In February 1926, the Chungju Women’s Bible Institute saw its first class graduate from their studies. The eight-woman class is pictured above in white, with the institute’s faculty standing behind them.
Years ago, at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) youth conference in East Texas, Kurt Esslinger felt the Spirit nudging him toward a ministry that reaches out to people who feel they don’t belong because of their differences.
How do we understand the history of Presbyterian mission in Korea? How do we sometimes misunderstand it?
In a PHS LIVE webinar on Nov. 19 presented by the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS), Dr. William Yoo discussed how the “Hermit Kingdom” changed in a matter of decades to be regarded as the “Palestine of the Far East” by American missionaries, and how differences of race and cultural perspective shaped Korean-U.S. Presbyterian partnerships into the 21st century.
The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) delivered virtual greetings to a gathering of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) this week. The PCK and delegates of Korean churches gathered in Seoul for a conference entitled, “The Way of Korean Church after COVID-19”.
The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, offered regrets that he could not deliver the greetings in person, but assured membership of the connection between the two churches.
Bridging the division in Korea through reunification is a dream of many. Another dream has been to compile the history of mission workers of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and partner churches in Korea from 1884 to the present. This connection of past and present mission workers in Korea by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and partner churches in Korea has become reality in the publication of the first “Korean-English Dictionary of Presbyterian Missionaries in Korea 1884-2020,” published March 27 in Korean.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Very rarely, though, do we stop and think of who these men and women are, let alone the challenges that they face, as they work to bring peace to the most turbulent places around the world. Presbyterians Today takes a look at today’s peacemakers.
A resolution seeking peace on the Korean Peninsula was among items approved Thursday by the 223rd General Assembly. The resolution designates September 2018 as “Korean mission month” and calls Presbyterians to “pray for peace in the Korean Peninsula and for victims of division and conflict on both sides of the Korean Peninsula.”
During the public part of the meeting, Laurel Underwood, an observer at GA and a pastor, said her family had served in Korea for four generations. “We know what happens to the politically unwanted in North Korea,” she said.
Nan Kim of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hopes that today’s atmosphere may lead to more people-to-people exchanges between North and South, to deeper understanding of the historical and cultural ramifications of Korea’s division and, ultimately, to the multilateral negotiation of a durable peace treaty.
After the June 12 Singapore summit between U.S. and North Korean heads of state, South Korean church leaders say they’re increasingly optimistic about the chances of reunification up and down the Korean peninsula ― of nations and of families.
“Because of your presence, we Korean churches can sustain our long march toward peace and reunification,” the Rev. Jaecheon Lee, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK), said during a General Assembly news conference Saturday. “I am pleased to talk about how you have stood by my church for a long time.”