Though the wider church may know little about the Eastern Han-Ca Presbytery, the presbytery's members are eager to connect to other congregations and share their enthusiasm, projects and ministry with the national church. “We all try to have English ministry,” said Rev. In Kee Kim, minister at St. Timothy's, Toronto. “But we don't have enough younger adults who speak English. At St. Timothy's, we have three services — bilingual, Korean and English. We also have a communion and praise service that is in English. I think this trend will continue, because ultimately, we need to reach out beyond our own community.”
The Presbytery of Eastern Han-Ca (along with its Western counterpart) was created in 1997 after a multi-step process spanning several General Assemblies. The petition to create Han-Ca actually came to the 1995 assembly. A committee was struck to discuss the possibility, and later, a remit under the Barrier Act was sent down to presbyteries to make the change. Even after the Korean congregations got the go-ahead in 1997, the assembly instituted a five-year probationary period, with a report expected after three years. The assembly heard the report in 2002, and although concerns were expressed (such as feelings of isolation, lack of support from the wider church, lack of knowledge about church polity, a disconnect between first- and second-generation Koreans, and the role of women — all of which were evident before creating Han-Ca), the church decided to allow Han-Ca presbyteries to exist indefinitely. To ensure that concerns are not forgotten, assembly agreed to strike another committee at the 2010 assembly, which will report two years later on how the Han-Ca presbyteries and the entire church have acted on these issues.
“There was a huge celebration,” said Kim, speaking of the day when the motion passed. Kim was intimately involved in the entire Han-Ca creation process. “We didn't think it would pass.”
Since that day, while strides have been made in some areas, the presbytery struggles with creating connections with the wider church — and the church has struggled with how to include its Korean-Canadian members. At last year's assembly, several commissioners did not attend, sparking angst on both sides.
“A lot of people have a misunderstanding of Han-Ca. They see it as separation,” said Kim. “For more than 30 years, it had been a part of the English-speaking presbyteries. But only about 10 to 20 per cent actually participated in their presbyteries. They had no clue; it's a totally different community.”
Creating the Han-Ca (“Korean-Canadian”) presbyteries gave Koreans a place to meet where language and culture were mostly uniform. With that in place, Kim said the first task was to teach members about church polity.
“Congregation members didn't know they were part of a presbytery. They didn't know the Book of Forms. They didn't know they were governed by it,” he said. “The congregations were even separated from each other. We wanted the presbytery to be able to bring us together, to be united, to be connected.”
Now, he said, participation at presbytery is 100 per cent, and the Book of Forms is followed. “And the congregations are connected. One's problems and issues become our problems and issues. United life is the exercise.
“Our next issue is, how can we be connected further with the larger body of this church? We're praying about it and reflecting on it.”
Some would argue that the insular environment that ensued with the presbytery's creation, in some ways, exacerbated the problems.
“People come to feel secure, safe and comfortable, and once they find that, they don't want to come out,” said Rev. Cheol Soon Park, presbytery clerk and minister at Toronto Korean. “So we're encouraging them to interact with other congregations and to be exposed to broader aspects of Canadian society so they learn, grow and contribute. We try to push them into the field, but it's not an easy task.”
Issues around communication were on full display at last year's General Assembly, when several commissioners from the presbytery failed to show up. Commissioners on the floor expressed disapproval for the apparent lack of reverence for the church's annual proceedings. A letter arrived the next day, explaining their absence. It said the elders who failed to attend were first generation immigrants and were not able to be away from their businesses for more than one or two days at a time. “It is hard to find people with willing hearts,” stated the letter. “I will try again next year, and hope to find those who are willing to participate.”
A miffed assembly voted to record “its disappointment and dismay that seven of the 10 commissioners from the Presbytery of Eastern Han-Ca were not present for the deliberations and work of the assembly.” The moderator was also instructed to write a letter to the presbytery reminding the absent commissioners that “they failed to uphold their responsibilities to take part in the church's decision-making.”
As a result, a motion was passed to have Korean translation available at all future assemblies, beginning in 2007.
The incident at assembly was a poignant reminder of the divide between Eastern Han-Ca and The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
“Korean congregations have largely been ignored,” said Kim, of the church's response to the Korean church before Han-Ca was created. “There was no issue made that Korean congregations did not participate in presbytery. When the idea came up to create Han-Ca, a lot of concerns were raised, but none were raised for 30 years before that! It's a very interesting phenomenon.”
Despite the absence of ties to the larger church, Han-Ca East is heavily involved in mission and ministry in Canada and abroad.
The Korean Family Ministry began in 1988 by a group of Christians who wanted to reach out. It is now run by Rev. Myung Chun Kim, who visits seniors' homes in the Toronto area to hold worship services, make personal visits, and even to bring authentic Korean food to those longing for traditional dishes. Although it began as a mission of the PCC, the program became incorporated as a nonprofit organization by the Ontario government in January.
The presbytery also has two mission congregations — a testament to its passion for planting new churches. The church in Nova Scotia serves the Korean population there, who previously had no Korean church to attend. A young minister was sent last year, and according to Kim, the congregation is growing rapidly.
The presbytery as a whole also supports various mission projects in Nicaragua, North Korea, China and South Africa, supports three overseas missionaries, and each congregation has its own mission projects and programs.
Kim travelled to Madagascar in February to continue a partnership that began last year. He established a connection with pastors and seminary students there, holding seminars for them. His congregation is also supporting the beginnings of a church in Kazakhstan. The project began with evangelism and Bible study, followed by several members travelling there for a mission trip, and culminating in the purchase of a building for the new congregation.
But even when it comes to mission, there is conflict between this presbytery and the national denomination. The presbytery's givings to Presbyterians Sharing are regularly below required amounts; but this doesn't mean that Han-Ca East's congregations aren't donating time and money to mission.
“Korean churches do not find projects in the PCC that suit their focus and needs,” said Kim, noting that many Han-Ca congregations are more conservative and evangelical than the rest of the church, giving them a more traditional understanding of mission. “But we do spend a lot of money on our own missions. Koreans get involved in mission projects outside the PCC.”
Kim said International Ministries is an area that the Korean church can participate in because every Korean congregation has international ministries of their own. “How do we bring the two together and let the church know we're giving a lot of money to these projects?” asked Kim.
“The PCC shied away from establishing churches through mission,” he continued. “They work with local partners and do projects, but Han-Ca's main focus is building churches.”
The Korean church also has a history of ministry with Aboriginal peoples. St. Timothy's has been meeting with the Rocky Bay First Nation for about three years, visiting the reserve to hold vacation Bible schools. The congregation also sent a member on the Mistawasis youth mission trip held yearly through Youth in Mission. Kim said that generally speaking, the Korean church has a good understanding of the feelings of isolation and segregation felt by many native people, “so when we go to a reserve, they look at us as one of them. They don't see us as being connected to the Presbyterian Church, so it's easier for us to be connected with them.”
Several congregations were also involved in MissionFest, held in Toronto in March. The huge conference is dedicated to inspiring, encouraging and educating people for mission. Several Korean congregations either helped to sponsor the event or were exhibitors. It's through events like this that the presbytery is trying to use its many ministers who are in their 40s to help attract younger and English-speaking Koreans, as well as build bridges between the English- and Korean-speaking worlds.
And though there are issues surrounding the place of women in the presbytery, a strong women's group exists. The Korean Women's Association is a member of the Women's Missionary Society, and also functions as a committee within the Han-Ca Presbytery. It is an association of all the women's groups in the Han-Ca congregations, is Korean-speaking, and both Han-Ca East and West have branches of this association within their presbyteries. Among other things, they focus on mission as well as leadership development among both clergy and the laity.
Supporting women leaders — and educating traditional Korean congregations on the roles women can and should play — is a key priority for the presbytery, according to Park. “We are still working on it,” he said. “We called two women ministers in our congregation, and they are first-generation Korean immigrants. This is a new beginning, and I hope in the near future, we'll have women elders in the congregations.”
Despite difficulties, the presbytery must be doing something right. Since 1998 (the first year that near-complete figures are available), Han-Ca East has grown from 979 members, 803 in attendance, and 270 adherents, to about 5,000 members and those in attendance, and nearly 4,000 adherents.
Park said his congregation is currently celebrating 40 years as part of the Presbyterian Church. With 12 paid staff, and talk of building an extension, Toronto Korean is shooting for growth. “We're in wonderful shape,” said Park. “We're concentrating on building a secure ministry team, training young leaders, setting up new missionary appointments, and helping new Korean immigrants settle into the community.”
With such potential for growth, one wonders what the future will hold.
“My wish,” said Kim, “is that we would all be connected, that all the barriers would be broken, and that we will be one body.”
Eastern Han-Ca by the numbers (2004/05 figures)
Charges: 17 (all single-point)
Vacancies: 0
Members: 4,935 (2005), 4,150 (2004)
Attendance: 5,054 (2005), 4,496 (2004)
Adherents: 3,795 (2005), 2,136 (2004)
Largest congregations by members: Toronto Korean (1,127), Vaughan Community (982), Westside Community, Mississauga (626)
Largest congregations by attendance: Toronto Korean (1,160), Westside, Mississauga (850), Vaughan Community (840)
Largest congregations by adherents: Westside, Mississauga (905), Westside Community, Mississauga (821), Toronto Korean (424)
Areas covered: Montreal, Toronto, Thornhill, Brantford, Chatham, Kitchener, London, Niagara Falls, Mississauga
This is the final profile of the church's 46 presbyteries.
