“The distance between the North and South has become unfathomable, but we believe that the day will come when we will need each other.”
We join the WCC with the peoples and churches of Korea and of the world in prayer for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.
This 15 August will mark the 71st anniversary of the liberation of the Korean peninsula from Japanese colonial rule, but at the same time of the division of the peninsula into two countries. It is celebrated as the National Liberation Day of Korea in both North and South Korea.
Every year, a joint prayer is prepared by the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) to be used on the “Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula”. This year, the date, which is traditionally the Sunday before the anniversary, falls on 14 August.
We call upon our members to join in prayer:
God, ruler of history!
Thank you for letting the churches of the South and the North share the joys of independence with the same longings again this year. The Lord’s grace that led us to share this common prayer filled with yearnings from past promises for a peaceful unification is indeed great and amazing. Please accept our earnest desires for you Lord.
Seventy one years ago, our country again found its once lost country and welcomed the joys of independence. Having patiently waited with righteous efforts, we trusted God, the ruler of history, and hoped that the day would one day come. With shouts of victory resonating over the whole of Korea, how can we ever forget that overwhelming day when the triumphs of independence surged up in thirty million souls?
Gracious God!
Such a short-lasting joy, our people came to a dead end of a harsh road filled with division, separation, war and armistice. Through meetings and talks, paths to reconciliation were created and through economic cooperation, dreams of common prosperity were once built. But now, the walls in our hearts have become higher than ever. There is no knowing of the depths of the rivers of mistrust and the valleys of anger that we would have to cross. Lord, take pity on this misfortunate country.
Though the Lord has given the church a responsibility to take care of peace, the people did not serve such command fully. Christians were called to be apostles of peace but instead they have created conflict. As they do not even acknowledge each other as their own people, they do not bother to bear hearts to love. Lord, we confess our wrongs and sins, please forgive us.
God of love and peace!
The distance between the North and South has become unfathomable, but we believe that the day will come when we will need each other. Though our hearts have been ripped to pieces, we realize that it is not far to where we would heal each other’s pains and encourage one another. Amongst the tension of the great powers, we are certain that the day will come when we sing songs of self-existence and independence.
Lord, make one this separated country and gather all those families who have been scattered everywhere. Let the children of North and South eat from one bowl, and youths to sing songs for a hopeful humanity from one desk. Let the footsteps of the people’s coexistence lead from Hallah to Baek-du and the waves of peaceful co-prosperity surge from Dokdo to the West Sea.
Thus let the people in this safe and peaceful peninsula nourish the happiness that should be granted to all the seventy million people. And from that oneness, let the people serve all over the world with greater vigor and spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name.
August 15, 2016
National Council of Churches in Korea and Korean Christian Federation