wfn.org | Opening worship focuses on unity

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Note #6577 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

10-June-2001
GA01021

Opening worship focuses on unity

by Nancy D. Borst

LOUISVILLE, June 10 -- In prayer, song and praise, several thousand people
gathered for the opening service of worship at the 213th General Assembly
and were called to unity, "rooted and grounded in love."

"We unite as God's people ..." came the opening call to worship. "...To
overcome barriers of class, gender, race ..." echoed a hymn specially
commissioned for the event. "... forgive us for resisting your
reconciliation ..." asked a confessional prayer.

Aden Breetz of Beulah Presbyterian Church, Louisville, stood tall beyond his
young years and without written script, issued a call to, "Let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one
body."

Worshippers came together in the same cavernous hall in the Kentucky
International Convention Center where 558 commissioners will, in the coming
week, debate and decide the denomination's business. The General Assembly is
the annual business meeting of the 2.5-million member Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.).

The Rev. Syngman Rhee, Moderator of the 212th General Assembly, preached on
the Assembly's theme, "Rooted and Grounded in Love," culling unifying
moments from his world travels the past year in a message focused on common
ground rather than division.

Children in Baghdad, Iraq, singing "Jesus Loves Me," spoke to overcoming
adversity, and proclaimed the message that, "We are proud to be
Presbyterians," he said. Tears of joy in the eyes of a now-grown man
abandoned at age 5 in war-torn Korea at seeing his 85-year-old mother for
the first time in 50 years powerfully demonstrated the "reconciling force"
of God's love.

"I have grown to appreciate what it means to be rooted and grounded in
love," Rhee said. "Sometimes we wonder what missionaries around the world
have done. What are the fruits? I say, 'I am the fruit of mission.' I know
if my life hadn't been touched by the church, it would be a much different
life."

Rhee, a Korean native and the first Asian-American Moderator in the
denomination’s 121-year history, reminded the congregation that he had
attended seminary, married and seen his three children born in Louisville,
where his term as Moderator has concluded.

"We Presbyterians, here and now, are heirs to this promise of reconciling
power available to us in Jesus Christ. Today God calls out to us one more
time to learn to love God and our neighbor," Rhee said. "God calls us to
become ambassadors of reconciliation to a church and world rich in things
and poor in soul, a world crying out from every corner for peace, for
healing, for hope beyond hope."

Rhee thanked those responsible for his robe, which offered a present,
visible expression of "oneness in Christ." His wife, Haesun, had the white
robe made from fabric inscribed with more than 600 messages of encouragement
and support from commissioners and others attending the 212th Assembly, a
"lasting gift" for which Rhee said, "I am deeply grateful."

The two-hour service also commissioned 295 missionaries and mission
volunteers and celebrated the retirements of eight missionaries who had
given a total of more than 200 years to mission service. Soon to be
108-year-old Nola Pease Vander Meer of Kentucky was uplifted for her
tireless devotion to mission and the church. Her presence drew a standing
ovation.
The worship offering will go to six projects selected by Rhee: 

* Bongsoo Noodle Factory, a food ministry in North Korea; 

* First Presbyterian Church, Paoli, Indiana, to help it rebuild from a
devastating fire;

* Taiwanese New Church Development and the Korean Presbyterian Church of
Louisville, to support Taiwanese- and Korean-American ministries;

* Maxwell Street Legal Clinic, Lexington, Ky., to assist in hiring a paid
attorney for the mushrooming need for legal services for low-income clients,
particularly immigrants;

* Hispanic Ministry in the Presbytery of Western Kentucky, to help
congregations develop programs to respond to this need;

* International Student Aid at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary,
to help financial needs of international students.

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