Churches must lead Korean peace initiatives says Reformed church leader

Churches need to be in the forefront of seeking peace in the Korean peninsula, says the General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

“WCRC is very concerned about the increase in the war rhetoric and the resurfacing of threats of destructive nuclear weaponry,” Setri Nyomi says in a message delivered today in Tokyo, Japan. “Churches need to urge their governments to pursue peace even in these times.”

Nyomi is in Japan for meetings with the Reformed Church in Japan (RCJ), the Church of Christ in Japan (CCJ), Korean Christian Church in Japan (KCCJ), and the Japan Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

“For whatever reason, it is wrong for any government to threaten to target any other with nuclear weapons,” Nyomi told Japanese church representatives.

“We urge all parties to exercise restraint in both what is being said and what is being done. The World Communion of Reformed Churches has constantly called for the existing armistice to be replaced by a full peace treaty on the Korean peninsula. Even in spite of the developments in the past week, we continue to urge for this to happen. We call for all parties to do everything possible to overcome recent escalations so that the reunification of Korea can be achieved.”

Nyomi is in Japan to learn how the churches are doing in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March 2011. He will be delivering a message of support to WCRC member churches and reiterating the Communion’s concern for the churches as they seek to rebuild their parish communities and sanctuaries.

The General Secretary says he wants leaders and members of Japan’s WCRC member churches to know how much the global community of Reformed churches appreciates the way they have responded to their communities in “that time of great devastation.”