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Peace Treaty Campaign
The Reconciliation and Unification Committee of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) spent the month of July working on completing a campaign for a peace treaty on the Korean peninsula. This concluded a year-long push collecting signatures from around the world for which they collected about 13,000 signatures calling for immediate negotiations to work on a peace treaty. Both YMCA and YWCA joined the NCCK in these efforts and cooperated on several events throughout the month of July.
From July 23rd through the 25th young adults gathered in Cheorwon around the DMZ for a Young Adult’s Peace Camp including lectures and workshops on peacemaking on the Korean peninsula. The event was led by YMCA Korea and supported by the NCCK. It ended with a celebration of KOREA Peace Day on Saturday July 25th, with worship at First Methodist Church of Cheorwon and a prayer service outside the remains of the old Korean People’s Republic Department of Labor Cheorwon building. The prayer service was meant to be held atop Soisan hill, however rain forced a change in plans.
On July 21st the Reconciliation and Reunification Committee of the NCCK also organized a seminar to commemorate the 70th anniversary of independence as well as the division of the Korean peninsula. Under the theme, “Overcoming Division: Building Peace in the Korean Peninsula”, about 90 participants gathered to evaluate the peace and reunification mission work of the Korean church and to reaffirm the common vision for reconciliation, peace, and reunification. Most of the speakers stressed that, “at present the most significant task of the Korean church in her discourse on the mission of peace and reunification is to reduce the gap between ecumenical bodies such as the NCCK and local churches”, and “in order to reduce the gap the NCCK must provide different programs and projects which the local church members can internalize in every level of their life in the family, society and church.”
The campaign for a peace treaty culminated in a press conference outside Korea’s Blue House on Monday July 27th with participation from the NCCK, the YMCA Korea, and the Y WCA Korea. July 27th also marks the 62nd anniversary of the Korean armistice agreement, therefore, the aforementioned three organizations chose this day to hand deliver the campaign signatures to the Blue House calling for a peace treaty to replace the armistice agreement. The NCCK will also send the petition to the offices of the president of China and of the USA.
In addition, the NCCK will hold a worship service at 3pm on Sunday August 9th in anticipation of the August 15th anniversary of Liberation and Division. The service will be held at Seomun Presbyterian Church in Eungamdong of Seoul. They will use the joint prayer written by North and South for peace and reconciliation. If you cannot attend, you are invited to join us in prayer that Sunday along with our Christian sisters and brothers in North Korea praying for peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.
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