Each year, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites Christians to join in a prayer for peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The prayer (see below), prepared by the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the Korean Christian Federation (KCF), is traditionally used on the Sunday before 15 August every year.
The 15th of August, celebrated as Liberation Day in both North and South Korea, marks the date in 1945 when Korea won independence from Japan, but was also the day when the peninsula was divided into two countries.
There are more details on the WCC website.
A worship resource for use on the Sunday before 15 August, and which includes Korea as a case study, has been prepared by the Church of Scotland.
Korea Peace Now!, a women-led global campaign to educate, organise, and advocate for a Korea peace agreement by 2020, is asking supporters to sign a letter to President Trump urging an end to the Korean War and replacing the Armistice Agreement with a peace agreement. Feminist peace activists Christine Ahn, Gloria Steinem, Abigail Disney, Suzy Kim and Nobel peace laureate Jody Williams, have written in TIME about the enormous potential of Trump’s talks with North Korea despite the temptation to be skeptical.
Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula
Lord, we were once one country. We were one 100 years ago when we cried out for Korean independence against the tyranny of Japanese imperialism. We were one when we broke the 36-year-old chain and cried for freedom at every corner of the Korean Peninsula. We had been one for 5,000 years. Thank you Lord for your grace that led us into one.
Lord, we were divided by foreign forces. Although we have struggled to create a world where one could freely move around without erecting barriers or division, yet even in the excitement of liberation from Japanese colonial rule, there is division behind great wounds. We did not want a disconnected relationship. However, the surrounding foreign powers turned a blind eye to our aspirations in pursuit of their own interests. The excitement of Korea’s independence soon became a painful part of our history. O Lord, listen to our prayers that we may become one again.
Lord, we beseech you. Let us never again attempt war on this land, and let us establish our own permanent and peaceful regime that no foreign powers can avail. Even if the strong nations are indifferent to our peace and security, preferring their own interests, no forces can stop us from marching toward peace if we keep our hearts, our wills, and our strength united. Let us remind ourselves that we must carve out our own destiny. Lord, make us one.
Lord, we pray that the South and the North, the North and the South will live leaning on each other. We pray that if the South is in need, then the North can provide, and if the North is in need, then the South can provide, so that we may live helping each other. The South and the North, the North and South, want to build a happy and prosperous world. In a world of fierce global competition, we believe that promoting common prosperity between North-South/South-North is the only way to live, and believe in the wisdom of co-prosperity that promises future stability and abundance. With this wisdom, let us resume the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which has been closed for too long, and allow us to revisit the scenic beauty of Mt. Kumgang that it may no longer be neglected. Do not let us fall into the folly of misgauging either our ability or our obligation, and give us the courage to boldly carry them out for the sake of the co-prosperity of South and North/North and South.
Lord, hear the prayers of the beloved Christians throughout the world for peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula. May the people of the North and South/South and North meet each other with a smile, and may North Korea and the U.S. establish a peace treaty by ending the hostilities. Peace is what the South and North/North and South wish to share in accordance with our own will. Lord, give us peace. May there be no power able to block the grace of the Lord of Peace. Let us not shirk our obligation or delay for any reason. Now in this moment, give us faith with the ability to love. Let the fervent prayers of Christians all over the world bloom in our hearts, and in every corner of the Korean Peninsula as a flower of hope.
Lord, may this prayer on this day, flowing from Baekdu to Halla, resonate from every point throughout the world, so that the breath of Christians of the North and South/South and North will be restored with the energy of peace and reunification.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we pray.
NCCK and KCF
