Global Ministries

On 27 April, some 500,000 people joined hands to form a “human peace chain” along the 500 km long Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea. They expressed their strong desire for permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula, gathering to celebrate the first anniversary of Panmunjom Declaration and commemorate the centennial of the 1 March Independence Movement.

Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) General Secretary offers prayers and sympathy

 This Lenten season, my mind is stuck on an image of a dilapidated house that I saw in Fukushima. The house is still standing, but it is beyond repair. On first sight, it does not look habitable. Yet when evening comes, there is a light that goes on in the kitchen toward the back of the property. The house was damaged by the earthquake eight years ago. The trees in the small yard are overgrown. The front of the house is a mess. I would not have given the house much thought had it not been for my Japanese colleague pointing it out.

March 11, 2019 marked eight years since Japan’s “Triple Disaster.” Communities and individuals are still marked by this disaster and continue the work of healing. Mission Co-worker in Japan, Jeffrey Mensendiek, shares some reflections from a recent trip he took to Fukushima with Derek Duncan, Area Executive for East Asia and the Pacific.  Part one can be found here. This is part two:

2018 was a tumultuous year in many ways. Personally, I had to say goodbye to several dear friends, one of whom was Teruko Enomoto, the founder of the Bazaar Café. 

Whenever visitors come to Hong Kong, they are amazed at the density of high-rise buildings that house the city’s population of 7.3 million residents. Some towers go as high as 60 floors. This skyscraper phenomenon is due to Hong Kong’s geographical profile. Much of the city’s 425 square miles is hilly terrain, which is not suitable for construction. 40% is zoned for country parks and nature reserves. Thus, less than 25% of the land is developed for commercial and residential use.  

March 11, 2019 marked eight years since Japan’s “Triple Disaster.” Communities and individuals are still marked by this disaster and continue the work of healing. Mission Co-worker in Japan, Jeffrey Mensendiek, shares some reflections from a recent trip he took to Fukushima with Derek Duncan, Area Executive for East Asia and the Pacific.

Let people worship in peace. As Linda Sarsour said, “let people live.”

From World Council of Churches

It is with deep shock and indignation that World Council of Churches (WCC) received the news that 49 people have been killed and at least 20 were wounded in terrorist attacks at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch and at the mosque in the suburb of Linwood in New Zealand.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. –1 John 4:18

This morning we awoke to the horrendous news of the mass shooting of Muslims at Friday prayers in two mosques in New Zealand. In the Masjid an-Nur mosque (“Mosque of Light”), Christchurch, and in the Linwood Mosque, 49 people were killed and more than 40 are injured. We hold the victims and their families in prayer. As a Christian community of faith, the United Church of Christ stands with the Muslim community of New Zealand, in the U.S., and around the world, particularly those living with the daily realities of racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment.