Korean church leaders urge healing after shootings
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Bishop Hee-Soo Jung lights a candle for each victim of the Virginia Tech shootings
as the Rev. Kenneth Keun Sup Lee assists during an April 18 memorial service
in Chicago. UMNS photos by Keihwan Ryoo.
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A UMNS Report by Marta W. Aldrich*
April 20, 2007
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Bishop Kyung-Ha Shin
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Korean and American Korean Methodist church leaders are calling for
"healing, reconciliation and peace" amid concerns that the Virginia Tech
shootings by a South Korean native could lead to a backlash against
Koreans.
"I was really shocked to hear that this senseless crime was committed
by a Korean-immigrated student," said Bishop Kyung-Ha Shin, president
of the Council of Bishops of the Korean Methodist Church.
In an April 18 letter from Seoul to the World Methodist Council, Shin
offered condolences to the bereaved families and the American people
while hoping "there will be no undesirable negative feeling and attitude
toward Koreans."
Meanwhile, in the United States, more than 250 leaders of the
National Association of Korean American United Methodist Churches were
holding their annual meeting April 16-19 in Chicago when the shooting
occurred. As word of the shooter's identity spread, the mostly clergy
participants began receiving calls from their home churches asking for
guidance.
"The whole community was in shock and did not know how to respond,
but we prayed for the victims and their family members and the school
and the community," said the Rev. Keihwan Ryoo, editor of United Methodists in Service, who was reporting on the gathering on behalf of the Korean-language magazine published by United Methodist Communications.
“...We are especially concerned that the
immigrant community and the children of minorities may become targeted
by anti-racial backlash because of this incident.”–The Rev. Hoon Kyoung Lee
Several pastors received reports that Korean American students had
been bullied in their mostly white schools as the week progressed, Ryoo
said.
The caucus held a memorial service for the shooting victims and released a pastoral letter April 18.
"We pray that the violence that has needlessly taken innocent lives
does not escalate nor happen again," said the Rev. Hoon Kyoung Lee,
chairman of the association. "Furthermore, we are especially concerned
that the immigrant community and the children of minorities may become
targeted by anti-racial backlash because of this incident.
"We pray that all of our friends and neighbors will support the
Korean-American community in striving for healing, reconciliation and
peace."
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The Revs. Kwang Tae Kim, James C. Kim and Bishop Hee-Soo Jung raise their
hands in prayer.
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The April 16 massacre in Blacksburg, Va., left 33 people dead, including
the lone gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior majoring in
English literature. Born in South Korea, he moved to the United States
in 1992 at age 8 and was raised in the suburbs of Washington D.C., where
his parents worked at a dry cleaner store.
Authorities said Cho appeared to shoot his victims randomly. In a
video made prior to the killings and sent to NBC-TV, he ranted about
rich kids and portrayed himself as persecuted.
Lee asked people throughout the church to prayer for the shooting
victims and their families, the family and friends of Cho, and the
minority and immigrant community in the United States.
"We departed from this meeting with a heavy heart," Ryoo reported. "A
lot of churches planned special memorial services over the weekend."
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, of the Northern Illinois Conference, said the
church's American Korean community is "weeping and praying" with the
rest of the world. He said grief and concern over such events cross all
racial and ethnic lines.
"We pray for our young people and those feeling a sense of
vulnerability, isolation, insecurity and fear on their campuses, and
even in their homes," Jung wrote in a pastoral letter from his Chicago
office. "… I encourage each of us to offer the ministries of comfort,
healing and love."
*Aldrich is news editor for United Methodist News Service.
News media contact: Marta Aldrich, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umc.org.
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Resources
Pastoral Letter, Korean American United Methodist Churches
The Korean Methodist Church
Korean American United Methodist Church
Worship Resources
Gun Violence |