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Donald K. McKim, Kerri N. Allen, Lent, Lenten Reflections on The Confession of Belhar, reflection, Witherspoon Press
I wrote “Reflection 5” in a new book, Lenten Reflections on the Confession of Belhar edited by Kerri N. Allen & Donald K. McKim (Louisville: Witherspoon Press, 2016), p. 12-13.
It’s a great resource for Lent, which is right around the corner. Get a copy today.
Product Overview
After the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted the Confession of Belhar to become part of the Book of Confessions in June 2016, consideration was given to what type of resource could introduce the Belhar Confession more fully to the denomination. It seemed that a book of devotions based on the Belhar Confession would be a blessing to the church as congregations and individual Presbyterians contemplated Scripture, the Belhar Confession, and the meanings that emerge as the Confession is studied phrase by phrase during the season of Lent. The devotions were written by a variety of Presbyterians, reflecting on a portion of the Confession in relation to Scripture texts that are associated with the Confession. The forty-seven devotions cover the days of Lent, plus Sundays.
Reflection 5 by Grace Ji-Sun Kim
I can still recall church days in my early childhood. Filled with sugar twisted donuts and sweet juice every Sunday morning after worship, I felt as if I was in a wonderland of sorts. It was quite a treat to eat all those sugary donuts as they were non-existent in my household. Church was also abundant with memories of singing in the children’s choir and spending time with those friends from the buddings of my adolescence. Unfortunately some of my fondest memories in this period are tainted with the infighting among the elders and deacons of the church. There was rampant disunity among the church leaders. I remember loud shouting matches over disagreements within the church. It was seemingly impossible for adults to get along with one another.
The feuds within our church left me wondering if the church was going to break into little pieces. The church of my youth desperately needed unity. Psalm 133 prompts us that God’s people are to live in unity.
***For the rest of my reflection……please purchase the book.
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Grace Ji-Sun Kim is an Associate Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author of Embracing the Other;Making Peace with the Earth;Here I Am;Christian Doctrines for Global Gender Justiceco-edited with Jenny Daggers;Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style”co-written with Joseph Cheah;Reimagining with Christian Doctrinesco-edited with Jenny Daggers;Contemplations from the Heart;Colonialism, Han and the Transformative Spirit;The Holy Spirit, Chi, and the Other; and The Grace of Sophia. She is a co-editor with Dr. Joseph Cheah for the Palgrave Macmillan Book Series, “Asian Christianity in Diaspora”.
Grace Ji-Sun Kim 