The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea  PROK

Aus der 91. Synode der PROK, 2006

Die 91. Synode der PROK wählte am 20.9.2006 Pfarrer YANG Tae-Yoon zum Moderator
zu Vizemoderatoren: Pfarrer IM Myoung-Kyu und die Älteste: SUH Mi-Sook

Vom 19.-22.9.2006 in Suwon mit 700 Delegierten aus 24 Kirchenbezirken.
Die Synode beschloss die Einrichtung eines Gender Justice Committees bei der nächsten Synode 2007.

Das Stichwort für die jetzige Synodalperiode heisst "Dienst"
(2004 = Gnade; 2005 = Leben; 2006 = Dienst).

"Wir begreifen Mission als Dienst. Als kirchliche Gemeinschaft folgen wir in den Fußstapfen Jesu und dienen einander. ... Ohne gleiche Rechte unter den Staaten werden die Beziehungen untereinander nur schwieriger werden. ...
Mit der Globalisierung geht auch soziale Polarisierung Hand in Hand. Wir müssen uns dieser Herausforderung stellen, die das von Gott gegebene soziale und humane System zerstört.... Als dienende Kirche müssen wir zu unserer ursprünglichen Identität zurückfinden und das Vertrauen der Gesellschaft wieder gewinnen...."

Quelle:  PROK E-NEWS, Octiober 2006

The 91st General Assembly of the PROK was held September 19-22, 2006 in Dong-Suwon Church in Suwon City, taking the words of Joshua, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord," as its theme, and guided by the scripture passages of Joshua 24:14-18, John 13:14-15, and 1 Peter 4:10 in policy deliberations, worship and fellowship. The 700 delegates elected Rev. Yang Tae-Yoon (PROK Vice-Moderator 2005-6, and senior minister of Kunsan Seongkwang Church in Kunsan) as Moderator; Rev. Im Myoung-Kyu (senior minister of Nambu Sanyongho Church in Pusan) as ordained Vice-Moderator; and Elder Suh Mi-Sook (past President of the PROK National Church Women's Association) as lay Vice-Moderator. Elder Suh Mi-Sook is the third woman in PROK history to hold the position of lay Vice-Moderator, bringing considerable leadership experience from her past roles as Vice-Chair of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), and President of the Women's Council of Korean Presbyterian Churches, among others.

One noteworthy decision of the Assembly was the acceptance of the proposal brought by the PROK Constitution Committee to establish a national General Assembly-level Gender Justice Committee, to be launched by the 92nd General Assembly in 2007 after the Constitution Committee determines the regulations and participant composition during this next year. At the past several General Assemblies the national-level Laity Committee, comprised of representatives of the PROK National Church Women's Association, National Church Men's Association, and National Church Youth Association, has proposed that a) 30% of the voting delegates to the General Assembly be women; and b) 30% of the elders of local churches be women. Each time, however, the General Assembly has rejected the first proposal without debate; and while giving a positive assessment of the latter, declared it would be impossible to enforce it at the local congregation level. Consequently, no progress has been made on that issue. The agreement this year to establish a national-level Gender Justice Committee is thus a very significant step forward, as this Committee will be able to raise the issue of fair gender representation among delegates, on committees, and in other areas of church life.

The Closing Statement of the 91st General Assembly, covering the year until the next General Assembly in 2007, highlighted the theme of serving. Some main points: In the year 2003 when we held our Jubilee Celebration, we proclaimed 'grace, life, and serving' as our Jubilee Faith. Since then, each ensuing General Assembly has taken one of these as its core theme [in 2004, grace; 2005, life; 2006, serving]. We thus embrace our mission task as one of serving. If we are to be a church community that follows the way of Jesus the Servant, we must remember God's call to care for and serve one another. ...In this era of triumphalism and conquest, we fear that the relationship between nations will face terrible consequences if there is no guarantee of equal rights among nations. We will thus continue to pray for peaceful relations among all nations. ... As globalization accelerates, exacerbating social polarization, we must overcome this challenge which is destroying the original social, human system that God gave us. ... As a servant church, we must recover our original identity and regain society's trust. As the Korean church approaches the 100th anniversary of the "Great Awakening Movement" of 1907, we declare this to be not just an impetus for church growth; we will seize this opportunity to recover the original identity of our church and regain our mission stance of serving Christ. ... This 91st General Assembly will give our utmost to establishing God's peace in our land and peace on earth through serving God.