WCC news: Global prayer for peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula reflects “we will not give up”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) invites the global fellowship and all people of good will to join, on 15 August, a prayer for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. Artworks representing the map of the Korean peninsula at the Odusan Unification Tower, near Seoul. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 24 July 2024 Composed by the National Council of Churches in Korea, the prayer will be held on Liberation Day, observed in both North and South Korea to mark the date in 1945 when Korea won independence from Japanese colonial oppression. The date was also when the peninsula was divided into two countries. “It seems like only yesterday we were holding hands and crossing over this wall that has stood here so long, but now we are calling each other enemies rather than children of God,” the prayer reads. “The communication that we shared with each other as we were filled with hope is now cut off, and only slander and fear come and go on the wind currents overhead.” The prayerful lines also speak of rising up. “O God, who makes peace, spread out your hands,” the prayer reads. “Give us the desire for peace.” WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay underscored the WCC’s commitment to churches working for peace on the Korean Peninsula. “The WCC remains deeply committed to supporting inter-Korean leadership for peace and reunification of the divided Korean people,” he said. “We ask the churches around the world and all people of good will to continue to accompany the churches of Korea by praying and acting for peace and reunification.” Read the full prayer English French German Spanish Korean "Ecumenical Forum on Korea: we are not giving up on relationships" - WCC news release, 11 July 2024 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