Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC

The World Council of Churches invites its member churches and all people of good will to observe the annual Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula on 15 August. Prepared by Christians from South Korea, the prayer will be held on the day celebrated as Liberation Day in both North and South Korea, marking the date in 1945 when Korea won independence from Japanese colonial oppression—yet ironically it also was the day when the peninsula was divided into two countries.

The National Council of Churches in Korea composed the prayer. Churches are encouraged to translate this prayer into their national languages and share it with their congregations.

“We love the Korean Peninsula where we share our laughter and tears,” reads the prayer. “But this land is moaning from the wounds of division.”

The prayer acknowledges that the borders of different ideologies have driven this land into war and violence. “The depths of hate are deep within us, and the forces that promote division are blocking our steps toward peace,” reads the prayer. “We pray that wounds of division will be healed.”

The prayer asks God to help plant the seeds of peace and coexistence. “Help us to overcome the conflicts of ideology by the love of Christ,” reads the prayer. “Defeat the forces of evil that block the path of peace.”

The prayer will be held on the 76th anniversary of liberation from the Japanese Empire. The prayer concludes by describing peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula not as an option, but as a calling that we must achieve. “Although the barbed wire of division has torn us apart, we remember that our spirits and hearts are connected in the Lord,” concludes the prayer.

August 15th Joint South-North (North-South) Prayer for Peace & Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula 2021

source>WCC