Visit to SeonMin Church

March 8 the Kim-Craggs visited SeonMin Church, the church of Soe GwangOk who stayed with Linnet when she came to Saskatoon.  We were very warmly welcomed.  An elderly but enthusiastic congregation of around 100 gathered for the 11 o'clock service.  I was given the honour of preaching.  I used the occasion to lay some groundwork for the visit. Here are some of the history I shared:

In 1893 William John McKenzie came to Korea with the blessing of (but no financial support from) his presbytery in Nova Scotia.  There he met Elder Seo who had just fished translating the Bible into Korean in Manchuria and bringing it, sans missionaries, to Korea.  This is where the partnership between our two churches starts.  By 1930 there were as many as 75 missionaries from Canada in Korea, many of them doctors and educators rather than preachers. (a different emphasis from our American and Australian counterparts some would say.)  With the second world war all missionaries were sent home.  Some had barely returned when the Korean war broke out forcing them to leave again.  The missionary presence was ended.  When it started again it was part of a new chapter in the partnership.
With independence from Japan and the division of the peninsula a new era began for the church and for its missionary partners.  The PROK was formed when one of the teachers at HanShin University affirmed the use of critical reason for understanding the Bible.  He was through out of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) and was forced to start an new denomination the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK).  One of his close friends was a Canadian missionary from the UCC.  The UCC supported the theology of the PROK and decided to support the new denomination rather than the bigger PCUSA supported PCK.  The Canadian support was also unique because, again unlike other overseas churches, it decided to hand over all its property to the new church, acknowledging to total ownership and authority of Korean Christians for their own church.  The PROK was particularly concerned with social and political issues.
When South Korea suffered a military coup and came under an authoritarian regime many of its ministers resisted.  Their efforts landed many in prison for many years.  Many were tortured by the Korean CIA. Many were harassed and threatened.  In all this UCC missionaries were witnesses and at times collaborators, attending demonstrations and getting information out to churches and newspapers in other places.  Among these was Willa Kernan, a member of Third Ave United Church and resident at Oliver Lodge.
In the years since this effort the presence of missionaries has dwindled to one: Catherine Christie from Saskatchewan Conference.  Once again the Korean-Canadian church partnership is changing.  I feel that the exchange trip that we are embarking on is part of a new chapter in that partnership.

I'm ashamed to say I forgot to take any pictures from our visit to SeonMin Church.  This was the only shot I could find on the web.  It is of the front of the sanctuary.