By Hannah Reasoner 
April 14, 2021 | BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA 

Since 1978, Amparo Beltrán Acosta has worked with the most marginalized communities in Colombia to train groups in communication media, human rights, gender equality and peace. After studying theology in Italy and communications in Canada, Beltrán founded Centro Ecuménico Popular para América Latina de Comunicación (CEPALC), or the Latin American Ecumenical Center for Popular Communication, in her home country. 

Her mission is to empower the most impoverished groups in Colombia with communication resources to share their stories. Working with women, children and youth, and Afro and Indigenous communities from the capital city to the rural countryside, CEPALC offers training workshops, a digital magazine and an online radio station. Empowering women and advocating for gender justice and equality is a central theme in the organization’s work, a perspective that often makes it a counter-culture space in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the dominant culture is “machista,” or patriarchal and authoritarian. 

Young adult United Methodist missionaries have worked with CEPALC since Global Justice Volunteers sent the first volunteer in the early 2000s, a program that later folded into what is today Global Mission Fellows. I served as a Global Mission Fellow from 2017-2019 and returned in 2020 as a missionary. I now serve as the Assistant for Partnership and Network Development with CEPALC and Global Ministries’ Latin American and Caribbean Regional Office. I continue to produce radio programs in English and Spanish and work alongside CEPALC leadership teams that provide ecumenical workshops throughout the country. At the same time, this new missionary placement helps to form and strengthen connections with missionaries and mission partners in Latin American and the Caribbean. Last year, the regional office and United Methodist Communications worked with more than 20 Methodist churches and ecumenical partners to provide virtual training workshops in communications during the pandemic. CEPALC provided a workshop and discussion on inclusive communication and journalistic ethics during the event. 

The organization partners with Global Ministries in additional ways as well, such as for the creation of communication resources for local churches, programmatic work with Indigenous and former guerilla communities and support of Colombian Nationals in Mission. 

Through CEPALC’s training workshops, participants learn about human rights, gender equality and social issues by way of music, art, literature, theater, video, photography, radio and other creative media. At the end of each workshop, participants take what they have learned and create their own play, puppet show, video, radio program, piece of art, etc. to share with others. The sessions employ an active methodology and pedagogy that encourages participants to continue sharing what they have learned with their communities long after the workshop session. 

Mariana Salinas first came to CEPALC children’s workshops when she was 5 years old. She is now 17 and part of the leadership team that puts together virtual workshops for women and girls, called Gafas Violeta. 

“The way that CEPALC opened our eyes to the world was impactful,” says Salinas. She remembers being in workshops with Felix Posada Rojas, CEPALC’s director, and learning about Colombian and world history in a way that she did not experience in school. “Felix taught us about the world through storytelling,” she says. 

“La Verdadera Historia de los Gatos con Botas” is one of the stories that Posada Rojas uses to teach about children’s rights. In it, two cats go on a magical journey to see the ways in which children are treated and neglected in the world. Elementary school students from the María Auxiliadora School in Mongua, Boyacá turned this story of magical cats in boots into their own play and video to show their families, community and the world the importance of children’s rights.

CEPALC opened a recording studio in its office and an online radio station, Encuentro Radio, in 2015. Encuentro Radio gives the microphone to people whose voices have been historically silenced. The radio station is open to community groups, students, churches and other organizations to host weekly or monthly programs. Religious groups like Servicio Internacional Cristiano de Solidaridad con los Pueblos de América Latina (International Christian Service of Solidarity with the Latin American People) and Mesa Eco Teológica Interreligiosa de Bogotá (Interreligious Eco-Theology Table of Bogotá) have a space to share their work and discuss important issues with listeners all over the world. These programs share both the Good News as well as the not-so-good news of the work that still needs to be done to build a society and culture that is accepting of all God’s diverse children. 

CEPALC plants seeds that continue to grow within individuals and their communities. Like Salinas, most of the organization’s current team of workshop leaders and radio producers first came to the organization as children who participated in these interactive workshops. They return as adults to train a new generation in communication and human rights. 

Evangelization today moves far beyond simply inviting people into a church building. More and more, evangelization is about how our actions and daily work, in whatever context, communicate the love of God and transform communities. 

CEPALC builds the kindom of God beyond the walls of the church – a kindom in which all people are loved, accepted and treated with respect. 

In Colombia, people in the most marginalized and excluded communities are becoming local leaders, challenging sexist and discriminatory customs and creating a more inclusive and egalitarian society – a more accurate picture of the body of Christ.

Hannah Reasoner is a United Methodist missionary who serves in Colombia with CEPALC and the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Office.

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This Message is issued by the World Council of Churches with the endorsement of the churches, councils of churches and church leaders listed below. Available also in Korean.

25 June 2020

Seventy years ago, a conflict began that was to cost the lives of approximately three million people – the majority of them civilians, result in the destruction of virtually all of the major cities on the Korean Peninsula, separate many families, and leave a lasting legacy of bitterness, fear and division among people who share the same language, traditional culture and ancient history.

The foundations for this catastrophic conflict were laid by the post-World War II division of the Korean Peninsula by the United States of America and the Soviet Union, which – in a bitterly cruel turn of events – followed almost immediately the liberation of Korean people from 36 years of Japanese imperial domination. The division into North and South became entrenched during the ensuing Cold War, which provided the context and impulses for the war that began on 25 June 1950, and of which the Korean people were overwhelmingly the victims.

After three years of appallingly destructive conflict, an Armistice Agreement was signed on 27 July 1953, establishing a ceasefire and creating a Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. However, no peace treaty was ever concluded, and so the parties remain, technically, at war up to the present date.

On this sombre 70^th anniversary occasion, we, as churches and councils of churches from countries that played a role in the division and conflict on the Korean Peninsula, join in calling for:

• An immediate formal declaration of the end of the Korean War; and
• Swift steps towards the adoption of a peace treaty to replace the 1953 Armistice Agreement, as a starting point for further progress towards the realization of a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

Seven decades after this war began, it is time to acknowledge that it ended long ago. New challenges to peace and stability in the region have arisen in the meantime, but we do not believe that the resolution of those challenges will be facilitated by keeping that 70-year-old conflict open. On the contrary, we believe that the conditions for pragmatic dialogue and negotiation on current realities on the Peninsula could be greatly enhanced by recognizing the end of the war.

We expect that this long overdue recognition of historical reality, and a peace treaty to document it, would be a pivotal contribution to reducing tensions and hostility in the region, and to restoring a conducive environment for resumption of the stalled process of the Panmunjom and Singapore summit outcomes. To further restore that environment, we also call for:

• Suspension and cancellation of any further military exercises in the region;
• Resumption of dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK, and between the USA and the DPRK, with the encouragement and support of other states who were involved in the Korean War; and
• The normalization of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and the USA.

We appeal for the fulfilment of the letter and spirit of all the agreements that had given so much hope of progress towards peace on the Korean Peninsula – in particular the Panmunjom Declaration of April 2018, the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018, and the Singapore Joint Statement of June 2018. We pray for the realization of the vision of the Korean Peninsula as a nuclear-free zone, and a world completely free from the threat of nuclear weapons.

The history of the Korean War has taught us that the reunification of Korea cannot be pursued by armed force and coercive means, given the tragic consequences of that conflict. It can only be achieved by peaceful means, through dialogue and cooperation.

We pray that through dialogue and cooperation the long-divided Korean people may heal the wounds of division and conflict, find again their common identity and shared future, and provide leadership and inspiration for peace in the north-east Asian region and throughout the world.

Endorsements from countries that participated in the Korean War

South Korea:

National Council of Churches in Korea

Presbyterian Church of Korea

Korean Methodist Church

Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea

Anglican Church of Korea

United States of America:

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

United Methodist Church (USA)

Presbyterian Church (USA)

United Church of Christ (USA)

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada

African Methodist Episcopal Church

Mennonite Central Committee U.S.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Australia:

National Council of Churches in Australia

Uniting Church in Australia

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia

United Kingdom:

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

United Reformed Church

The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford

Thailand:

Church of Christ in Thailand

Canada:

United Church of Canada

Anglican Church of Canada

Canadian Association of Baptist Freedoms

Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec

Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Christian Reformed Church in North America

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Canada

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Presbyterian Church in Canada

Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory

Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada

Mennonite Central Committee Canada

Philippines:

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

New Zealand:

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand

Ethiopia:

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus

France:

United Protestant Church of France (l’Eglise protestante unie de France)

South Africa:

South African Council of Churches

The Netherlands:

Kees Nieuwerth, Vice-President, Council of Churches in the Netherlands

Other endorsements

International:

Ecumenical Patriarchate

World Communion of Reformed Churches

World Methodist Council

World Alliance of YMCAs

Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs

Germany:

Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau)

Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber, Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland)

Japan:

National Christian Council in Japan

The Korean Christian Church in Japan

Norway

Church of Norway

Russia

Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

(updated 29 June 2020)

Original post from https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/joint-ecumenical-peace-message-on-the-occasion-of-the-70th-anniversary-of-the-start-of-the-korean-war.

The post Ecumenical peace message marks 70th anniversary appeared first on Global Ministries.

This Message is issued by the World Council of Churches with the endorsement of the churches, councils of churches and church leaders listed below. Available also in Korean.

Seventy years ago, a conflict began that was to cost the lives of approximately three million people – the majority of them civilians, result in the destruction of virtually all of the major cities on the Korean Peninsula, separate many families, and leave a lasting legacy of bitterness, fear and division among people who share the same language, traditional culture and ancient history.

The foundations for this catastrophic conflict were laid by the post-World War II division of the Korean Peninsula by the United States of America and the Soviet Union, which – in a bitterly cruel turn of events – followed almost immediately the liberation of Korean people from 36 years of Japanese imperial domination. The division into North and South became entrenched during the ensuing Cold War, which provided the context and impulses for the war that began on 25 June 1950, and of which the Korean people were overwhelmingly the victims.

After three years of appallingly destructive conflict, an Armistice Agreement was signed on 27 July 1953, establishing a ceasefire and creating a Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. However, no peace treaty was ever concluded, and so the parties remain, technically, at war up to the present date.

On this sombre 70^th anniversary occasion, we, as churches and councils of churches from countries that played a role in the division and conflict on the Korean Peninsula, join in calling for:

• An immediate formal declaration of the end of the Korean War; and
• Swift steps towards the adoption of a peace treaty to replace the 1953 Armistice Agreement, as a starting point for further progress towards the realization of a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

Seven decades after this war began, it is time to acknowledge that it ended long ago. New challenges to peace and stability in the region have arisen in the meantime, but we do not believe that the resolution of those challenges will be facilitated by keeping that 70-year-old conflict open. On the contrary, we believe that the conditions for pragmatic dialogue and negotiation on current realities on the Peninsula could be greatly enhanced by recognizing the end of the war.

We expect that this long overdue recognition of historical reality, and a peace treaty to document it, would be a pivotal contribution to reducing tensions and hostility in the region, and to restoring a conducive environment for resumption of the stalled process of the Panmunjom and Singapore summit outcomes. To further restore that environment, we also call for:

• Suspension and cancellation of any further military exercises in the region;
• Resumption of dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK, and between the USA and the DPRK, with the encouragement and support of other states who were involved in the Korean War; and
• The normalization of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and the USA.

We appeal for the fulfilment of the letter and spirit of all the agreements that had given so much hope of progress towards peace on the Korean Peninsula – in particular the Panmunjom Declaration of April 2018, the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018, and the Singapore Joint Statement of June 2018. We pray for the realization of the vision of the Korean Peninsula as a nuclear-free zone, and a world completely free from the threat of nuclear weapons.

The history of the Korean War has taught us that the reunification of Korea cannot be pursued by armed force and coercive means, given the tragic consequences of that conflict. It can only be achieved by peaceful means, through dialogue and cooperation.

We pray that through dialogue and cooperation the long-divided Korean people may heal the wounds of division and conflict, find again their common identity and shared future, and provide leadership and inspiration for peace in the north-east Asian region and throughout the world.

Endorsements from countries that participated in the Korean War

South Korea:

National Council of Churches in Korea

Presbyterian Church of Korea

Korean Methodist Church

Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea

Anglican Church of Korea

United States of America:

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

United Methodist Church (USA)

Presbyterian Church (USA)

United Church of Christ (USA)

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada

African Methodist Episcopal Church

Mennonite Central Committee U.S.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Australia:

National Council of Churches in Australia

Uniting Church in Australia

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia

United Kingdom:

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

United Reformed Church

The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford

Thailand:

Church of Christ in Thailand

Canada:

United Church of Canada

Anglican Church of Canada

Canadian Association of Baptist Freedoms

Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec

Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Christian Reformed Church in North America

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Canada

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Presbyterian Church in Canada

Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory

Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada

Mennonite Central Committee Canada

Philippines:

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

New Zealand:

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand

Ethiopia:

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus

France:

United Protestant Church of France (l’Eglise protestante unie de France)

South Africa:

South African Council of Churches

The Netherlands:

Kees Nieuwerth, Vice-President, Council of Churches in the Netherlands

Other endorsements

International:

Ecumenical Patriarchate

World Communion of Reformed Churches

World Methodist Council

World Alliance of YMCAs

Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs

Germany:

Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau)

Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber, Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland)

Japan:

National Christian Council in Japan

The Korean Christian Church in Japan

Norway

Church of Norway

Russia

Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)

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– John 1:3b-5 CEV

It is a blessing to celebrate the holiday season here in Kyiv, where both Western and Orthodox Christian communities gather for traditional worship services to mark the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As a missionary in Ukraine representing The United Methodist Church, some years I am asked to lead an ecumenical worship service celebrating Epiphany, when the miracle of Christmas – God taking human flesh, incarnate in Jesus – was first revealed to the world. The Magi visited Jesus in Bethlehem, honored him as their Lord and King, and then went out to share this good news to the nations. It is always a privilege for me to preach, celebrate Holy Communion and lead the gathered community in worship on this holy day.

On January 7, here in Ukraine and in Orthodox communities worldwide that follow the Julian calendar, faithful Christians celebrate Christmas Day. On the evening of January 6 and throughout the day on January 7 around the country, Orthodox believers gather to give thanks to God for the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Every night throughout this holiday season here in Kyiv, from mid-December through early January, thousands of people gather at St. Sophia’s Square, outside a cathedral dating back to the 11th century. Though it is a season of great joy, many come to this square with heavy hearts, bearing difficult burdens. Over the past five years, the ceaseless conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 13,000 people and has driven over 1.5 million people from their homes. Everyone who gathers at St. Sophia’s has been affected in some way by the violence, economic ruin, and political chaos that this war has engendered. Mothers mourn their sons who have fallen in warfare. Grown children worry for their parents who continue to live in the conflict zone. Families recently evacuated to the safety of Kyiv struggle to make a new life far from their home.

And yet, though the darkness is real, it does not overcome the light. In search of hope, the people of Kyiv gather on the cathedral square to proclaim that the love of God shall not be extinguished. As the lights of the tree and cathedral belfry shine brightly, we are reminded of the light of Christ that burst forth into the dark world on that first Christmas in Bethlehem.

As we enter this new year, I pray God’s blessings on you and your loved ones. May the joy of this season remain with you throughout the coming year. May the light of Christ shine brightly within you, so that you may be a witness of God’s love to the world. Through you, may others come to know Jesus our Lord, whose birth long ago in Bethlehem we celebrate in these holy days.

The Rev. John Calhoun has served in several missionary placements since his commissioning in 2000. Currently, he is the project manager for the new Institute for Multicultural Ministry in Europe and the coordinator of International Ministries, United Methodist Church, Ukraine. He is an elder of the New York Annual Conference and earned his undergraduate degree in Russian and economics from Georgetown University, Washington, DC. From 2001 to 2005, he served as pastor of the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy, an international, interdenominational Protestant congregation in Moscow, Russia.

Give Now

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Statement from Thomas Kemper
General Secretary
General Board of Global Ministries

The General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church stands in solidarity with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines as it withstands yet another attempt to discredit its prophetic witness by being labeled “a front organization of local communist terrorist groups” by the Philippines Department of National Defense.

The spurious charge, vehemently denied by the NCCP, was made in early November by a high-ranking intelligence officer in hearings in the Philippines’ House of Representatives. (For the NCCP statement see: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=1430201943955254&story_fbid=2112696689039106&ref=bf.)

This tactic has been employed previously against persons and organizations that dare to protest the indiscriminate killings of thousands in President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war against drugs.” The goal is to discredit those who dare to uphold human rights and publicize unjust actions and abuse of power, causing untold suffering, especially among the poor and the powerless in Philippine society.

The NCCP, an ecumenical fellowship of mainline Protestants, of which The United Methodist Church in the Philippines is a member, has never shied away from its mission: “To be a channel for united witness and common action by being in solidarity with the people in the struggle for justice, peace and integrity of creation.”

Global Ministries affirms and celebrates such witness through partnership with the NCCP in its quest to boldly proclaim its mission in word and in deed. This agency has collaborated with the NCCP in many ministries across the years.

Global Ministries appeals to the government of the Philippines to recognize and respect the rights of advocates for justice who follow the way of Jesus the Christ and to protect their freedom to observe Jesus’ admonition to “preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives…and let the oppressed go free.” (Luke 4:18)

(The “red-tagging” of the NCCP has been protested by the leadership of the Christian Council of Asia, see statement at: http://cca.org.hk/home/news-and-events/cca-general-secretary-condemns-the-philippine-governments-act-of-red-tagging-the-national-council-of-churches-in-the-philippines.)

In response to the outpouring of prayer and support, the acting general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines wrote a letter of gratitude to friends and partners around the world. Read Minnie Anne Mata-Calub’s letter here.

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