Rev. Dr. Cheol Soon Park, Moderator of this year's General Asembly, wants to see the church move to the forefront of society. "Church should have the vision and understanding of the future or of the next generation, and we as a Christian community should show the people what to prepare and how to prepare and how we should move into the next stage; so my main theme is change."
In addition to becoming an agent of change, Park hopes to see the church initiate healing and reconciliation amongst the nations of the world. He makes mention of the pain caused in part by the church's involvement with Indian residential schools; the devastating situation in the Middle East; the death of another Canadian soldier in Afghanistan, and the seemingly irresolvable conflict between North and South Korea.
"I'd like to call all the members of PCC to pray for and participate in promoting the understanding and the spirit of peace, a permanent peace in these regions. Those two things are my main focus this year."
And to make this happen, Park recommends minister and leaders of the church start by stepping down from their podiums and into the community. "We're just staying within the boundaries and saying, 'This is who we are, so if you're interested join us.' Instead we should go out and reach people," he says. "The majority of society feels very foreign and uncomfortable to the church culture. We're just pushing them further away from us.
"Pondering the possibility or reflecting on the implications of this move/change is a luxury that we cannot afford anymore," he tells the Record. "I'd like to call for some action, some move, some decisions from local churches … if we prolong the process too long we will be in a situation that we won't be able to do anything and that will be too late."
