In a new series, Ana Gobledale meets the URC’s partners in international mission. First, So-Young Jung from South Korea

When I became a ‘missionary’ in 1983, I refused to use the word because all I could picture was a stern western white woman in a long skirt, holding a Bible in one hand and a stick in the other. Imagine my surprise when I heard this word being used enthusiastically in 2022!

Acknowledging the Church’s, including our own, active involvement in racism and imperialist expansion through global ‘mission’, the United Reformed Church and other churches, removed the term ‘missionary’ from our lexicon. Today we refer to international church workers as ‘Partners in International Mission’, those sent and received through the Council for World Mission…

Ana Gobledale is Convenor for the URC International Exchange Reference Group. The Council for World Mission is a worldwide partnership of 32 denominations including the URC

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This is an extract from an article published in the February 2023 edition of Reform

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