WCC News: Korea Easter prayer envisions “a daily life of peace”

An Easter prayer from the Korean Peninsula—a tradition that has continued for 28 years—brings forth the vision of reunification and peace.  Ribbons with messages of peace and reunification hung on the Freedom Bridge at Imjingak, a park located on the banks of the Imjin River in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth 28 March 2024 “Many agreements that have been made so far with some difficulty are losing their power,” laments the prayer. “The Kaesong Industrial District Support Foundation has been dissolved, and the tasks of connecting the people's separated families are disappearing.” Published this year by the National Council of Churches in Korea, the prayer notes that at least 100,000 families remain separated by the barriers between North and South Korea.  “Despite our longing, we have been unable to properly wipe away the tears of the separated families looking for each other from the North and from the South,” the prayer reads. “The violence of division that permeated Korean society has extensively contaminated us and our wounds have grown.” The prayer notes that the wound of division is far too large. “God, please have pity on all those who have contributed to the division, and forgive us for not being more active toward reunification,” the text reads. “Forgive us for not holding the cross of the nation upright and as we have instead deepened the division.” The prayer asks for a consistent reunification policy that can be maintained even if the regime changes. “Let us prepare for the future of the Korean Peninsula with a daily life of peace,” the prayer reads. “Let the power that raised Jesus Christ from death be the source of the breakdown of division.” 2024 Joint North-South Korea Easter Prayer See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland