Day 7 (part 1) - "... that all may be one"

Oh, my friends.  My heart is very full after today. It was a wonderful day in Busan.

The theme of today was unity. In worship and Bible study, we talked about Pentecost, and considered that unity can exist in the midst of diversity. That is on clear display this week - there are many differences between the people who are gathered, and yet we are trying to find areas where we can be unified.

The Unity Plenary this morning was quite moving. We heard from four speakers about our journey, as churches, toward Christian unity. We have come a long way, but there are still great divisions. One of the most obvious of these is that we cannot yet share the Eucharist around the same table.

• Metropolitan Nifon of Târgoviste, from the Romanian Orthodox Church, reminded us that Jesus loved all of the people he met, regardless of their religion, and that sometimes the greatest challenge to Christian unity is within our own constituencies. Patience, passion and hardwork will be required for unity.
• The Rev. Dr. Neville Callam, from the Baptist World Alliance, said that churches should work to address the conflicting moral issues we have so that we don't entrench societal divisions.
• Alice Fabian, from the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, told us that there has been much work toward unity in South Africa, but that there is still work to do. She told us of two previously separate Zulu- and English-speaking congregations, using the same building, that have recently joined together to be one congregation.
• Bishop Mark MacDonald (a Canadian you may remember from yesterday's post) told of his ministry in the far north of North America, saying, "At 50 below zero, denominational differences disappear." He talked about the harsh conditions of the north (both human and environmental), and how people in the north are reminding the rest of us how to live faithfully on the land.

The conclusion of the plenary was a very special moment. A small group sat on the stage, in a semi-circle, facing away from us. They began singing Ubi Caritas from the Taizé Community, and we all joined in. The lyrics mean: Where true charity/love is, there is God. The people in the semi-circle then said "By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." in many languages. We then concluded with Laudate omnes gentes (Sing praises all you people, sing praises to the Lord). It was a truly wonderful moment.

Day 6 continued...

In my rush to post yesterday, I forgot to mention two very meaningful moments from the day:

- The Assembly received greetings from Rabbi David Fox Sandmel of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations. He concluded with these powerful words:

While we disagree about whether the Messiah is to come or come again, we are, in the felicitous phrase of the Christian theologian Clark Williamson, "partners in waiting." Until that day, we can and must work together to alleviate suffering, promote justice and repair our world for the reign of God. Ken yehi ratzon, may this be God's will. Amen.

- Eight new presidents of the WCC were elected last night. The North American President will be Bishop Mark MacDonald from the Anglican Church of Canada, a non-status Indian and the first indigenous president for the region. I am very excited by Mark's election. The Anglican Church has more information about the role of presidents and about Mark himself.

Day 6

I am finally getting used to this routine - sleeping until a semi-normal hour of the day, and the days at the convention centre seem to have kind of a rhythm to them now. I will be an expert at this just as it's time to come home...

It was a good day today - we are really getting into the meat/tofu (take your pick) of the assembly. The first plenary session this morning was focused on a new document the WCC has put together on mission - Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes. I will be the first to admit that the concept of evangelism can make me a bit uncomfortable, but there are some interesting things in this document. It talks about how what we proclaim must match how we live out our lives ("practice what you preach," if you will) and that eco-justice should be a big part of mission.

The part that stood out the most for me is a paradigm shift in the way we think about mission. We often think of "missionaries" from the west/north going to the south, but this document talks about "mission from the margins." It says:

People on the margins have agency, and can often see what, from the centre, is out of view. People on the margins, living in vulnerable positions, often know what exclusionary forces are threatening their survival and can best discern the urgency of their struggles; people in positions of privilege have much to learn from the daily struggles of people living in marginal conditions.

Cool, eh?

I attended a workshop this afternoon to learn about a dialogue process that has been taking place since the last assembly between European and Latin American churches. These two groups had some disagreements at the last assembly about globalization, so they took it upon themselves to begin a dialogue process to work through some of these issues. Quite neat to see how common ground can be found when we sit down and talk to one another, but amazing to think of the effort required just to agree on something like definitions.

At a second workshop this afternoon, we met in regional groups to discuss what churches might do to counter "the spirituality of consumerism." As you can well imagine, this is a difficult question in the North American context. As one member of our group (an American with roots in India) pointed out, shopping is a hobby in North America. We talked about how education and advocacy would be important, and how small steps could be encouraged - things like ethical investing, and using credit unions (my "socialist banker" husband will be so pleased!).

All in all, a full and thought-provoking day. It occurred to me at one point that I am quite amazed that in all of the organized chaos, and in all of the people, relationships that are actually able to develop. The first few days, it seemed like I was meeting someone new every five minutes and then not seeing them again. But now, with my Bible study group that I see every day, with the group with whom I spent the weekend in Seoul - it is amazing that in so big a group, it is possible to get to know people quite well. Cool. I had imagined that I was going to get a lot out of this experience, but I did not anticipate this.

Days 4 and 5 - Seoul

This weekend was all about the Korean churches' generosity, hospitality, and organizational capacity. Seriously. Basically, 600 of us travelled from Busan to Seoul for the weekend and the Korean churches took care of all the details.

We left Busan early yesterday morning - a long bus ride to the train station. There was an entire train just for WCC delegates, which was pretty neat. It was cool and pouring rain when we arrived in Seoul... ugh. But everything was very well organized and we were on assigned buses (28 of them!) within minutes.

Police stopping highway traffic for us

We had a police escort as we travelled to the de-militarized zone (which sometimes stopped several lanes of traffic so our bus convoy could stay together... I felt like royalty!). Our destination was actually Imjingak, a park about 7 km from the DMZ. (And by the time we got there, the rain had stopped :).) The most interesting parts to me were a fence that was covered in ribbons with prayers or names, and the Bridge to Freedom, where former prisoners of war crossed into South Korea after the signing of the armistice agreement that ended hostilities. It is blocked today, and people can no longer pass through it to get to the north.

Wall blocking the way on the Bridge to Freedom

We then travelled to Myungsung Presbyterian Church in Seoul for dinner and a Korean cultural night. This was my first experience visiting a "mega church," and I'm not sure that my words here will do it justice. We were met by several people from the congregation, as well as traditional Korean drummers and dancers. They were performing in a plaza of sorts that is surrounded by the church's buildings (yes, buildings. with an s.). We used an escalator (!) to go down to the cafeteria of the church, where they proceeded to serve all of us a wonderful buffet dinner, complete with lobster and smoked salmon. (No crust-less egg salad sandwiches in sight!)

Myungsung sanctuary (photo: WCC)

The Korean Cultural Night was an amazing display of talent - traditional dances, an amazing performance by a children's choir, wonderful pieces from a full orchestra, soloists and choir, and a short musical about the history of Korea. All of this done in their sanctuary, which I think probably seats more people than some good-sized cultural centres in Canada.

The delegates split into groups after the performance, based on where we would be attending church on Sunday morning. Six of us were headed to Somang Presbyterian Church, so our guides took us on a bus to the Gangnam neighbourhood of Seoul (yes, that Gangnam). They put us up in a lovely hotel for the night, and then we were off to church the next morning.

Somang (meaning "hope" in Korean) is another mega-church, though smaller than Myungsung. Here are some of the figures we got from our guides:

• the church has 70,000 members
• almost 1,000 Sunday School teachers
• two libraries (one for adults, one for children)
• seating for 2,500 in the sanctuary (and it was full for the service we were at - one of six every Sunday)
• at least 100 people in the choir for the service we attended
• it took 30 people to collect the offering

Sunday School class at Somang

I'm not sure that I have yet wrapped my head around these numbers and how exactly a church like this would function. That said, the service format was very similar to that of my church in Ottawa, so it was fairly easy to follow. We had a lovely lunch with our hosts afterward, and we were then back to the train station for our return to Busan.

A very full weekend, but we were treated so well by our hosts and every small detail was taken care of. It was amazing.

Day 3

Oh sigh. I am coming down with a cold and am wishing for some of the comforts at home! Despite not feeling 100%, still an interesting day in Busan.

• The theme for worship and Bible study this morning was a passage from Amos that includes the phrase, "let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a ever-flowing stream." Such a powerful image to me. We talked, in Bible study, about how we as the church can foster this justice and righteousness - how can we make this happen in the world?
•  In the small, small Presbyterian universe, I probably shouldn't have been surprised to meet Rev. Iro, a Presbyterian minister in Nigeria who is a good friend to the Presbyterian Church in Canada and PWS&D. I now have many greetings to pass along when I return to Canada :)
• The plenary for the day focused on Asia. There were two speakers I found particularly interesting - one speaking about collaboration between South and North Koreans to build an Orthodox church in North Korea, and one speaking about providing health care in a small hospital in rural India. Very moving voices of witness.
• A discussion on the proposed unity statement of the assembly somehow morphed into a discussion on sexual orientation - clearly not an issue on which the church is unified. It is a challenge even to create a safe space in which to discuss these issues.

I will end with inspiring words that we heard from the Archbishop of Canterbury:

"When we look to God, our eyes are turned outwards to his world, and we hear again the command, as Pope Francis said, to be a poor church for the poor. The children of Christ act instinctively to love those who suffer, as he loves us. If justice faints, hope fades. But when justice is loved, and lived, the poor have hope and the whole world begins to sing."

Some of us are off to Seoul today for the weekend to visit churches there. Looking forward to that, and to a ride on a high-speed train :).

Day 2

Another great, full day in Busan, so just a few highlights before my head hits the pillow (total lie - I have more reading to do before I can sleep!):

- Our first Bible study was this morning. It was nice to meet in smaller groups and to have great discussions with people from different areas of the world and from different denominations/confessions.

Photo: World Council of Churches

- The South Korean Prime Minister stopped by for a visit. Very cool. Just for all the #parlnerds out there, he is "His Excellency," and he is not the head of state - that's the President.

- UNAIDS' Michel Sidibé spoke passionately about about successes in the movement to eradicate HIV and AIDS, and implored us to help address the unequal access to treatment across the world. In addition to an issue of resources, he also said that unequal access comes because of discrimination. In many places around the world, those who are homosexual, injection drug users or sex workers must hide and do not seek treatment. He spoke so eloquently, asking the church to offer compassion and support regardless of our beliefs/thoughts on those behaviours.

- In the business plenary, the draft statement on the politicization of religion and rights of religious minorities was discussed. Some countries are mentioned in the statement. Later in the day, Canadian delegates discussed petitioning the assembly to add Canada to the list of countries, given the legislation before the Quebec legislature right now. I am hopeful that we will be included, and that it can be considered by lawmakers in that province.

- We had the first of four small group "ecumenical conversations" today. I am in a group discussing "Economy of life: Overcoming greed to eradicate poverty." Some very interesting discussions about what an economy of life looks like and how greed is a barrier to that.

- As per my earlier post, the North American delegates met together tonight. We talked about the biggest issues facing our region right now, and it was interesting to see the divide between the US and Canada - even though we are so close together. American delegates mentioned violence and migration as issues, and those just aren't as prevalent in Canada, I don't think. Others mentioned were issues facing indigenous people, climate change, and how our actions affect those in the rest of the world.

A personal reflection on the theme

In the evening today, all of the North American delegates met together. There were representatives from the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, various Protestant and Orthodox churches, and the Society of Friends (Quakers). A Canadian - me - and an American were asked to present our reflections on the theme as an introduction to conversations in small groups. Here is what I said.

Most of you don’t know very much about me. You know that my name is Laura, I’m from Canada, I’m Presbyterian.

So I wanted to start today by telling you something else about me. I figured that would be a good place to begin – we can get to know each other a bit better.

So... I can be a tad indecisive sometimes. Most of the time I’m okay, but if you catch me at the wrong moment, deciding what I’m going to wear today or what I’m going to eat for dinner can be a bit much. Making a big decision always takes a lot of thought and reflection.

As you might expect, I have some strategies I use that help me to make decisions.
- I pray
- I make pros and cons lists
- I think about my priorities and which choice lines up most closely with those
- Sometimes I will try to fool myself into thinking that I’ve picked one of the options for a day just to see how that choice sits with me.
- My now husband even bought me one of those magic 8 balls early on in our relationship.

To be completely honest with you, this is what I thought about when I was reflecting on the theme before us this week. This prayer is another tool for me to consider when making decisions.

God of life, lead me to justice and peace. When I have two (or more) choices before me, God, lead me toward the one that will foster justice and peace in your world.

I thought about other decisions that are made every day too.

For my job with the Government of Canada, I spend much of my days watching parliamentary debates in Canada’s House of Commons and Senate. I wonder how many of our parliamentarians wake up each day thinking about how their decisions for Canada and for the people of Canada could lead us, as a country, toward justice & peace.

And of course, I think of the church. I think of my home congregation, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Ottawa. I think of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. I think of Christ’s church around the world. How are we asking God to help us make decisions that lead us to justice and peace?

This is a very concrete, tangible thing for me. I see it as a question of the church’s place in the world.

It is not only how we are seeking God’s help in leading us to justice and peace, but how are we serving as an example for the rest of the world?

The decisions we make as a church – are we demonstrating what the path to justice and peace looks like for those outside of the church?

I think of the relationship in Canada between the church and Canada’s first peoples. After a difficult history of assimilation in residential schools that took Aboriginal children away from their families, churches apologized, asking forgiveness from God and from the Aboriginal people who were so hurt by these policies.

Truth and reconciliation commissions across Canada are being held to hear the important stories of those who were profoundly hurt by the churches’ actions in these schools.

It took us some time to get on the path to peace and justice. We have come a long way in working toward right relationship with Aboriginal people in Canada, but we must continue to pray and to act.

God of life, lead us to justice and peace.

I think of the Aboriginal women in Canada who have gone missing or have been murdered. An astonishingly high number. A national disgrace that is not being addressed by those in power.

At a vigil I attended a few weeks ago, on the steps of Canada’s Parliament, the sister of a woman who had been murdered thanked us for being there.

“Thank you for coming,” she said. “Sometimes it feels like no one cares.”

What can the church do in this case? How can we be led to justice and peace, and how can we encourage others to join us on that path?

I pray that our meetings here, that our discussions together, that our worship will invigorate and encourage us so that we continue praying, when we return home to all kinds of circumstances:

God of life, lead us to justice and peace.