflict on the Korean Peninsula during this anniversary year, 2020.
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.
In remarks at an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, World Council of Churches director for International Affairs Peter Prove reflected on “The Prospective Future of the Korean Peninsula After Peaceful Reunification.”
For many decades, the World Council of Churches (WCC) has worked to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. From bringing people from both sides of the divided country together, to building an international ecumenical network to support them, the WCC has a history of formulating and promoting a vision for peace.
On 5 May, former World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit received the Dongbaek Medal of the Order of Civil Merit of the Republic of Korea, during a ceremony at the Korean Embassy in Oslo, Norway.
A "2020 Joint Easter Prayer of North-South Korea" has been published with a call for Christians and all people of good will around the world to pray for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Asia region president for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Sang Chang has reminded Christians they should understand that worshipping our God of Life and protecting the God-given lives of people are the same.
The following is the second in a series about the response of the WCC, member churches and all people of goodwill to COVID-19. The purpose of these stories is to share hopes, concerns and best practices among our one human family. - WCC director of communication Marianne Ejdersten.
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) global fellowship embarks on prayers for peace on the Korean Peninsula from 1 March to 15 August, the world is ready for an era of permanent peace, said Rev. Dr Hong-Jung Lee, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea.
With the announcement on 6 February of a Global Prayer Campaign for peace on the Korean Peninsula, World Council of Churches (WCC) leaders and partners looked back at 30-plus years of history and forward to events planned for 2020.
Erich Weingartner, who previously helped lead the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, has also represented CanKor, a Canadian interactive resource on North Korea. From the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, he was also founding head of the Food Aid Liaison Unit of the World Food Programme.
A war erupted on the Korean Peninsula 70 years ago that divided Korea and that has yet to end. So, the world’s churches have launched a “70 Days of Prayers - Global Prayer Campaign” for peace.
A global prayer campaign for peace on the Korean Peninsula will occur from 1 March – 15 August, lasting 70 days and inviting hundreds of thousands of people worldwide to say: “We Pray, Peace Now, End the War!”
World Council of Churches invites the media representatives to the event announcing 70 days of global prayer for peace on the Korean Peninsula on 6 February at 11.30 CET at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.