Tag Archives: Korean Peninsula

August 14, 2021 · 9:46 pm

A prayer for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula 2021

Join the National Council of Churches in Korea in praying for peace on August 15 and every day.

God of creation,

We love this land where the people of the North and the South have built our own history together. We love the Korean Peninsula where we share our laughter and tears. But this land is moaning from the wounds of division.

The borders of different ideologies have driven this land into war and violence. The depths of hate are deep within us, and the forces that promote division are blocking our steps toward peace. The interference of major powers around the Korean Peninsula continues, and the people of the North and the South bear the burdens of conflict.

God of healing,

Hear our cry!

We pray that wounds of division will be healed.

Help us to stop hating and accusing each other, and plant the seeds of peace and coexistence. Help us to overcome the conflicts of ideology by the love of Christ.

Defeat the forces of evil that block the path of peace.

Help us stop the military exercises in the name of security.

God of reconciliation,

Grant the churches of the North and the South the strength and courage to lead the way of reconciliation and peace. We pray that the churches of the North and the South will strive to break down the walls of division and promote reconciliation.

God of peace,

We pray that we become a church dedicated to the true liberation today on the 76th anniversary of liberation from the Japanese Empire. We confess that peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula is not an option, but a calling that we must achieve. Although the barbed wire of division has torn us apart, we remember that our spirits and hearts are connected in the Lord. 

Help us walk together on the pilgrimage of justice and peace as we walk together for the Kingdom of God.

In Jesus’s name, we pray.

Amen!

15 August 2021
National Council of Churches in Korea

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April 29, 2019 · 11:47 pm

#DMZpeacechain 3

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April 28, 2019
The First Presbyterian Church of Whitestone makes a #DMZpeacechain witness for peace on a reunified Korean Peninsula in New York City.
Photo by Lisa Sisenwein.

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April 29, 2019 · 11:43 pm

#DMZpeacechain 2

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April 27, 2019
The #DMZpeacechain event for peace on a reunified Korean Peninsula in New York City.
With the Rev. Won Tae Cho,
pastor of Woori Presbyterian Church and organizer of the witness.

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April 29, 2019 · 11:40 pm

#DMZpeacechain 1

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April 27, 2019
The #DMZpeacechain event for peace on a reunified Korean Peninsula in New York City.
Photo by Peng Leong.

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April 27, 2019 · 8:59 pm

#DMZpeacechain – New York

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In solidarity with seekers of peace in Korea and around the world, more than 300 people gathered in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza to witness for one Korea living in peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Songs were sung. Words were said. A human chain was created stretching from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN to the Permanent Mission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The Rev. Won Tae Cho, on the right of the photo, served as the chair for the event.

May peace pervail.

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April 24, 2019 · 11:46 am

4.27 People’s Peace Chain in New York: For peace on the Korean peninsula!

58629910_1577272632407429_8217700354960130048_nWhy do we join hands?

On April 27, 2018, the Inter-Korean Summit opened the door to peace on the Korean peninsula between North and South Korea. On April 27, 2019, the people of South Korea and Korean-Americans of the New York metropolitan area will come together for the final push to obtain peace. Half a million Koreans in South Korea will gather across the country to participate in the People’s Peace Chain action, covering the entire line of the Demilitarized Zone to wish for harmony and to promote peace on the Korean peninsula. With the same goal for peace in mind, we have organized community members and formed the “Committee for 4.27 Min (People) + Peace People’s Chain Action.”

The peace process on the Korean Peninsula will not be achieved through slow inter-governmental negotiations alone. It must be fostered by people with a collective history who have the incentive and drive to chart the course of our future together. We will usher an age of renewed trust and harmony as we put forth our desire to create a powerful and lasting peace. The People’s Peace Chain will be created with all of this in mind on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 in front of the United Nations, where we will be joining hands connecting the Permanent Mission of both North and South Korea to the United Nations. On the same day, 500000 people in South Korea will create a People’s Peace Chain of three hundred and twenty miles along the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea, which has been a steadfast symbol of distrust and conflict on the Korean peninsula.

A dream that is dreamt by many becomes reality. Join the ‘4.27 People’s Peace Chain Action’. Join hands in front of the UN and make the dream for a future peace reality!

Who can participate?

• Anyone who wishes for the peace on the Korean peninsula

When and Where to meet

• April 27th, Saturday at 1PM
• Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (2nd Ave and 47th St)
• Please wear a blue top if you can.

How to Join:

• When you arrive, please register and receive a souvenir at the information desk that will be located inside the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza.
• Write a peace message on the message board, which will be delivered to the Permanent Mission of both North and South Korea.
• Enjoy cultural performances and participate in a rally wishing for the peace on the Korean Peninsula.
• After the rally, everyone will move to the area under the guidance of the Marshall Team to create a People’s Peace Chain.
• Join hands to create ‘4.27 People’s Peace Chain’ from the Permanent Mission of South Korea to the Permanent Mission of North Korea!

To support with donations
• Make a check payable to: NY NUAC
• Mail to:
Woori Church of New York
53-71 72nd Place. Maspeth, NY 11378

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July 26, 2017 · 7:51 pm

Churches across the world invited to pray for Korean reunification

The international ecumenical community has invited churches and individuals to join in prayer for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula on August 13. People of any faith or no faith may join.

Churches across the world invited to pray for Korean reunification

Photo:WCC

24 July 2017

On 13 August, churches across the world are invited to show solidarity with Korean churches by joining a “Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.”

The theme for the prayer is based on Romans 14:19: “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” The day of prayer occurs two days before Liberation Day in Korea (15 August), during which people celebrate Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonization.

The joint prayer was prepared by the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) from North Korea and the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) from South Korea.

In a letter of invitation to member churches, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and World Communion of Reformed Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Chris Ferguson invited parishes and individuals across the world to pray for the reconciliation and healing of the divided Korean Peninsula.

“The prayer is an important part of our growing movement to overcome the antagonism that divides the Korean Peninsula and continue to open interaction between communities, churches and people,” the letter reads. “We believe churches across the world can, through prayer, help foster an environment in which peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula can flourish.”

Links:

Material Global Prayer Day on 13 August, 2017

Letter to member churches WCC and WCRC

WCC Member churches in Korea

WCRC statement on the Korean peninsula 7 July, 2017

WCC statement on the Korean peninsula 11 June, 2017

Mutuality and cooperation focus at Korean peace meeting in Leipzig (WCC press release 14 July, 2017)

See you along the Trail.

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July 17, 2016 · 4:12 pm

Act for peace for Korea

Act for peace on the Korean Peninsula – sign the petition asking the U.S. government to enter negotiations for a peace treaty. 0001-42

On July 27, 1953, the guns fell silent on the Korean peninsula. An armistice brought three years of war to an end. However, a peace treaty has never replaced this cease fire.

Tensions remain between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. At times tensions heighten. Periodically they boil over into violent clashes. The continuing conflict diverts precious resources from the welfare of the people on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone.

The United States holds a special responsibility for a peaceful resolution of the conflict as it occupied the southern part of the peninsula in 1945 and signed the armistice in 1953. The United States maintains a military presence in the Republic of Korea. Joint military exercises fuel the tension with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Churches in the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korean, the United States, and around the world have joined a campaign to call President Obama and Congress to enter negotiations now for a Korean peace treaty, without conditions, to replace the armistice agreement.

The Korean Peninsula has known separation and conflict since 1945. It is time, it is past time, for peace for Korea.

Sign the petition asking the U.S. government to enter negotiations for a peace treaty. Invite your friends to join you. Let’s give peace a chance.

 

 

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July 18, 2015 · 3:13 pm

2015 Joint North-South Prayer and Worship Liturgy (8.15 Anniversary)

From my friends Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee comes an opportunity to pray and witness for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Hyeyoung and Kurt's Korean Adventure

ncck peace campaignThis coming August 15th, 2015 will mark 70 years since Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial control as well as Korea’s division into two zones based on the decision of US and Soviet Union officials (with Koreans conspicuously absent). Thus began a cycle of conflict and violence that Korea has yet to escape. Christians in South Korea first learned that Christians still lived in the open North despite severe restrictions on the practice of their faith. South and North Christians met face to face for the first time in 1988, despite it being illegal with participants risking arrest upon return to the South. Since then, South Koreans and Christians of the world helped convince the North to give Christians some breathing room to worship and practice in public, although full freedom to practice is still restricted. Since 1988, the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK – South) and the Korean…

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May 13, 2015 · 1:03 pm

NCCK Young Adults Peace March

An invitation from our partners in Korea to participate in a peace walk
2015 DMZ Walkathon for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula
Christian Young Adults,
Harvesting Peace from the Site of Division
Dates: July 20(Mon.) – 25(Sat.), 2015

Hyeyoung and Kurt's Korean Adventure

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This coming July, my partner, the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) is inviting Korean young adults residing around the world to participate in a Peace March week long program on Korea’s division, war, and hope for reconciliation. They are especially interested in Korean Americans participating, and they have asked me to send a special invite to Korean Americans in the PC(USA). They hope this will be a significant time, the 70th anniversary of Korea’s division, for Korean residents in other countries to encourage their communities to join the movement for reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. It is VERY SHORT notice, I am afraid, so if you have this week free in July, please jump on this. Details below!

2015 DMZ Walkathon for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula

Christian Young Adults,
Harvesting Peace from the Site of Division

Dates: July 20(Mon.) – 25(Sat.), 2015
*The actual program…

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