News 
 Local News 
 News 
 General 
 Koreans pray close to home 

Koreans pray close to home

24 Jun, 2009 11:50 AM
MEMBERS of the Korean community throughout the western suburbs have had their prayers answered.

With no church to call their own close to home, they have had to travel more than 50 kilometres every week to worship in their mother tongue.

However, from next month, they will be able to attend a service every Sunday at Crossroads Uniting Church in Werribee.

The congregation will include 30 people from eight families who have transferred from the Korean Church of Melbourne, three Sunday school teachers, an elder, a chanter and accompanist.

Most of the parishioners at its inaugural service will come from Werribee, Hoppers Crossing and Altona Meadows, with some to travel from as far as Ballarat.

The services will be led by Reverend Chang-Bae Byun, who was ordained in 1998 and worked as the Minister for the Word at Andong Presbyterian Church in Seoul, South Korea, for seven years.

A dedicated activist with regards to the concerns of human rights, justice, peace and life, he devoted himself to the democratisation movement in South Korea during the 1980s.

The father of two migrated to Australia four years ago and has served as an associate pastor of the Korean Church of Melbourne since 2006.

Mr Byun said he hoped the more than 100 members of Wyndham's Korean community would embrace the service.

"Many first-generation migrants, in particular, still find it difficult to communicate in English.

"They're different to the second and third generation who have a greater knowledge of the language and they feel more comfortable praying in Korean."

The first service will be held on July 11 at 2.30pm at the corner of Duncans Road and Synnot Street, Werribee.

Print
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size

comments


No comments yet. Be the first to comment below.

post a comment


Screen name  *
Email address  *
Remember me?
Comment  *
 
We invite and encourage our readers to post comments. Comments are moderated and will appear as soon as our editor has approved them. When posting comments you agree to be bound by our Terms and Conditions.
Divine intervention: Reverend Chang-Bae Byun will lead the Korean church service. Picture: Cathy Jackson
Divine intervention: Reverend Chang-Bae Byun will lead the Korean church service. Picture: Cathy Jackson

Most popular articles