5th November 2022

Welcome to an update of the international mission group from the Uniting Church in South Australia, currently in South Korea for the 31st anniversary of the partnership agreement with the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea (PROK).

The members of the international mission from South Australia are as follows:

Rev Sue Ellis, Acting Moderator
Rev Mark Schultz
Rev Kim Do Young
Rev Naomi Duke
Adrian Duke
Rev Lawrie Linggood
Pastor Cathy Linggood
Beverley Treadrea
Bridget Ransome.

After a couple of days adjustment in Seoul, the international mission group travelled to Iksan Province on 3rd November. We were greeted with exceptional hospitality, and it has been good to renew old friendships and to make new ones.

Presbytery Meeting

L to R: Rev Sue Ellis, Rev Tae Hye Heo (Moderator Elect) and Rev Jong Beom Park (Moderator) of the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea 

'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland! (Isaiah 43:19)

On November 4th, the South Australian delegation were invited to the Presbytery meeting of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of South Korea. Rev Sue Ellis, aided by Rev Kim Do Young as translator, presented a formal greeting on behalf of the Moderator, Bronte Wilson.

She spoke of the Moderator's theme focusing on Isaiah 43:19 that the church must look to new ways of being as we meet the challenges of this world, and this includes keeping our connections open allowing the work of the Holy Spirit in our different contexts.

Our partnership and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is an equal partnership of sharing deeply in theology, youth discipleship and with a common passion for justice and advocacy. Our thirty-year journey has been a lifelong one and although the world is changing our timeless message sees God working through us and with us.

Rev Ellis spoke of how Bartimaeus threw off the clothes of a beggar, and we too must let go of the past in order to bring in new ways of being mission.

We remain a voice for youth disengagement, climate change, secular culture, gender equality, and object to violence in all its forms. We are a voice for First Nations peoples who have suffered from colonisation, just as Koreans have suffered.

Although the place of church has changed in people's lives, it is still important. As refugees seek out new lives in our communities our interfaith commitment is strong, and we keep connected to God and to each other so that the Holy Spirit can flourish.

Our challenges are similar as we talked about the challenges of the South Australian Synod, meeting the impacts of COVID-19, and as we had to learn to put aside the familiar and reach out with a fresh understanding of God's church, we are pilgrims on a journey together.

Beverley Treadrea also spoke of her memories of that very first meeting more than thirty years ago, when the Rev Brian Ball as Synod Mission Officer, invited representatives from the Mission Committees of the Adelaide East, Torrens Valley and Morialta Parishes to join him and the Rev Cliff Birch, Mission Officer of the Presbytery of Mount Lofty, to explore ways of developing closer relationships with partner churches for world mission. Thus began the process which led to the decision of the Presbytery of Mount Lofty to seek a partnership in Korea.

Beverley expressed her deep thanks to be able to be a part of the proceedings and to renew valued friendships, more than thirty years on from those first fruitful discussions.

Below is a selection of images from the Presbytery meeting and the activities of the past few days in South Korea. 

The Uniting Church in South Australia extended an invitation to the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea to attend the June 2023 Synod meeting. With a focus on strengthening international mission and a commitment to continue to pray for each other and for the flourishing of our partnership in the name of Jesus Christ.