Office Bearers

GS 2019 Article 103 – KPCK (Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea)

1.   Material

  • 1.1    Report of the Committee on Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA) regarding the Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea (KPCK) (8.2.2.1).

2.   Observations

  • 2.1    GS 2016 (Art. 81) decided:
    • [4.1]    To continue EF with the Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea (KPCK) under the adopted rules;
    • [4.2]    To continue to work cooperatively with the GKv and the FRCA in exercising our relationship with the KPCK in meaningful ways and continue to visit the annual General Assembly in turn;
    • [4.3]    To maintain regular communication with the KPCK as well as meet with their delegates at ICRC 2017.
  • 2.2    The Rev. S.C. Van Dam and br. Jerome Lee (elder in the Surrey-Maranatha CanRC), for whom Korean is his native language, visited the GA-KPCK in September 2017, at which the Rev. Van Dam brought greetings on behalf of the CanRC.
  • 2.3    From documents obtained for GA-KPCK 2017 (translated by br. Lee), the CRCA ascertained that the KPCK desires to be a faithful church of Jesus Christ.
  • 2.4    At GA-KPCK 2017, a meeting held between our delegates, the KPCK foreign relations committee, and delegates from GKSA and GKv, the matter of the GKv decision to open the offices to women as well as recent developments in the KPCK were discussed. An extensive meeting was held the next day between our delegates, the KPCK foreign relations committee, the GKv delegate, and representatives from the KPCK in North America. The main topic of discussion was how to respond to the GKv decision to open the offices to women. Our serious objections were indicated, echoed by the other delegates, and were well received by the KPCK foreign relations committee members. The Rev. Van Dam gave an interview with the KPCK newspaper, and invitations were exchanged.
  • 2.5    Some interaction between CanRC and the KPCK delegates was held at the ICRC 2017.

3.   Considerations

  • 3.1    The committee has completed its mandate with respect to the Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea (KPCK).
  • 3.2    EF with the KPCK is maintained since they are a faithful church of Jesus Christ.
  • 3.3    With increased globalization, it is good to maintain EF with the KPCK to support each other as South Korea is rapidly becoming secularized.
  • 3.4    We have opportunity to have some impact for good. The KPCK is a very large federation and we learned that there are some ministers in the KPCK who thought that the GKv decision to open up the offices to women would be worth investigating for their own situation. To be able to clearly state our reasons for disagreeing with the GKv decision was beneficial in this context.
  • 3.5    It is desirable to monitor how the KPCK responds to the GKv decision to open the offices to women, in line with the expectation that the churches in EF shall inform each other of their broadest assemblies.

4.   Recommendations

 That Synod decide:

  • 4.1    To continue the relationship of Ecclesiastical Fellowship (EF) with the Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea (KPCK) under the adopted rules;
  • 4.2    To mandate the Committee on Relations with Churches Abroad (CRCA):
    • 4.2.1    To continue to work cooperatively with sister churches who have relations with the KPCK in exercising our relationship with KPCK in meaningful ways, and to take turns visiting the KPCK’s annual General Assembly;
    • 4.2.2    To send a delegation to their assemblies at least once every three years;
    • 4.2.3    To maintain regular communication with KPCK as well as meet with their delegates at the ICRC 2021;
    • 4.2.4    To monitor the KPCK response to the GKv decision to allow women in all offices;
    • 4.2.5    To submit its report to the churches 6 months prior to the convening of the next general synod.

ADOPTED