A Light of Peace

We, the Pacific Mountain Regional Council, have a convenanted relationship with Gyeonggi Presbytery of South Korea. I have visited the presbytery on two occasions, and in my role as regional council President. We give thanks for the faithfulness of our partners in the Gyeonggi Presbytery, and all those working for peace and the dignity of all people. When I visited the Presbyterian Churches, each time the border loomed large as an ongoing source of pain over families split and worldviews in tension. Visiting the de-militarized zone was a sobering experience as I approached the visitor’s site seeing warning signs of landmines on both sides of the road and young soldiers patrolling the area. When visiting our beloved partners in South Korea, the history of peoples of faith seeking to be God’s light in their world was and is inspiring. 

It is time for peace. It is time for families to be reunited and for those who struggle in poverty to be given access to the necessities to live full, peaceful lives. We have an opportunity to join with Communities of Faith around the world to pray for peace for the peoples of Korea through “A Light of Peace: Online Prayer Vigil for Korea“. 

June 25, 2020 marks seventy years after the beginning of the Korean War and so we call on our members to pray for peace, for an official end to the war and for the reunification of the peoples on the Korean Peninsula. The A Light of Peace Vigil will take place online June 25, 2020 from 8-8:45pm ET (That’s 5pm Pacfic Time, and 6pm Mountain Time).

When we light candles for peace with our neighbours, we do so as signs of our openness to learn from one another and our commitment to advocate for this peace that is so long overdue. 
 
May God bless all those seeking to make God’s just peace a concrete reality especially on the Korean Peninsula. May we commit ourselves anew to learning from one another the ways of God and embodying those ways widely.
 
May the peace of Christ be with us all,
Rev. Jay Olson, PMRC President