Executive Director's Asia Trip Confirms OMSC's Enduring Calling
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Executive Director’s Asia Trip Confirms OMSC’s Enduring Calling On March 3, I embarked on my first international trip on behalf of OMSC. With invaluable practical support from the Korean Research Institute for Mission's Dr. Steve Moon (photo at right) and Chun Lee, his colleague and recent OMSC alumnus, a very busy agenda provided many chances to speak with alumni, missionaries, church leaders, seminary administrators and professors, and students. Starting and ending in Seoul, I also visited Cheonan, Gwangju, and Daejeon over the next 18 days, preaching, lecturing, sharing about OMSC’s work, and getting to know colleagues in God’s mission at KRIM, Sarang Church, Yonsei University Church and Chapel, Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary, Hoseo University and Theological Seminary, Honam University and Theological Seminary, First Presbyterian Church Daejeon, Torch Trinity University, Jiguchon Church, and Asian Mission. Everywhere I went, I received a warm and gracious welcome, meeting old friends of OMSC and many new ones. In Seoul, I visited the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery and adjacent 100th Anniversary Memorial Church, whose volunteers maintain the cemetery and serve as tour guides for visitors from all over Korea and the world. I was moved to stand at the grave of Dr. Horace Underwood III, who was a great personal encouragement to me after Carol and I were appointed by the PC (USA) in 1988 as Mission Co- workers to Japan. Also, the grave of Gaichi Soda (1867–1962), a Japanese man who had a ministry for Korean orphans, is a powerful symbol of hope for peace and reconciliation between neighboring countries who share a troubled history. In Gwangju, colleagues from Honam Seminary took me on a sobering and painful visit to the National Cemetery (photo at left), honoring the hundreds of mostly young students who were killed by S. Korea's military government during the uprising of May 18–27, 1980, evidently with tacit support from the U.S. government. In Daejeon, I was asked to speak to mission agency leaders, pastors, and missionaries on “Retired Missionaries and the Church,” because about one-third of the 21,000 Korean missionaries serving today will be retiring by 2020! It was very clear from the reaction to my talk that churches and mission agencies have not planned to provide for these retirees. One theme that kept coming up in conversations was the sense of feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually depleted or burnt out. This came as something of a surprise, given the reputation of the Korean churches for their vitality. One seminary professor told me that his students send him messages at all hours of the night, often interrupting his and his wife's sleep. When I suggested he turn off his phone, he said he would rather respond than deal with the wrath of young students who expect an immediate answer. The day before leaving Seoul, I was interviewed by the Kukmin Daily, a leading newspaper owned by the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest church in the world. The senior reporter, to whom I was introduced by current OMSC residents Mi Ok Kim and Seong Il Lee, asked me what I had learned from my trip and what I would like to share with Korean church leaders, and I said without hesitation, “Christians are human beings who need Sabbath. We need to honor our limitations as creatures of God and recognize that we cannot do everything.” On the final leg of my journey, I stopped off in Japan for a week. In Tokyo, I met with Rev. Hikari Kokai-Chang of the Wesley Foundation to discuss ways we might partner together in God’s mission. The next day, former OMSC Artist-in- Residence Soichi Watanabe, his wife, Nao, and their daughter, Manna, warmly welcomed me to their home where we shared a lovely meal and several hours of conversation. Then I went to Kobe where I met up with some of my former WWW.OMSC.ORG NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT MAY 2017 Page 2 students at the Tokyo Union Theological Seminary and, on the final weekend of the trip, had the opportunity to meet with church members, preach, and lecture at a celebration honoring Ichibaku Church’s 70th anniversary. Ichibaku was founded by Kagawa Toyohiko, the great evangelist and social reformer I have been researching for several years. After the trip, I pondered some tough questions. Does the immediacy of digital links strengthen or weaken the ties that bind us? If our technologies make us feel depleted and if we lose touch with loved ones and ourselves, how will this effect our relation to God and our effectiveness as Christ’s witnesses? The trip and my subsequent reflections reconfirmed OMSC’s enduring calling and relevance and strengthened my resolve to do everything I can to build on the great legacy of this ministry while seeking additional supporters who will, with God’s help, enable us to continue to thrive into our second century (2022–). In such a time as this, missionaries, church leaders, and research scholars from every nation and church tradition still need a place like OMSC, a unique international community where “everyone is received as Christ” (Matthew 25:35 and Rule of St. Benedict 53:1), and where cross-cultural workers find spiritual, physical, intellectual, and professional renewal. Please join us as we engage in mission with the world Christian community by becoming a regular contributor yourself, and please ask your congregation to include OMSC in your annual giving. You may send a check or give on our secure online web link, www.omsc.org/donate. With thanks and blessings, SNAPSHOTS FROM SOUTH KOREA: MARCH 4–21, AND JAPAN: MARCH 21–27 WWW.OMSC.ORG NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT MAY 2017 Page 3 Spring Mission Leadership Forum Tackles Timely Topic: “Mission and Refugees: Crisis and Opportunity.” More than three dozen mission leaders from the United States and the United Kingdom convened in New Haven from April 21-23 to learn from each other and to share their perspectives on “Mission and Refugees: Crisis and Opportunity.” Participants heard from a dynamic group of speakers, including Chris George, Executive Director of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS) in New Haven, CT, Judith Mayotte, Ethicist and Author of Disposable People? The Plight of Refugees, and Rachel Uthmann, Director of Training for International Association for Refugees (photo at left). Participants came away with a deepened sense of awareness of the political, cultural, and missional complexities of the refugee crisis and a sense of the urgency of this crisis for the world and the churches. The next meeting of the MLF is scheduled for April 6–8, 2018 at OMSC. The theme we plan to explore is "Christian Witness and Building Bridges with Muslim Communities." IF GOD LOVES US, WHY DO WE SUFFER? OMSC Residents Lead Trauma Healing Workshops for Local Community Five OMSC residents took the lead in March as they put their Scripture-based trauma healing lessons to work, this time as workshop facilitators. Having participated as students in a trauma healing workshop earlier in the year, they put what they learned to good use for 10 members of the local community. Participants attended sessions on two consecutive Saturdays in March. Through the workshops they discovered: * What the Bible says about suffering; * The effects of trauma; * How to explore their own personal trauma and loss; * How to release emotional pain; and * How to reconnect and build resilience for the future. Facilitator Funmi Kehinde (photo at left) shared what one participant said: “I am totally blessed by this seminar…I pray that God creates an avenue for this seminar to reach a wider audience.” Plans are already underway for residents to bring this workshop to their own countries of service when they return home. OMSC BOARD OF TRUSTEES WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS AT MAY ANNUAL MEETING Paul Kretschmann (left) is a husband, father and retired attorney, formerly a partner of several New York City law firms. He is a Deacon and a past trustee of First Congregational Church of Greenwich, CT, (UCC) and continues to be actively engaged in various church and community organizations. Steven Maasbach (right) is the chair of the Board of the Beulah Land Development Corporation, a non-profit that aims to rebuild New Haven's most underserved communities. Steven received his Master of Divinity from Yale. He resides in Woodbridge, CT, with his wife and two children. WWW.OMSC.ORG NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT MAY 2017 Page 4 Certificate Ceremony Marks the End of Another Year! On Tuesday, May 9, the 2016-17 academic year officially came to an end when residents who had participated in the OMSC study program received their Certificate in Mission Studies in a ceremony at the Center. For those who live in areas of the world where Christians are in the minority and must worship under the watchful eyes of unsympathetic governments, the opportunity to participate openly in discussions and seminars on mission-related topics was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Supported also by the researchers and staff who make up the OMSC community, residents received their certificates from Dr. Thomas Hastings, Executive Director of OMSC. Residents described their time at OMSC as helping them not only to form friendships, but also to widen their intercultural understanding and help to prepare them for the next phase of their ministries. The ceremony was followed by a farewell luncheon. (Photo at right does not show all certificate recipients due to security concerns.) The World Is At Our Doorstep: Are You Reaping the Benefits of OMSC? Why do people support OMSC? Speaking at a Pastors’ Mission Luncheon earlier this year, Global Missions Pastor Larry Fullerton (Black Rock Church, Fairfield) shared four reasons why he believes in OMSC and its mission: OMSC is truly international.