Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

Sunday of Prayer for Korean Reunification: “Lead us to a new historical turning point”

2018-08-13 16:37

“Our people have lived in separation, South and North, for more than 70 years…Help us greet a turning point in history at this new crossroad. Lead us to open our hearts and join shoulder to shoulder to envision a new road of strong peace and stable prosperity that will lead to unification.” (2018 North-South Joint Prayer for Peaceful Reunification)

This is an excerpt from the North-South Joint Prayer, which was read aloud on August 12 at the “2018 Joint Sunday Prayer Service Together With the World Churches for Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.” The reconciliation and reunification committee of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK; Lee Hong-jeong, general secretary) prepared the service (photo), held on this day at the Salvation Army Ahyeon Church in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, with the theme “Let us design peace and pursue works that help each other,” as an occasion of prayer together with the churches of the world for peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula and peace in the global village as a whole.

This worship service took place according to the decision of the World Council of Churches (WCC) at its 2013 Busan Assembly, to observe a “Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula” on the Sunday just before August 15 each year. NCCK and the Korean Christian Federation together composed the North-South Joint Prayer. The liturgy to be distributed by WCC to its member churches was written by the NCCK reconciliation and reunification committee.

A confession made during the worship service called upon the churches of North and South to give concrete form to the spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration, which presented a new road toward peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean people. The worshippers prayed, “Grant strength to the churches of South and North, that we may put into practice the spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration, in all areas of our life.” The prayers also contained hopes for free association among the divided family members, for the conclusion of a peace treaty, and for peace on the Korean peninsula and throughout the world.

Reporter Yang Minkyeong (grieg@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Photo by senior reporter Kang Min Seok

Original Article in Korean:
“70여년간 남과 북으로 갈라져 살아온 민족… 새로운 역사적 전환점 맞도록 이끌어주소서”: 평화통일 공동기도주일 예배

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