A 5 miniute Prayer for Peace

A couple of weeks ago our session led a meeting after church seeking ways for the Calvary Community to participate in peacemaking in our world. One of the ideas was to set aside 5 minutes in our service each week as a time of praying for peace.

I like the idea of setting aside 5 minutes each week in worship to pray for peace. I would like to suggest we take this idea home with us and each of us to set aside 5 minutes each day to pray for peace.

Today at our Ministry Development Group meeting we set aside 5 minutes to pray for peace. During our prayer we lifted up the situation of our Korean brothers and sisters in Afghanistan.

Please read the following letter and join with me in a "5 minute" prayer for peace.

Urgent Prayer Appeal to Ecumenical Community

July 31, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) has consistently prayed for “peace and life” in the global village.

We, together with the whole Korean people, are in deep sorrow and pain after we heard today the shocking news that the Taliban have killed a second Korean hostage, Mr. Shim Sung-Min, early this morning. This terrible news came to us only a few days after Rev. Bae Hyung-Kyu was killed by the Taliban last Wednesday. Moreover, the threat of further executions of the hostages is driving not only the affected families but the whole Korean society into the most painful situation.

Therefore, we urgently call on the entire ecumenical community around the world to pray to God that the killings of innocent people may stop and that these hostages may safely return to their families. We deeply appreciate the earlier expression of prayer sent from the World Council of Churches to the National Council of Churches in Korea.

We urge the global community to work for true peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Particularly, we sincerely request the governments of both Afghanistan and the US to lead the negotiations with the Taliban for the sake of the safe return of the hostages.

We express our deep condolences to the families of Rev. Bae Hyung-Kyu and Mr. Shim Sung-Min and stand in firm solidarity with all the affected families.

Let us all continue to pray for all people whose lives are threatened by conflict situations and to make our utmost effort to work for abundant life for all people.

Sincerely,

Rev. Yoon Kil Soo, General Secretary
The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK)

A call to prayer in our small place in the world...