Saturday, July 14
Korea (North)
Korea was a unified country for 1,300 years until the end of World War II. The division along the 38th parallel in 1945 brought tragedies far beyond the 4 million casualties of the Korean War. As a result of the division, some 10 million Korean people have been separated from their loved ones, and I am one of them.
When the Korean War broke out, I was 11 years old, a 7th-grade student in North Korea. On the eve of the United Nations troops' evacuation in 1951, my father and I left for the South, leaving the rest of our family behind. We thought the war would end in a week, but the war lasted until a truce was declared in 1953. The country remains divided and in a state of war. The people of Korea have yearned for its reunification for 67 years. Christians in both North and South Korea have been praying for their divided country to become one again.
It was a personal joy and privilege for me to serve with the PC(USA) as coordinator for Asia and the Pacific for 35 years. I have witnessed the PC(USA) at the forefront of a compassionate ministry with people of North and South Korea, affirming their yearning for peaceful reconciliation and reunification. The 219th General Assembly (2010) in its Commissioners' Resolution ``On Appealing for Peace and Reconciliation in Korea'' expresses solidarity with the people of Korea in their search for peace, reconciliation, and reunification on the Korean peninsula; strongly supports replacing the present armistice agreement with a just and lasting peace treaty between North and South Korea, brokered by the UN; and prays for the day when the people of Korea will live as one family in a reunified, free, and peaceful nation.
- Rev. Insik Kim, former area coordinator, Asia and the Pacific, General Assembly Mission Council
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) People in Mission
Jungja Hong, art and French teacher, Pyongyang Seminary in North Korea, Korean Christian Federation
Partners/Partnerships
Korean Christian Federation: Rev. Yong Sop Kang, chair, Central Committee, Rev. Jong Ro Li, director of international affairs * Pyongyang Seminary
PC(USA) Agencies' Staff
Sara Pottschmidt Lisherness, GAMC
Alfreda Loatman, BOP
Let us pray
God of grace and God of peace, may your presence be with the people of Korea as they continue to walk in humility, with open minds and hearts, fulfilling the ministry of peace, justice, reconciliation, and healing. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Daily Lectionary
Morning Psalms 63; 149
First Reading Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Second Reading Romans 10:14-21
Gospel Reading Matthew 24:32-51
Evening Psalms 125; 90
