THAAD and Reunification

July 12th 2016

Today we started the day meeting members of the National Council of Churches, Korea staff. The staff is preparing to leave for the United States next week to take a cross country trip collecting signatures supporting the reunification of the Korean peninsula, ending in Washington DC where the petitions will be delivered to the White House. Your prayers and support are encouraged, more information can be found at: www.globalministries.org/seeking_peace_with_justice_in_korea

Next we met with the Reunification Committee of the PROK. They were very thankful for the supportive work that the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have done, especially the 2015 General Synod and General Assembly resolutions supporting the reunification of the Korean peninsula.

Korea has been in the U.S. news lately because of the announcement between South Korea and the United States to implement the THAAD missile defense system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_High_Altitude_Area_Defense

It was clear that the members of the reunification committee felt that THAAD's development benefits the United States much more than it does South Korea. There was much discussion on the actual capabilities of THAAD and the overall sentiment is that the defense system gives the United States a stronger foothold in Asia from which to engage China and Russia. The committee was also very concerned with the financial burden being passed on to South Korea for the implementation of a weapons system that would significantly benefit the United States. There was complete agreement that the preference of the committee would be to support further negotiations between the north and south rather than continue to escalate the weaponization of the situation. They asked that we carry this message back to congregations and legislators in the United States.

Our conversations with the committee was enlightening to think about the geo-political realities of the Korean peninsula. One of the committee members called THAAD an attribute of the "neo-cold war". The reason Korea is currently divided is because in 1945 after WWII ended and Japan was forced to leave Korea, world powers could not decide who would maintain control of the region. U.S.S.R. was granted the northern part of the country and the United States the southern region. The Korean war erupted in 1950 when the north, as backed by the Soviet Union and later China attacked the south, where the United States and other allied forces which were part of the United Nations responded to the aggression. (Several people in the south have approached us to express their appreciation for the support of the United States during the Korean War).

Technically, the war in Korea has never ended, only the cease fire (armistice) agreement signed by the United States (on behalf of the U.N.) China, and North Korea exists. The armistice agreement penned in 1953 said that within three months the signers would return to the negotiation table to develop a peace treaty. Since that time period the Korean peninsula has remained a country divided and used as part of a larger global conflict centering on controlling east Asia and the Pacific. Control and influence in the Korean peninsula remains a priority for Russia, China and the United States, leaving the true sovereignty of Korea in question, as it has been since the end of the Joseon Dynasty in 1909.

August 15th is the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese occupation (1909-1945). The reunification committee encouraged congregations in the UCC and DOC to join with them on that date (or the Sunday closest to that date) to pray for a peaceful reunification of the peninsula. Prayers and additional information can be found in the Global Ministries link above.

In our conversations after the meeting Jonathan and I agreed that the history courses we were taught in the United States as well as the messages provided through U.S. media provide a much different perspective on the region than the information we are receiving throughout this trip. 

Creator God, when you called forth light and life and separated the land from the seas, you did not draw boarders between nations and you did not create weapons of war. May we honor creation and one another by seeking to find unity that celebrates the diversity of all that you have created and called good. Amen.  

Commitment to being a global citizen

July 11th 2016

Throughout our time in Seoul we have been living in a classroom on the 3rd floor of the Children's Village which is part of Global Sarang. The accommodations are lovely; Jonathan and I have a room and we share a bathroom and kitchenette with Dr. Kahala Cannon, a Global Ministries Missionary working in Korea. Kahala is a dentist from Tennessee who has been working for the past two years in India. For the past three months she's been teaching English two days a week for the school of Global Sarang and two days a week for the Wildflower Youth center we visited during our first week in Korea.

Today we spend the day getting to know the ministries of Global Sarang in greater detail. We started out in Rev. Kim's office, he is the founder and director of Global Sarang. Many years ago he began working in factories raising concerns for the working conditions for Koreans. He quickly realized that the most vulnerable in the workforce were migrant workers who had no legal rights within the country.

Currently the umbrella of Global Sarang includes a migrant labor center, a hospital, several schools, day care centers, and a woman's shelter. In addition to his responsibilities with coordinating the work of Global Sarang, Rev. Kim is also a pastor of a local PROK congregation. Through his leadership there are several worship services conducted for migrants from Sri Lanka, Nepal and China. The church also has a missionary training program.

Our day consisted of visits to several locations:

1. Rev. Kim's office and the administration center for Global Sarang. This building also houses an after school program.

2. One of the main Global Sarang building which has a cafeteria where free meals (lunch and dinner) are provided for all migrants, roughly 200 a day. The building also had a shelter and a hospital which includes services for dentistry, outpatient and inpatient services (currently the facility is in need of qualified doctors).

3. The main building for migrant workers which included an entire row of translators (at least a dozen) there to help translate labor concerns for workers, there was also a counseling center (labor rights, work related injuries, visas etc) and classrooms for teaching Korean, computer skills, and tae kwon do. There was also a large auditorium in the building that migrants could use for free to celebrate their own local holidays. The labor center counsels approximately 40,000 workers per year.

4. We visited the school were Dr. Cannon teaches two days a week. The school has kindergarten through high school. We had lunch with the kids and visited the various classrooms. All of the students are from migrant families and their education is provided for free. Later in the week an orchestra comprised of entirely blind members were coming to perform at the school.

5. Next we traveled to a kindergarten program that is considered a public school but the government contracted with Global Sarang to run the administration. We arrived at nap time so we were just able to visit with one class of children because the others were resting. The center stays open from 7:30am to 7:30pm to help working parents.




Global Sarang, and specifically Rev. Kim have been instrumental in raising the profile of migrant workers in Korea. Because of their work Korean labor laws have been extended to all industries in the country (with the exceptions of farming, fishing, and factories with under 5 employees). Rev. Kim has also been a driving factor in the work visa program in the country. Rev. Kim is regularly featured in Korea's equivalent of Time Magazine's most influential people.

The president of Sri Lanka was so impressed with how much Rev. Kim has helped the Sri Lankan community in Korea that he offered him an elephant, which Rev. Kim donated to the South Korean zoo.

   

We ended the day by attending a weekly prayer service for reunification of the Korean peninsula. The prayer service is held every Monday evening at 7pm in the office building where the National Council of Churches in Korea is located. The service included many Koreans as well as international ecumenical church workers. Together we celebrated communion, prayed for peace and shared together in the unifying spirit of Christ.

Gracious God, with you there are no borders, no division between Jew or Greek, slave or free. We pray that we can live in a world that celebrate the commonality of humanity and treats all people fairly. We give thanks for the work of those who strive to live out Jesus' command to love our neighbor as ourselves and while we no that nothing in this world, not powers or principalities, can separate us from your love, that the borders and boundaries we have created to separate ourselves from one another will come tumbling down. Amen. 

What can you do?

This Global Ministries Website has a plethora of resources regarding Korea:

www.globalministries.org/seeking_peace_with_justice_in_korea

On the website you can find advocacy materials for supporting peace in the Korean Peninsula. Signatures for the petition are requested now as a delegation from South Korea prepares to fly to the United States next week to work with U.S. partners to deliver signatures to Congress on July 27th.

The website also has documents from the UCC's General Synod and from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)'s General Assembly on the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. There are also prayers, litanies and documents from our partner churches.

We are all sisters and brothers in Christ; education, awareness and advocacy are one of the greatest gifts that we can give to one another.

Kangnam Church PROK

July 9th 2016

Today we packed an overnight bag and headed across Seoul to spend the weekend with the Kangnam congregation of the PROK. This church is gigantic, seriously, what we would consider a mega church in mainline protestant Christianity. We arrived and one of the pastor's met us at the metro stop. There are 9 pastors on staff and we counted at least seven worship services on Sunday. We had a tour of the church which has a parking garage, a huge worship space, several chapels, a broadcasting center, a cafeteria, a coffee shop, numerous choir and orchestra rooms, faith formation class rooms and administrative offices, they even have a small two bedroom apartment in the church which is where we are staying for the night. Delightfully, we were there for VBS and got to see the littlest children having a pool party on the roof of the church, complete with a kiddie pool filled with fish for the kids to grab.

Three of the pastors (the pastor for administration, the pastor for the English language Sunday school, and the pastor for evangelism) took us to a nearby Korean market. The church used to be located on a property adjacent to the market so many church members work at the market. We stopped one by one at different stands owned by church members, at each one one of us would offer a blessing to the stand/church member and then the member would offer us something to eat or drink. We were stuffed by the end of the afternoon! We were able to visit a small factory that made bags, a grain shops, a pharmacy, a vegetable stand and a food stand.

After our market tour it was a relief to be back in the air conditioning in the church. Temperatures are in the 90's (F) with extreme humidity. We had a brief visit with the senior pastor and then left to have dinner with him and his family. We had a traditional Korean meal with rice and numerous side dishes. After dinner we visited a nearby monument commemorating 2,300 Koreans (including farmers, monks and women) defeating a Japanese invasion of 30,000 troops in the 1500's. The best thing were the stellar views of Seoul and the Han River stretching out for miles and miles from the vista.

July 10th 2016

Today was full of church services. We woke up and went to the 9am children's English language church service (we were excused from attending the 7am Korean service). The English service is run by a pastor from the United Church of Canada here with his wife who is a PROK pastor in Korea. The service was full of energy and lots of laughter. It was homecoming Sunday (similar to our Rally Day) so the youth made cakes to celebrate.

Then we attended the 11:00 services, there were easily 1,000 people in attendance. The orchestra and choir were unbelievable. The senior pastor preached on Mark 8:22-26 on Jesus healing the blind man. A very kind church elder befriended us and gave us a mini-translation of of the service. I was asked to bring greetings from Global Ministries (UCC/DOC) in the service.

After worship we went with the senior pastor to greet the new member's class. This being Homecoming day there was a church-wide effort to get lapsed members to return, there were at least 60 that we were informed of in attendance today. Evangelism is something the Korean churches take very seriously, much more seriously than the mainline churches I know in the United States. This particular congregation has a six week sermon series each year on the importance of growing the church and then sets a goal. Their goal for this year was 600 visitors, 40% of which will become new members. In the bulletin there is a monthly update of the various groups in the church (everyone belongs to a small group) and the chart listed the contribution total of each group, the hours of service they have done in the community and the number of people each group has invited to attend church. This is a very different sense of membership accountability, which is something we've noticed throughout our trip. Being a member of the church is a commitment, one that is taken seriously, there's a sense that the church is doing important work for God and for the community and that every member is expected to actively participate in the congregation's mission and ministry.

After meeting with the new members, we had lunch with the church, which is always a full meal. Then we attended the first half of the adult visioning service at 2pm, about half way we were whisked away to the second half of the young adult contemporary service. When that worship service ended we hopped on the church bus with members of the congregation to drive into downtown Seoul for a service of public witness.

The downtown service was a prayer service on the street in front of a construction company's headquarters. Members and pastors from a variety of PROK churches were present. Apparently, a contractor bought a large track of land. There was a PROK church on the land (as well as apartment builds etc). The church and the contractor were in negotiations on how to move forward with the property. In the meanwhile the construction company came in a bulldozed the church will everything in it- communion ware, liturgical items, historical artifacts, church records- everything, the whole church was razed. The church property had only been 10 years old. The vigil was asking for accountability and justice from the construction company for their actions. The rapid rate of development in Korea, although it has brought a high standard of living to many Koreans, seems to have little regard for the lowest sectors of society.

After the vigil Jonathan and I were on our own for dinner and found a great sushi place that served the food on a conveyor belt, you paid you bill depending on the color of the plates you selected (each color is worth a different dollar value for the meal).

In the evening we read news from the U.S. and were very interested in the U.S. announcement of sanctions against the North Korean leader, the announcement of the U.S. and South Korea's agreement on the THAAD missiles and of the tragic Black Live Matter and police violence in cities throughout the United States.


Gracious God, we give you thanks for those who work daily for a living. We pray for safety of all of those who work and for fair and just compensation. We give thanks for churches who continue to spread the Good News of the Gospel and we strive to have the confidence to continue to tell that same Good News to others. We lament injustice done in the name of progress and for the violence in the streets. God please help us to walk in your ways, to honor one another, and to demonstrate the love of Christ in all we do. Amen. 

Edges of the Margin: HIV/AIDS and LGBT Rights in Korea

July 7th 2016

Our scheduled visit to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between north and south Korea) was cancelled today because military exercises taking place between the U.S. and South Korea. We noticed a lot of police activity in downtown Seoul yesterday, we're assuming this was also part of the military exercises taking place. We're now rescheduled to visit the DMZ later in our trip. The unexpected opening in our schedule gave me room to work on my sermon. I'm preaching twice next week and I have to have my sermon in to the PROK office in advance for translation. Also, if you found the post about yesterday's information on the "Comfort woman" was interesting, people here recommended the movie: Spirits Homecoming (http://joent.net/en/spirits-homecoming/)

July 8th 2016
Today was our "Rainbow Tour" of Seoul. Human sexuality is not talked about openly in Korea and there is a significant stigma for the LGBT community. Today we have Rev. Lim Bo Rah from the PROK church take us around to visit with organizations supporting the LGBT community in Seoul.

We started with Chingusai, an organization that specifically supports the gay community. Their aims are to assist men in coming out within a Korean context and also to work on suicide prevention within the LGBT community. They produced two movies Rumor and Weekends that they would like to have shown to wider audiences. They shared with us that the suicide rate within Korea as a whole is .4% of the population while the suicide rate for the LGBT community is suspected to be over 28%. Chingusai offers support services to family members who's relatives have committed suicide because of their sexual orientation.

Part of the historic legacy of Confucianism leads to strict gender roles in Korean culture making the coming out process even more difficult. Currently there is a very repressive law within the Korean Military against homosexual activities. The law itself uses inhuman slang language to and is used to criminalize gays in the military (remember military service is mandatory for all Korean males).

Our next visit was with the "Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea" office. They are a membership organization headquartered in Seoul working for solidarity across minority populations. They work to connect the LGBT community's struggles with those of the disability community, migrants, the labor movement, and the victims of the Sewol Ferry sinking. Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea operates several support groups including LGBT youth, PFLAG, and  a communications committees .

There is a transgender group that has just started but out of the diverse spectrum of sexual identity and sexual orientations this is one of the more marginalized groups within the country. Interestingly, the Korean government will allow individuals to change their sexual identity on their official government records, but only after they have gender reassignment surgery, something which is extremely difficult to obtain in Korea.

The office tries to maintain a public presence in many street protests, major national parades, and vigils so that their is a visual reminder of the existence of the LGBT community. They also hold a memorial service ever year in remembrance of a key LGBT leader who committed suicide, the memorial service has turning into a touch point of remembrance and lament for many in the community.

Next we visited Rev. Lim Bo Rah's church, she is rare that she is a female senior pastor of a PROK congregation (PROK does support woman's ordination but many women can only find roles as associate pastors). Rev. Lib Bo Rah is even more exceptional for her outspoken advocacy work for the LGBT community. Her church is only one of five congregations in the entire country that is open and affirming. The other congregations are part of the Anglican Church or the Metropolitan Community Church.





After our stop at the church we visited with DDingDong LGBT Youth Crisis Support Center. This center has a specific mission to support LGBT youth. They wanted initially to be a shelter but Korean regulations make this too difficult. So they are a drop by site where LGBT youth can receive counseling, do laundry, hang out and have a safe space. Many of the youth are living on the streets. A large part of their ministry is interviewing and documenting the stories of LGBT youth. The Korean government does not say that this population exists within the country so it is up to DDingDong to create the documentation verifying the stories of these youth.

We ended our day with a powerful shared meal with members of an HIV/AIDS support group. This community is one of, if not the most marginalized community we've encountered so far on this trip. There is still a great deal of public perception that HIV/AIDS is a "gay" disease and it is difficult of the gay community and the HIV/AIDS communities to distinguish themselves. Recently the United Nations commissioned a survey of the HIV/AIDS community in Korea and discovered that the most pressing need was for medical providers. We were told that there had been one hospital in the entire country who would see AIDS patients, but it was closed down for dismal medical practices. There is no hospital that will take people with AIDS and dentistry is also extremely difficult to find for persons with HIV or AIDS. They group kept asking Jonathan and I questions about how HIV and AIDS is addressed in the United States, we spoke about information campaigns we remember from our childhood about how the disease is spread, about celebrities such as Magic Johnson coming out as HIV positive and red ribbon campaigns. Granted Jonathan and I were both very young in the 1980's but we suspect that the Korean HIV/AIDS situation is similar to that time period in U.S. history and is woefully misunderstood, demonized, and under-served in Korea today. We learned that it is very common for both politicians and for mega pastors to blame HIV/AIDS as the downfall of Korean society and link it to the sins of homosexuality.

The support group we had dinner with was only started in 2012. They offer basic information when people are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. They also showed us pamphlets that they distribute that shows what to do if you are denied medical treatment, it was heartbreaking to know such documents need to exist. They also offer open mic nights in the apartment where we gathered so those living with HIV/AIDS can come to share their frustrations, share information on what organizations in the country will offer services and gather support for one another.

Overall, this day was filled with hope for the incredible ministries we visited, mixed with deep lament for how far this country needs to come on LGBT and HIV/AIDS awareness. This is an area that the United Church of Christ can continue to offer support and guidance to NGO's and church partners.

Jesus, you welcomed in little children even though others sought to turn them away. Help us to welcome all of our sisters and brothers into the loving embrace of solidarity and friendship even if others would turn them away. We ask in your name, precious Jesus, for those considering death rather than living life as a gay man or lesbian woman. We pray for an end to unjust laws that dehumanize and discriminate. We ask for compassionate hearts for those who heal in the name of medicine. And we seek to make space at the table for all people just as you O Christ welcomed all at your table of passion and victory. Amen. 

Women suffering; then and now

July 5th 2016
This was our only "official" day off during our six week stay. I spent the morning updating this blog, then we spent the afternoon exploring Seoul. There are a large number of markets throughout the city. Jonathan and I successfully found an antique market and then took a bus around the outskirts of the city. It's monsoon season so it poured rain all day. Seoul is a giant city and we're getting a pretty good grasp of where things are located. We could see how visitors would enjoy a week of shopping and sight seeing in Seoul.

 

July 6th 2016 
This morning we started out in PROK (Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea) offices. We were fortunate to meet with the General Secretary of the denomination. Then we heard presentations from two of the ecumenical workers, one from Rev. Frank who is an ecumenically worker originally from the United Church of Christ in the Philippines who is working on migrant and ecumenical issues with the PROK and another from Rev. Catherine Christie who is originally from the United Church of Canada and splits her time between the PROK offices and the National Council of Churches in Korea offices.

The presentations focused on the upcoming trip to the United States to collect and deliver signatures supporting the reunification of the Korean Peninsula. In 1953 when the Korean war was moving towards a reduction in hostilities, an armistice agreement was signed by China, Russia, North Korea, and the United States (acting on behalf of the United Nations). The armistice agreement was not signed by South Korea. It was also a temporary cease fire agreement that stated that within three months the signing parties would come back to the negotiation table to sign a peace accord thus ending the Korean War. Unfortunately, the negotiations never continued and the Korean peninsula has been living under a temporary armistice agreement that was not even signed by both of the effected regions. For this reason the churches across Korea are asking for the countries who did sign the armistice agreement, including the United States, to come back to the negotiating table and draw up a final peace accord, even now, sixty three years later.

Additional information and a link to sign the petition for Korean Peace can be found at: http://www.koreapeacetreaty.com/

Our afternoon was spent learning about the plight of Japanese "Comfort Women" this euphemistic term is what Japan used to refer to Korean  and other women who were captured from their homes and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army. Every Wednesday for 25 years the "Comfort Women" have been gathering at noon outside of Japan's Embassy in Seoul waiting for an official apology.  The apology has never come even though Japan has been indicted in several international courts for their systemic abuse of women.

We were honored to meet two of the comfort women who continue to sit waiting. I personally cannot imagine the tragedy that they have endured in their lives. Additionally, I was grateful for the opportunity to speak at the Wednesday protest, supporting the woman's dignity and diligence and recognizing that women's bodies continue to be used as weapons of war across the globe.

Additional information on the harrowing story of Japanese Comfort Women can be found at: http://www.awf.or.jp/e-guidemap.htm

We continued our education on the plight of the "comfort women" by visiting the War and Women's Human Rights museum in Seoul. The museum was a powerful testimony to historic wrongs. The tour began with a walk on a gravel path that showed images of young women being whisked away on one side and faces of elderly women on the other. The stairs down to the basement were lined with drawings the women drew themselves of their captures. The basement had audio of women telling their stories. Upstairs the museum showcased numerous Japanese documents sanctioning the comfort stations including packages of condoms issued to Japanese soldiers. As one progressed through the museum the tour focused on the demands for an apology started when the first group of women began to publicly tell their stories in 1992. The tour ended with a world map showing locations across the globe where rape and torture of women continues to be an all too common strategy in war.

The butterfly fund was established by two of the woman from Korea raped by the Japanese who committed any future reparations be given to women in the Congo experiencing the same treatment. Read this article to learn more: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/03/665_184527.html As powerful as this act of feminine solidarity is, it is still a painful truth that such injustices continue to exist.

The combination of visiting the Filipino women currently lured into the sex industry in Korea on Monday and seeing the damaging effects of the Korean women mistreated by the Japanese military has left our hearts heavy.









Oh God, who has created us male AND female. God who cared for Hagar in the wilderness. We ask that you continue to protect women across the globe. We ask for dignity and honor to be given to all humanity regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. The world is in need of your healing presence God for those whose bodies have been ravaged by war. May this end and your shalom be known. Amen. 

In Search of Freedom

July 4th 2016

Today, while our friends and family in the United States are celebrating the country's independence, we spent the day learning about women who are far from free.

We spent the day with My Sister's Place a shelter for women trapped in Korea's sex trade industry.
These women, mostly from the Philippians, are recruited from rural villages in their home country. They are told that they will be singing in Korea and go through several rounds of auditions. Korea is a dream to them because of its higher standard of living and opportunity to earn income to send home to their families. However, when they arrive the women are sent to "clubs" in the districts around U.S. military bases. These clubs instruct the women that they will not be paid for three months to cover their 'transportation' costs and that their housing and food also will be deducted from their pay. The women must keep track using a points system of how many men buy them drinks or pay to take them out of the club for sexual acts. Patrons of the clubs are U.S. military, Korean men and also other migrant men working in nearby factories.

Once caught in the system the women have four choices: 1. Stay and try to finish out their two year commitment to the club. 2. run away from the club, which means that their visa is automatically void and therefore they are at risk for deportation at any time, 3. try to bring a legal case against the club owner through the shelter or 4. find a U.S. military man to marry who will bring her to the United States.

One of the most pressing issues for the shelter is that the women are allowed to stay in Korea and work (in restaurants, shops or factories) while they have an on-going court case. However, as soon as the court case is over, regardless of the outcome, the woman will be deported, even if she is found to be a victim of human trafficking. What the center director would like is for the Korean government to establish a separate visa program that will allow victims of human trafficking to stay in the country for five years to work.

The center hopes to have a four fold approach to this ministry: first counseling services for the women, second a shelter, third a job training program and fourth a long term group home. However, seeing as the women are immediately deported the prospects for a job training program and group home are slim until visa restrictions are changed.

This program to protect women from the sex industry was started by Faye Moon, wife of PROK minister Rev. Moon. She a social worker from the United States who moved to Korea with her husband. She was appalled by the way American service men were treating Korean women and set about to establish the first counseling center in the country for these women. She was also invited by the U.S. military to offer the first sensitivity training to the troops.

I was able to find a brief piece on Faye Moon as a grad of Yale: https://yds61.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/a-chapter-on-her-life-for-korea-by-faye-p-moon-yds-61/

Since Faye's time the women connected to clubs are primarily Filipino rather than Korean, thus actually making the work of the shelter more difficult because the migrants are looked down upon as being less dignified than actual Koreans. The sensitivity of sexual violence, the desire not to cause waves with the U.S. government who has been a long time ally of South Korea, and the complication of the immigration status of the women are all compounding features that make it difficult for the center to obtain funding and successfully prosecute the club owners. Regardless of their struggles the center has been asked to help replicate its program in other parts of Korea and in several other south Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippians.

The place where we gathered to hear the story of these women was within a Filipino ghetto outside of Osan Air Force Base. The restaurant had a basement where the shelter director, and her husband, a PROK minister can meet with the women. It is a place of refuge and hope, a place of lament and prayer. It is an underground church sharing the message of God's love in the midst of a cruel situation.

God of grace and peace, God of mercy and dignity. We pray for an end to systemic violence We pray for healthy relationships that honor the sacred in each person. We pray for those who commit themselves to the way of Jesus, seeking justice and truth. We pray for ears to listen when the story is hard to hear and we pray for the strength to be a part of changing this world to be more like your kingdom. Amen.