| Conference explores relationship with South Korea By Donald Stewart From April 20 to 27, conference clergy members the Revs. Louis Shockley, Ed DeLong, Chi Bon Jang, Anne Stewart, Don Stewart and their spouses represented Bishop Felton Edwin May at the Southern Korea Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church. A brief overview of that trip follows. How do you describe a nation that is both 3,000-years-old and yet is the most dynamic nation in Asia? How can you describe a vital and growing part of the Methodist family that also respects the ancient traditions of a great nation? The answer is to simply say, Thats Korea. Korea is a nation of contrasts. One of the most dramatic is the contrast between ancient religions and the vibrancy of newer churches like the Korean Methodist Church, which was started in 1885 by the Rev. Henry Appenzeller, a missionary from New Jersey. Perhaps the most moving moment of our trip occurred when the group visited Panmunjom and the Demilitarized Zone. We could feel the tension between north and south as we entered the heavily fortified area. South Korean and U.S. soldiers in full-combat gear were faced off against the North Korean army just across a valley. We joined hands and were led in prayer by the Rev. Louis Shockley, Baltimore West District superintendent. He prayed mightily for the peaceful reunification of the two nations. While we were praying, the North Koreans turned up the volume on their propaganda music in a futile attempt to drown out our prayers. When we finished praying, the volume of music decreased. It was a strong reminder for all of us that we must continue to work for peace until the music of violence and war is heard no more. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Bishop Shin Dong Il and the clergy and the laity of the Southern Conference we had the opportunity to explore Koreas contrasts. Our work and worship took place mostly in the area in and around DaeJon, where the World Cup Soccer games will soon be held. We also had the opportunity to begin to form a relationship between our two annual conferences.  We were able to visit Koreas equivalent of our shalom zones. For example, we visited a rural church that used its land to build a plum orchard and an organic peanut farm. These economic enterprises allowed that church to build a new and very modern sanctuary. Now they are building a fish farm to fund scholarships for their college-age youth.
We enjoyed attending the opening session of their annual conference. There was a 100-voice choir of women for the service of worship. Some of those women will be present at our annual conference session in June. Bishop Shin, who was assisted by four retired bishops, led the service. I preached at the opening session. Rev. Chi Bon Jang translated the sermon, sentence by sentence, into Korean. The many parallels between our Baltimore-Washington Conference and the Southern Korea Conference fascinated our group. We saw the same spirit-filled singing, the same kinds of exhibits, and people standing outside in the halls to talk with one another. Even the lunch lines seemed similar. The food, however, was unique to Korea. Food there is an art form. Each piece of food was carefully arranged to form a colorful buffet table of unique aromas and tastes. Our conference mission team also visited Mokwon University. This Christian university is located just outside of DaeJon. Several United Methodist missionaries teach at this university. It was exciting to interact with them and see what our apportionment dollars were doing to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The Rev. Ed DeLong, an associate council director, met with those who do new church starts in the Southern Conference. There was a good interchange of ideas and plans were made for a Korean team to visit our conference in October. We returned tired and with a sense of accomplishment. In the future, both conferences hope to see an exchange of laity, pastors and youth. These exchanges will enable all of us to break down the barriers of race and culture and strengthen the church. The Rev. Donald Stewart is director of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Council on Ministries and Council on Human Resource Development. | 
Login/Register to leave comment