One Week In
I have been in South Korea for just over a full week now. I think I am mostly past the jet lag, although I still wake up around 4:30 AM. This will continue to improve, I’m sure.
Each Thursday we visit a different church in Seoul to learn its history and see nearby points of interest. Last week we visited Sanding Methodist Church - the first church established by William Scranton. The church is led by Rev. Sung Lee.
The following information was provided by Sangdong Church:
When Scranton - a missionary and a physician - landed in Incheon on May 3, 1885, he moved to Seoul and established a medical clinic in his home in Jeongdong. The clinic grew quickly and was relocated from Jeongdong to Sangdong so that it could better serve the poor. His mission work created a small but growing community of about 20 believers, forming the core of what would later become Sangdong Church. The church was officially organized in 1893, with Scranton as its first pastor. The church grew quickly and was home to many renowned Korean Christian activists, inlcuding Jeon Deok-gi. These activists launched independence movements rooted in their faith. During the March 1st Movement of 1919, four of the 33 signers of the Korean Declaration of Independence had close ties to Sangdong Church. The congregation takes great pride in its history.
Since the early days of the Methodist movement, our faith has promoted us to seek the good of our communities. It is encouraging to see the ways Korean Methodist have lived into the commandments to love God and neighbor.
After our visit, we walked around Nansum and Myeong-dong. It was unusually crowded due to the holiday.
Other things from the past week:
Pastor Jeon of Kkotjae Church took Carolyn and me to a Starbucks near a park by the Han River. The shop is in a building that extends over the river’s banks. I was sipping my coffee, starting at the water when Pastor Jeon told me there is a Korean word for what I was doing: mulmung. Its’ not a particularly useful phrase for conversational Korean, but I was excited to learn a new word.
Kkotjae Church has a Friday night worship service of song and prayer. It begins at 8 PM and lasts two hours, although it didn’t seem that long. Koreans have a method of prayer called “tongsung kido” in which everyone prays loudly at the same time. It’s a way to live out the words of scripture in passages like Psam 34:17 - The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
On Sunday, Rev. Dr. Seok Jae Jeon joined me in worship at Kkotjae. Dr. Jeon is a professor at Seoul Theolgoical Seminary and a mentor in the Doctor of Ministry program at United Theological Seminary. I’ve known his wife for several years and met him in August. It was nice to see someone associated with home! The Bishop met with us briefly, which was lovely.
I continued serving in English Ministry with children on Sunday. Some of the children are timid around me because they have limited exposure to Western foreigners. But many of the kids had no reservations in asking me question (“Where are you from” and “Do you know [American I’ve never met]” are the most popular) or playing games with me. The ministry staff is mostly young adults who are joyful and very friendly.
This week I will get to visit a prayer mountain and see another church. I look forward to sharing an update next Monday!
