2013년 10월 30일-11월 8일까지 부산 벡스코에서 개최된 WCC 제10차 총회 기간동안 매일 저녁 기장과 협력을 맺은 해외교단들과 에큐메니칼 만찬을 하며 환영의 인사말을 전한 내용입니다.
Greetings of General Secretary at Fellowship Dinners
WCC 10th General Assembly
I am Bae Tae Jin, PROK General Secretary. I welcome all of you to Korea for the WCC 10th General Assembly. The time has finally arrived to host our partner churches in Busan.
It is my pleasure to bring greetings to our partners. Let me share a small glimpse of our history with you. The Christian faith is quite new to Korea; it was not until 1884 that the Gospel was first preached here in Korea by Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries. The faith was eagerly welcomed and has been strongly planted in this land. We found strength in Jesus Christ for the issues that faced us during the 20th Century – the occupation by Japan, the Great Pacific War and its aftermath, the Korean War and the division of our country, then the struggle for democracy against the military dictatorships. During all this, we held firm to the promises of the Bible and as well received much support from our foreign partners.
In the PROK we are strongly committed to justice in Korean society and around the world, to peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and to maintaining the integrity of creation. Presently our greatest prayer and mission focus is reunification of this Korean Peninsula, divided after the Korean War by the great powers. In 2010 we undertook a campaign for a Peace Treaty, As it was the anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War we wanted to gather signatures to urge the 6-Parties, the governments who signed the Armistice in 1953, (which was supposed to be temporary) to come together for working on a Peace Treaty, which will give our home peace and reconciliation instead of the constant upheaval of war rhetoric. I ask that each of you here will go to our Madang Display booth # 141 to sign the petition, and we hope you will add your voice to Ecumenical Conversation # 17, “The Korean Peninsula: ecumenical solidarity for justice and peace”, and support the statement which will come from the General Assembly. It is our prayer and dearest wish that our people once more become one as Korean brothers and sisters living in peace.
There are many other issues of today that concern us – healthy church growth and support of our rural churches, encouraging our youth in the faith and bringing up the new generation of church leaders, the plight of migrant workers and marriage migrants who live and work in Korea but often experience prejudice and discrimination, vital issues of the environment and stewardship, globalization and the widening gap between rich and poor. These are global issues. It is our desire to work with all of you, our partners, in finding solutions to these issues, and acting on the Missio Dei, God’s mission in the world, with the eyes and the wisdom of God.
Brothers and sisters we pray with you, “God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace”.
[이 게시물은 관리자님에 의해 2016-11-03 21:36:25 총무 칼럼에서 이동 됨]
