- “2017년 8.15 평화통일 남북공동기도문” 보도요청의 건
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보 도 자 료
교회협 언론 2017 - 92호 (2017. 7. 19)
수 신 : 각 언론사
발 신 : 한국기독교교회협의회(NCCK) 화해·통일위원회
제 목 : “2017년 8.15 평화통일 남북공동기도문” 보도요청의 건
NCCK-조그련, 2017년 세계교회와 함께하는 한반도 평화통일 공동기도주일에 남북 공동기도문으로 기도
2017년 세계교회와 함께하는 한반도 평화통일 공동기도주일에도 한국기독교교회협의회(NCCK, 총무 김영주 목사)와 조선그리스도교련맹(이하, 조그련)이 공동기도문으로 기도한다. NCCK는 평화조약체결을 위한 유럽캠페인 기간 중 독일 라이프찌히에서 조그련과 만나 공동기도문을 함께 작성하였다.
세계교회협의회(WCC)는 매년 8월 15일 직전 주일을 한반도 평화통일을 위한 공동기도주일로 지정하였고, 세계교회가 NCCK와 조그련이 합의한 공동기도문을 예배 중에 사용하고 있다. NCCK는 이 공동기도문을 번역하여 세계교회협의회, 세계개혁교회연맹 (WCRC) 등에 배포하였으며, WCC와 WCRC는 7월 19일 두 총무 공동 명의로 한반도 평화통일 공동주일에 적극 참여할 것을 회원교회에 독려했다. NCCK는 공동기도문과 함께 공동예배문, 분단의 아픔과 용서를 담은 이야기를 전 세계 교회에 배포하였다. 한편 NCCK 화해와 통일위원회는 8월 13일 오후 2시 30분 전농교회 (서울 전농동)에서 교회협 주최 연합예배를 드린다.
기도문의 전문은 아래와 같다.
- 아 래 -
2017년 8.15 평화통일 남북/북남 공동기도주일 기도문
“너는 막대기 하나를 취하여 그 위에 유다와 그 짝 이스라엘 자손이라 쓰고 또 다른 막대기 하나를 취하여 그 위에 에브라임의 막대기 곧 요셉과 그 짝 이스라엘 온 족속이라 쓰고 그 막대기들을 서로 연합하여 하나가 되게 하라. 네 손에서 둘이 하나가 되리라.” (에스겔 37장16-17절)
자비하신 하나님!
올해도 어김없이 8월이 찾아왔습니다. 우리는 아직도 남과 북/북과 남에서 따로따로 광복을 기억하고, 기념합니다. 얼마나 혹독한 세월이 흐르고, 잔인한 대결 속에 지냈습니까? 비록 일제의 억압은 사라졌지만, 아직도 민족끼리 증오하고 있으며, 여전히 주변 나라들의 간섭을 받고 있습니다. 주님, 우리의 처지를 불쌍히 여겨 주시옵소서.
역사를 주관하시는 하나님!
우리는 지난 72년 동안 하나 되는 꿈을 꾸었지만, 속마음과 달리 서로 등지고 원수처럼 살아왔습니다. 사랑하는 식구들이 나뉜 채 살아가며, 다른 체제와 이념으로 분단의 담을 높이 쌓았습니다. 주님, 이 민족의 역사에 거룩하신 두 손으로 개입하시길 원합니다. 뜨거운 마음으로 통일을 소망하게 하시고, 서로 협력함으로 희망의 땀을 흘리게 하소서. 해마다 8월을 맞을 때마다 우리로 가슴 찢어 회개하게 하시고, 저마다 가슴 벅찬 소명을 품게 하옵소서.
평화를 이끄시는 하나님!
주님, 우리는 입으로는 하나의 민족이요, 같은 동포라고 하면서 서로 증오하였습니다. 남북기본합의서, 6.15남북공동선언, 10.4남북정상선언의 정신을 훼손하였고, 금강산 관광과 개성공단의 문빗장을 굳게 닫아걸었습니다. 그리하여 이 땅은 더 큰 위험과 위협 속에 놓였습니다. 주님, 평화를 목말라하는 우리의 간절한 호소를 들어주시옵소서.
소망을 주시는 하나님!
주님, 우리가 또 꿈을 꾸게 하소서. 외세와의 군사훈련이 필요치 않은 금수강산, 이웃 강대국들에게 간섭과 부림을 받지 않는 새 세상을 바라보게 하소서. 8.15 해방의 감격, 그 때의 초심으로 다시 시작하게 하옵소서. 하루속히 소통의 문이 열리게 하시고, 공동번영을 위해 어깨동무하게 하시며, 허심탄회하게 남과 북/북과 남이 만나게 하옵소서. 주님, 이 땅에서 화해와 포용의 역사를 새롭게 열어가게 하옵소서.
은혜의 하나님!
우리나라, 삼천리에 성령의 은총을 내리시옵소서. 평화의 맑은 햇살이 백두에서 한라까지 두루 비추고, 기쁨의 소나기가 온 나라의 메마른 대지를 적시게 하옵소서. 이 땅과 세계에 흩어진 팔천만 민족이 누구나 행복하고, 저마다 주인으로 살도록 인도하옵소서. 그리하여 하나 되어 더욱 커진 우리 민족이 온 세계를 두루 섬기게 하옵소서.
평화의 임금, 예수 그리스도의 이름으로 기도드립니다.
2017년 8월 15일
한국기독교교회협의회 조선그리스도교련맹 중앙위원회
* 문의 : 홍보실 (02-742-8981) / 화해통일국 (02-743-4470)
The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK)
Tel. 02-742-8981 Fax. 02-744-6189
Email. kncc@kncc.or.kr http://www.kncc.or.kr
2017-07-19 02:13:06
- 선언문 "한국기독교교회협의회 비상시국대책회의 활동을 마치며" 보도요청
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보 도 자 료
교회협 언론 2017 - 90호 (2017. 7. 12.)
수 신 : 각 언론사
발 신 : 한국기독교교회협의회(NCCK) 비상시국대책회의
제 목 : 선언문 "한국기독교교회협의회 비상시국대책회의 활동을 마치며" 보도요청
1. 한국기독교교회협의회(총무 김영주 목사) 비상시국대책회의(상임의장 김상근 목사)는 활동을 종료하며 마지막 선언문을 발표하였습니다.
2. 한국기독교교회협의회 비상시국대책회의는 지난 2016년 7월 21일, 종교단체나 시민단체 중 가장 먼저 박근혜 정부 하의 시국이 비상상황임을 인식하여 비상시국대책회의를 구성하여 촛불시민들과 더불어 박근혜 대통령 파면과 국민주권시대를 열기 위한 노력을 기울여 왔습니다.
3. 비상시국대책회의는 선언문을 통해 그간의 활동을 정리하고 향후 촛불혁명 과제의 구체적인 결과를 만들어 나가는 일과 민주주의 회복을 반대하고 정의와 평화, 생명의 가치에 반하는 교회내의 적폐청산을 위해 교회쇄신을 위한 노력에 나설 것을 선언하였습니다.
4. 선언문 전문은 아래에 수록하였습니다. 귀사의 보도를 요청합니다.
- 아 래 -
한국기독교교회협의회 비상시국대책회의 활동을 마치며
한국기독교교회협의회(NCCK)는 박근혜 정권의 국정농단 사태가 드러나기 전인 지난 해 7월 21일, 제64회기 3차 실행위원회의 결의로 ‘비상시국대책회의’(이하 대책회의)를 발족하였다. 1980년대에 군부 독재에 저항하며 비상시국대책위원회를 구성한 이래 실로 25년 만의 일이었다.
대책회의는 발족선언문을 통해 ‘박근혜 정부는 역사와 국민 앞에 사죄해야 한다’고 요구했다. 또한 우리는 정의와 평화가 파괴되고 민주주의가 훼손된 현실 속에서 복음의 사회적 책무에 헌신하지 못하고, 예언자적 사명을 다하지 못한 죄를 뼈아프게 뉘우치고 회개하였다. 나아가 박근혜 정부 출범 이후 국민을 섬기는 정치는 실종됐고, 민생 경제는 파탄 났으며, 정직하게 땀 흘려 일하는 이들의 삶은 날로 피폐해져 가고 있는 현실과, 남북관계를 화해와 협력이 아닌 끝없는 증오와 대결로 치닫게 했음을 지적하였다. 대책회의는 당시 상황이 비상시국임을 천명하고 “박근혜 대통령은 국정의 실패와 비정상적인 국정운영에 대해 국민과 역사 앞에 사죄하고, 반헌법적이고 반생명적인 국정 기조를 청산할 것을 촉구"하였다.
대책회의는 발족 이래 총 11차례의 시국선언문을 발표하였고, 23번의 회의와 5번의 기자회견, 각 지역 방문활동과 11,627명의 국민주권시대 염원 서명 발표, 탄핵 결정 하루 전의 광화문 시국기도회, 3차례의 국회방문 등을 통해 비상시국을 타개하기 위해 노력하였고, 촛불 혁명의 국민적 여망에 부응하는 새 시대를 열기 위해 동분서주하였다.
결국 박근혜 전 대통령은 파면되었고 정권의 주요 인사들은 구속되었다. 엄동설한에도 광장으로 나와 촛불을 든 국민들의 승리이자 평화로운 혁명이었다. 그리고 올해 5월 9일, 선거를 통해 선출된 제19대 대통령 취임과 새 정부가 출범하였다. 비정상이 정상으로 바뀐 것이다. 이에 우리는 비상시국대책회의의 활동을 종료하며 다음과 같이 우리의 입장을 밝힌다.
1. "이게 나라냐!"라는 좌절과 탄식으로 시작하여, 국정 정상화와 새 나라를 이루고자 광장을 가득 메운 국민들의 촛불 혁명은 새 지도자의 탄생과 더불어 대한민국의 새로운 미래의 가능성과 희망을 만들어나가고 있다. 전 세계 여론은 대한민국이 이룬 세계 민주주의의 새로운 역사를 높이 평가하며 부러워하고 있다. 그러나 새 정부에 맡겨진 촛불 혁명의 과제는 이제 첫 단추를 끼우기 시작한 것에 불과하다. 우리는 향후 촛불 혁명 과제의 구체적인 결과를 만들어가는 일에 국민들과 더불어 주체적으로 참여하며, 앞으로도 예언자적 사명을 감당해 나갈 것이다.
2. 국민들의 민주주의와 개혁을 향한 열망이 광장의 천만 촛불로 분출되는 동안에도, 일부 수구 기독교 집단은 탄핵을 반대하고 박근혜 정권 호위를 주장하였으며, 심지어 탄핵반대 집회에 십자가를 들고 나갔다. 이는 국민적 지탄을 받을 일이고, 역사에 부끄러운 일일 뿐 아니라, 거룩한 십자가에 대한 모독이다. 그리스도인으로서, 차별과 불평등을 양산하고 부정과 부패를 일삼는 불의한 권력을 옹호하는 것은 그야말로 비성서적이며, 비신앙적 행태이다. 신앙의 이름으로 정의와 평화의 요구를 반대하고 비난하는 것은 하나님의 뜻에 맞서는 일이다.
특히 근래에 예장통합 소속 목사가 NCCK를 좌익종북이라고 비난하며, 예장통합과 감리교 평신도 단체들을 부추겨 NCCK 탈퇴를 주장하게 만들었고, 이 주장이 총회에 안건으로 상정되기까지 했다. 박정희 군사독재 시절에나 있을 법한 일이 벌어진 것이다. 우리는 여러 가지 정황으로 이 소란 뒤에 국가권력 기관의 기획이 있었다고 보고 있고, 이것이 사실이라면 묵과할 수 없는 일이다. 하지만 더 개탄스러운 것은 그런 기획에 부화뇌동하는 일부 수구적인 그리스도인들과 단체들의 신앙 행태다. 더욱이 이런 어이없는 주장을 대하고 처리하는 교단의 처신 또한 유감스러운 일이라 하지 않을 수 없다.
우리는 한국교회 일각의 반개혁적이고 수구적인 행태에 대해 깊은 우려를 표하며, 탄핵반대 집회에 십자가를 들고 나가고, 이해관계에 따라 NCCK의 신앙과 실천을 좌익종북으로 몰아가는 이런 세력과 그 행태가 교회 내의 적폐라고 본다. 이 지점에서 “이게 나라냐”라는 비판은 교회에도 “이게 교회냐”라는 비판으로 이어지고 있다.
그러므로 한국교회는 민주주의의 회복에 반대하고, 정의와 평화 생명의 활동을 저지하려는 적폐를 청산하기 위한 교회사적 일대 쇄신운동을 요청받고 있다. 우리는 대책회의가 해산된 후에도 교회의 쇄신을 바라는 많은 그리스도인들과 협력하면서 이 일에 나설 것이다.
올해는 6.10 민주시민항쟁의 30주년이자, 종교개혁 500주년을 맞는 해이다. 민족운동사의 분수령인 3.1독립운동 100주년도 2년 뒤로 다가왔다. 우리는 30년 전의 미완의 민주시민 혁명을 바탕으로 대한민국의 헌정 질서 확립을 이루고, 나아가 동아시아의 평화와 공존을 이루기 위한 국제 질서 정립에 기여하는 국가적 위상이 발휘되기까지, 촛불 혁명의 완성을 위해 계속 전진해갈 것이다.
2017년 7월 12일
한국기독교교회협의회 비상시국대책회의
상임의장 김상근 외, 위원 일동
* 문의 : 홍보실 (02-742-8981)
The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK)
Tel. 02-742-8981 Fax. 02-744-6189
Email. kncc@kncc.or.kr http://www.kncc.or.kr
2017-07-12 03:02:19
- Interview with Dr. David Suh
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A Moment of Forgiveness and a Moment of Grace
Summary* by Kurt Esslinger
Dr. David Suh was born in the village of Kanggye near the northern border of Korea and China before North and South Korea became separate nations. His father became a pastor during the years Korea was occupied by the Japanese Empire. His father’s outspoken resistance to Japanese occupation put them in danger, so they moved to Manchuria closer to the edges of the Japanese empire. Dr. Suh’s father sent him to a Japanese middle school because he said, “You must learn the language of the empire.” He was attending school the day that empire fell, on August 15th, 1945. He was the only Korean in a class full of Japanese youth. He remembers the Japanese teacher calling the attention of the class to announce that the emperor had just surrendered to end World War II. While his classmates all expressed their grief, he had to hide his feelings of joy. He ran home to his father and celebrated openly with him.
After Japan left Korea, Dr. Suh and his family moved back to their home in the village of Kanggye. Eventually, as the south and north zones became two separate countries in 1948, his father then became outspoken against the communist leadership of the new North Korean administration. Some Christians were joining the communist administration and created the Korean Christian Federation (KCF), urging pastors like his father to join. His father refused, becoming an enemy of the KCF. Thus, the police of North Korea took a negative interest in his father’s outspokenness. Eventually they moved further south toward Pyongyang. Five years after Japan surrendered Korea to the Soviet Union and the United States, war flared up again in June of 1950. Soon after the war began, Dr. Suh’s father went missing. While wondering who might have taken his father and what they might have done to him, Dr. Suh also had to worry about being picked up by the North Korean army himself and taken to fight in the war, since he was 19 years old in 1950. He and his younger brother would hide in a hole in the floor of his house. His ability to hide did not last forever; however, the kindness of a stranger saved him from likely death on the battlefield.
“I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, of course I should have
said, ‘Yes I am sick.’ Instead I argued with him, ‘No I am not sick, I am
healthy.’ "
The North Korean army finally picked him up when the August heat of 1950 got so uncomfortable he had to get out for some fresh air. They trucked him into town and lined him up to see the doctor who was supposed to determine his physical fitness for the war. To his astonishment, the doctor told him, “You are sick.” He describes his response, “I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, of course I should have said, ‘Yes I am sick.’ Instead I argued with him, ‘No I am not sick, I am healthy.’ Thankfully, he insisted, ‘No, you are sick.’ He gave me a piece of paper that said I was not healthy enough to join the army. I didn’t know him, he was not a member of our church. To this day I still have no idea why he decided to do that for me. The easy answer would be to say it was God, I guess?” As he was heading away from the line of young men, he heard his little brother call out to him. The army had also found his little brother. His brother said to him, “Older brother, where are you going? You should be going in that [other] direction. We are supposed to go that way to the war.” Dr. Suh then showed his brother his medical release paper. His brother then responded, “Okay, older brother. You shouldn’t go to war. I will go to the army instead of you.” He hasn’t seen his little brother since that moment. Dr. Suh explains that these memories make him wonder, “Why am I here, then? What is my purpose if these people did so much to make sure I could survive?” He humbly muses that as old as he is and as many years as he has spent praying, he is still asking himself this question.
After the US won access to North Korea, his family was finally free to look for his father. Eventually they found him. Someone told him his father’s body was by the Taedong River in Pyongyang. He went looking, and sure enough he found a group of four other ministers who were executed and tied together. He found his father’s body covered in bullet holes and blood. Dr. Suh remembers the anger he felt as he held his father’s body, and he remembers the strong desire for revenge.
Dr. Suh then moved to the South. He joined the South Korean Navy as a way to avenge his father. He received another special opportunity when he scored highly on an entrance test. His results gained him access to a program that sent high performing Koreans to study in the US, and a friend he made in the US navy encouraged him to take it up. Near the end of his study at a US school, his friend had him over for dinner and asked him, “What are you going to do next?” Dr. Suh was planning on returning to the Korean navy at that time, but the friend suggested, “No, you are not the navy type. You are a scholar type.” His navy friend helped him return to the US and register for a Christian college in Montana. Dr. Suh went on to study theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1962 where he later earned a Master of Divinity degree. There he read Bonhoeffer’s letters from prison, he went to hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak of the Civil Rights Movement in Washington D.C., and he watched his friends and fellow students join in the Civil Rights Movement. He says that this time tested him theologically as he began to reflect on his own attitude toward his enemy and his desire for revenge. He began reflecting theologically on revenge, forgiveness, and “What should be my Christian attitude toward my enemies who killed my father?”
… what is the difference between a communist dictator and a capitalist
dictator?’
He also studied at Vanderbilt University where he received a PhD, after which he returned to Korea and joined in the movement for human rights and democratization against the forces of South Korean dictatorship while teaching at Ewha University. At that time Park Jung-Hee, father of the recent former president Park Geun-Hye, was in power, and in the name of anti-communism and pro-USA rhetoric severely oppressed South Korean workers, students, and Christian intellectuals who opposed him. “I thought, ‘My father fought against the communist dictator and gave his life for human rights and democracy and freedom in North Korea, and here is this so-called democratic dictator… what is the difference between a communist dictator and a capitalist dictator?’ So I should follow my father’s example against all dictatorship.” That is when he became involved with the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK). Dr. Suh was eventually arrested by South Korean police for “agitating his students to demonstrate against Park Jung-Hee.” They forced him to resign his position at Ewha in 1980, which then freed him up to be ordained as a pastor of a local congregation. Despite the pressure from his government, he never ended his involvement in the Korean peace and unification issue.
This gave Dr. Suh the opportunity to join the NCCK for a consultation in Montreal, Canada in 1991 that included the KCF, his father’s old North Korean Christian enemies. There, the head of the North Korean delegation, who shared the same age as Dr. Suh, was the son of one of the founders of the KCF, his father’s main enemy. Both Dr. Suh and this representative of the KCF were set to speak before Canadian church and government leaders as well as representatives of the World Council of Churches.
He describes the encounter: “Then I really struggled the night before. Father, your son is here to talk about peace, and I’m representing South Korean Christians. What do I do? How can I meet this guy? But the following morning right before the meeting started, he came to me and said, ‘Dr. Suh, can you translate, interpret my speech?’ I said, ‘You have your own interpreter who came with you.’ He responded, ‘No, no, he is no [kind of] interpreter. His English is [not] good. He came here to watch me.’ But if I were to help him translate his speech that is a violation of South Korea’s National Security Law and I could get arrested. ‘Wait a minute, I have to talk with my friends from South Korea.’ I went to them to say that guy is asking me to translate his speech. And my friends, my really close friends turned away from me and said, ‘Hey that’s your business.’ What a help?!
“Then I made a decision…. Do I choose revenge or forgiveness? And then I heard a voice, ‘Loving your enemy is the real revenge.’ Okay, I will do that. So I helped him with translation. Then after him I did my own keynote address representing South Korea. After I did that, it was a small act, but violating South Korean law, helping my North Korean enemy, I felt a sense of freedom from the bondage of thoughts of doing bad things to my enemy. It was like a moment of grace, a chance for me to perform a loving action for my enemy. From then on I felt so free to talk about North Korea, peace, and reconciliation. In 2004 I had a chance to visit Pyongyang and give a sermon in front of a congregation of 300. There I told them about my story [this story], and in Pyongyang they all wept. They are Christians, they are Koreans, and they have the same feelings that I have for peace and unification. Now I am not only free on these issues, but also I have conviction that we may be united once again as brothers and sisters.”
* This story is a summary of an interview of Dr. David Suh (Korean: Suh, Kwang Sun), retired pastor and professor of Ewha University, done by Kurt Esslinger, pastor and mission co-worker of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. assigned to the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK). The interview was broadcast as a webinar hosted by Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ/Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in cooperation with the NCCK Reconciliation and Unification Committee.
2017-07-28 03:21:42
- Worship and Joint Prayer for North/South Korea Peaceful Reunification
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2017 Sunday Prayer Worship for Peaceful Reunification
for North and South Korea
"Let Us Pursue What Makes for Peace and
For Mutual Upbuilding "
Sunday, August 13th, 2017
Theme: "Let us then pursue what is for peace and for mutual upbuilding." (Romans 14:19)
Goals
To pray, with all the churches of the world, for the reconciliation and healing of the divided Korean peninsula
To overcome the South / North antagonism and conflict by opening an interaction between North and South
To foster an environment that will see the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula by concluding a Peace Treaty
To create a spirit of cooperation and solidarity among the churches of the world who pray for peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula as well as peace in the global villageBackground
August 15 is celebrated as Liberation Day in Korea, the day that signifies Korea's Liberation from Japanese colonization.
In 2013, the WCC 10th General Assembly meeting in Busan, Korea was held on August 15 as a "Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula."
The Reconciliation and Reunification Committee of the NCCK drafted this liturgy in hopes that each church could apply with their own situation.
The Joint Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula was prepared by both the NCCK (South) and the Korean Christian Federation (North) together.
In 2017, the NCCK has been working with the global ecumenical community. The Korean Peace Treaty campaign will be held in 2018. A Korea peace treaty will be established in the Korean peninsula.
Order of Worship
Sounding of the GongPraying for the presence of the Trinity God, 3-strikes
Call to Worship (please stand)
Liturgist: God of creation, you brought life to all that we see. You set the boundaries of the universe and placed us within its care.
Congregation: Creator God, breathe life into your creation.
L: Holy Spirit, you bind your children together in community. Your bonds transcend borders created by human kind. You kindle the fire within us that stirs our passion for faith, justice, and reconciliation.
C: Spirit God, inspire us to reconciliation.
L: Jesus the Christ, you came to teach and lead. You showed us the cost of discipleship when you stood up against the powers of the world, and they tried to suppress your truth by sentencing you to death. Your life was more powerful than death.
C: Jesus the Christ, help us to reflect the light of truth and peace.
Opening HymnOpening Hymn - Chuyo Chuyo
L: God, please be with your people. Carry us through this wilderness of fear and cycles of retaliation. Show us the path to the land where we will study the war no more, where the Korean peninsula becomes one again, and give us strength to take every step.
C: God of the Holy Trinity, please be with us. (Please be seated)
Confessions of SinL: God of forgiveness, we often stray from your path. As soon as we begin the journey we become easily distracted. We flirt with ideologies that distort your reality. We will reduce our neighbors to an enemy image when we should honor each other as a beloved child of God. We neglect our neighbor's needs and place our own interests as an idol above your commandment to reconciliation. We ignore our neighbors' wounds and claim that, "God only cares about my suffering." We take steps in the direction you lead us, but we become tired and lose energy. We lose faith in your ability to carry your life on the water. God, please turn us back to your path and fill us with the strength to persist. In your mercy, unite us as one.
A: God has mercy. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy upon us.
Assurance of PardonL: Friends, believe the good news. In Jesus Christ you are forgiven. Now extend this to your sisters, your brothers, your neighbors around you.
Sung Response: Halle, Halle, Hallelujah
Hearing The Word
Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 33: 6 I am going to bring it to recovery and healing; I will heal them and reveal them abundance [d] of prosperity and security. (NRSV)
New Testament Reading: Romans 14:19Let us then pursue what is for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (NRSV)
Sermon"Let us pursue what makes peace and for mutual upbuilding."
Thanksgiving and Response
2017 North / South Joint Prayer for Peaceful Reunification
Response to Prayer Oh Lord Hear My Prayer
Offering
Offering Hymn
Sending to the World
Sharing of Peace
L: God grants us peace so that we can hide it away in a dark room to keep ourselves comfortable. God grants us peace so that we may share it with all those around us, neighbors near and far. God calls us to take this peace into uncomfortable situations of conflict. It is a peace that passes all understanding. It is a peace more powerful than all machinations of violence. It is a peace that challenges the dangerous idolatries. It's a peace that binds us together even across boundaries of conflict. May that peace fill you up until it overflows. May the peace of the Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
All: Now, it's filled with the transcendent peace of God, reach out and share it with your sisters and brothers next to you. (Everyone exchanges the sign of peace according to one's own custom.)
Closing Hymn Put Peace Into Each Others Hands
Blessing (in unison)
All: May the blessing of God be with you all. May the healing of God restore your wounds. May the peace of God be transformed in your communities so that they may become communities of God's commonwealth; a commonwealth where all God's children receive the bread and water they live in in abundance. May the Korean peninsula become one again. May God grant you the power to go into this world and join God in the work cultivating this peace. Amen.
2017-07-31 08:02:17
