What I have found in the past few weeks is that sharing the story of my upcoming sabbatical has been a bit of evangelism both for the concept of sabbatical and for uncovering the connection those in our UCC congregations already have to Korea.
My local church of membership is St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Schaefferstown, PA. (Penn Central Conference, Lebanon Association). As an ordained minister holding membership at St Paul's I have a four-way covenant with the congregation, my calling body as the national church, my association and of course myself. As part of my four-way covenant I am considered a minister in mission for St Paul's. My name is included weekly in the bulletin as a minister of the church and included on the website. I write monthly newsletter articles about my work with MESA, preach on a regular basis (usually quarterly) and meet annually with the church council.
In my May newsletter article for St. Paul's I discussed the importance of sabbaticals for clergy, a teaching task for most congregations, especially those who have not had a regular practice of pastoral sabbaticals. My June newsletter focused on the specifics of my upcoming Korea trip. I was delighted to receive a phone call from one of the older members of the congregation as soon as the newsletter was published. He had served in the Korean war and wanted a chance to talk to my husband and I about his experience before our trip.
This Sunday, June 12th, St. Paul's UCC will commission Jonathan and I for our mission trip during the worship service. Then afterwards we already have a date to meet with this church member to talk about Korea.
http://schaefferstownucc.org/
Earlier in May, I was invited to facilitate a conversation on clergy / lay models of relating at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington DC. I thoroughly enjoyed spending Saturday exploring theological worlds and pastoral roles with the congregation's leadership, then preaching on Sunday followed by leading their adult faith formation program. The current designated-term pastor Rev. Sid Fowler, closed with a blessing including safe travels for my upcoming trip to Korea. Turns out that a member of First Church worked for decades in the U.S. Embassy in Korea and continues to work in the field of Korean economics out of the D.C. area. This member has been generous in sharing perspectives on the country, giving helpful travel hints, and recommending additional reading resources.
His list of books included:
The Korean Mind: Understanding Contemporary Korean Culture by
Boye Lafayette de Mente is a little tough to read straight through because it
is arranged alphabetically by concept, but it is full of helpful insights
and is a good reference book. I don't know anything else like it.
The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World
Through Pop Culture by Euny Hong is an entertaining look at how intentional
Korean pop culture is, and is unexpectedly good on the history of
U.S.-Korean relations.
Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North
Korea's Elite by Suki Kim is useful for coming to grips with the nature of
North Korea. There are a lot of refugee memoirs in print, but what
interests Suki Kim is why the North Koreans think the way they do rather than
demonstrating again how inhumane the regime is.
http://www.firstuccdc.org/
I'm grateful for finding these connections to Korea and anticipate many more to surface as this ministry unfolds.
God of grace and mercy, God who has formed us and shaped us, God who leads us on the journey of life. We give you thanks for the ways in which the interconnectedness of the trinity is made manifest in the interconnectedness of our lives. May we continue to tell our stories to one another and may we always tell the story of your love for us through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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