July_2025 FFL PDF

First Friday Letter The World Methodist Council

July 2025

Greetings from the General Secretary Greetings, “Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God, the father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 6:23) In this First Friday Letter you will find, inter alia, the statement, reports and reflections related to the Pilgrimage of Peace and Justice that the WMC Youth and Young Adults participated in, this June, in Korea.

This pilgrimage connected with WMC former President JC Park’s work for peace and the unification of the Peninsula.

The WMC is thankful to the Korean Methodist Church who hosted the Pilgrimage as part of the 140th anniversary of the Protestant mission in the Korean Peninsula (see FFL May 2025).

The WMC is also thankful to the United Methodist Church/General Board of Global Ministries for facilitating bringing multiple partners worldwide to collaborate in this project. The WMC Youth and Young Adults have done us proud in achieving such an important event.

The Pilgrimage called for peace in the Korean Peninsula. The overthrowing of the divisive barrier, the Demilitarized Zones that separates the Peninsula. The concept is that one day it will be possible to make a pilgrimage from Busan to Pyongyang, crossing Parallel 38 unimpeded. The pilgrims walked in faith trusting that one day peace will finally come, although for now they could only walk a limited stretch of the way.

The struggle for peace is against the powers of this age - wherever they may be - that divide us, building walls physical and spiritual that demarcate territorial barriers imposed not by God who is the father of all, but by prejudice and suspicion of the neighbour. Jesus on the contrary said: “I leave you peace, my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)

Rev Dr Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto WMC General Secretary

Past President JC Park present for the Young Adult PilgrimagePhoto of Peace.

Photo by Ms. Lamma Mansour 136007839 © Kabayanmark | Dreamstime.com

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From the General Secretary’s Diary

Methodists at WCC Central Committee meeting in South Africa, June 2025 with the addition of Commissioner Jane Paone of the Salvation Army.

I reflect on a stance taken by the World Council of Churches’ Central Committee meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, June 18th-24th, 2025. This was to name the regime in Israel: Apartheid. The statement came short of calling the situation in Gaza a genocide.

This was the second meeting of the current WCC Central Committee, which was elected at the 11th WCC Assembly in 2022. The meeting focused on “Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity”.

There was a time, not long ago, the WCC 11th Assembly included, when one could not name the antidemocratic system in Israel/Palestine for what it is: Apartheid! Now, even Glastonbury, a festival of music and culture in the UK, cannot escape the expression of raw feeling that that system invokes. Artists were venting from the stage, some controversially, views that the military attack on the Gaza population is abhorrent. The Glastonbury organisers said, ‘if you don’t like the political views expressed here, go elsewhere’. In the UK, every poll of public opinion shows that the majority of the people demand the UK to stop arming Israel and impose sanctions. Michael Eavis, the Festival founder and a Methodist, said that Methodism influenced its ethos, particularly the emphasis on social responsibility and caring for others.

More technical than the popular judgment is the finding of the UN Special Committee. In November 2024 it concluded that Israel’s warfare methods - including siege tactics, starvation, and civilian displacement - were consistent with genocide under the Genocide Convention.

Quite apart from that, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Territories and East Jerusalem presented a report to the Human Rights Council on settlers and settler groups involved in acts of terror, violence and intimidation against Palestinian and registered the accompanying actions taken by the Israeli Government as violations of International Law. The report came out in June 2025. The members of the Commission said in an interview that they have the names of those serving the battalions in the West Bank and in Gaza and would bring the perpetrators whatever rank to respond for their actions.

Similar moves would also follow the Hamas’ fighters.

Interestingly, learning from its history of the Apartheid regime from 1948 to 1994, South Africa was ahead of everybody when it filed, in December 2023, a case against Israel for acts consistent with genocide against the Palestinian people, in particular in Gaza. This still awaits a final decision by International Court of Justice, which is expected now in January 2026. But provisional measures are in place and arrest warrants have been issued against perpetrators.

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“South African Jews and a Minister for Free Palestine were outside of the WCC meeting supporting the cause of justice for Palestinians.”

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From the General Secretary’s Diary continued...

I sat at the Public Issues Commission where the discussions took place and then watched the debate in the plenary were around 150 people from different denominations, from Pentecostal to Orthodox churches offered very little resistance and approved the Statement naming the political system as Apartheid.

In Johannesburg I preached at the Methodist Church in Alexandra, the township where Nelson Mandela, known as Madiba (clan name meaning: reconciler, the filler of ditches), first lived as a student of Law. We sang: “Eu sinto a presença de Deus: é na luta, é na luta, é na luta!I” (I feel the presence of God in the struggle…) As Madiba taught, the struggle is not against a race, or skin colour, or education, religion, or class, but against the oppression that is imposed on others. In South Africa, in Palestine/Israel, in Brazil and elsewhere where there is oppression of one over the other, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News to the poor and of letting the oppressed go free, Luke 4:18.

Race, Gender, and Status in Gold Coast Methodism, 1885 to 1920 My recent study of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the Gold Coast (Ghana) between 1885 and 1920 examines the framing of differences by race and gender. It argues that membership of the Wesleyan Methodist Church affirmed dignity and respectability, but that Africans were relegated to subordinate positions within the Church hierarchy, and their culture, including music, dancing, clothing, and marriage arrangements, was treated as inferior in this colonial period.

The research encompasses changing perceptions of racial difference and social conflict. Africans, some of whom were educated, longstanding Methodists, did not accept the status and authority claimed by inexperienced missionaries who arrived with cultural and racial predispositions formed in Britain. This situation, along with British criticism of African culture, offended African men, conflicts emerged, and demands for greater respect and autonomy were expressed in terms of asserting ‘manhood’.

Meanwhile, African and British women were expected to conform to British Methodist ideas of ‘womanhood’ and respectability. Wesleyan deaconesses arrived from 1904 onwards to provide education to girls in Methodist boarding schools. Missionary support for the education of girls as well as boys produced long-lasting effects on African Methodism. The role of women in the Church has been relatively neglected in histories of Gold Coast Methodism, and stereotypes of African women in this period may prevail.

This picture defies stereotypes of African women in the early twentieth century. ‘Miss Adoo’ African daughter of Rev. S. J. Adoo, travelled ‘with her father into the bush teaching and preaching to the people and was called Home after a few days’ illness, just when she seemed so eminently fitted for the work.’

(Deaconess magazine, Flying Leaves, May 1914, pp. 75–6.)

As graduates of Ghanaian schools now swell Methodist congregations in England and Ghana, the Church is looking again at attitudes to cultural difference, shown in rules and traditions, food, clothing, and attitudes to music and dancing. Many differences are now regarded with respect and acceptance, but some cultural differences, including attitudes to sexuality, remain.

My research draws on the immense archives of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, the Wesley Deaconess Institute archives at John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester, African and British newspapers, and British Colonial Office documents.

Copies of the thesis (now accepted for a Ph.D award) are expected to be available digitally from Birkbeck, University of London, within the next year.

Article by Dr. Ann Cotterrell, anncotterrell@yahoo.co.uk World Methodist Council

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A Message from the Young Adults Peace Pilgrimage to the Methodist, Wesleyan, United and Uniting Churches in the World Methodist Council Then afterwards I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions (Joel 2.28)

We young people from the World Methodist Communion gathered, supported by the World Methodist Council, the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries, and the Korean Methodist Church. We participated in a Peace Pilgrimage in South Korea from June 23 to 27, 2025, representing 17 countries from all corners of the world. The pilgrimage faced the contextual reality from the democratization movements towards the hope for the re-unification of the Korean Peninsula.

Geographically starting from Seoul to Gwangju, Daejeon, Paju, and the DMZ, concluding in Seoul. The pilgrimage aimed to be on the move by listening to and witnessing the devastation caused by warfare and political tensions that have persisted for 75 years on the Korean Peninsula.

In seeking peace, we commit to carrying one another’s burdens and to journeying as disciples of Christ.

As young Methodist and Wesleyan pilgrims from across the globe, we gathered in Korea—a land still marked by long-denied peace—to embark on a shared pilgrimage. We stand in solidarity with those who have witnessed violence and atrocities, and we uphold the cries for justice from all who have been impacted by war. As we visited places of deep pain and trauma, we were invited into a posture of active love—a love that sees, laments, remembers, and holds space. The work of peace demands that we confront hard truths and let go of our comfort. We lament the ongoing legacies of colonialism, separation, political tension, war, military confrontation with an increasing warfare budget, exploitation, hatred, and enmity on a global scale. True reconciliation—rooted in justice and dignity for all—requires bold prophetic action. We urge our churches and international ecumenical partners to repent, challenge and denounce injustice, embody Christ’s healing presence, and live as witnesses to the God who unites and connects us all.

This pilgrimage is not the end; it is the beginning. We are called to speak truth, to bear witness, and to break down barriers. United in Christ and courageous in hope, we return to our communities not only inspired but ready to pilgrimage as peacebuilders, storytellers, and seekers of justice and truth. We call on our churches to truly listen and to embrace an incarnational accompaniment with physical presence in the places of suffering, creating space for our voices, relinquishing power and privilege, and investing in our formation in shared faith. We invite our siblings in Christ to walk alongside us, to trust us, and to stand with us as we take risks towards peace, truth and reconciliation. This call to peace is not the mission of a few—it is the mission of the Church as one body in mutual witnessing. We honour those who continue to pray, hope, and labour for peace, even when it seems impossibly far away. We commit ourselves to carrying that work forward—in our communities, our churches, and our homes—by speaking out against injustice and witnessing to the peace of Christ through our words, actions, and lives.

We as young methodist people, urge our national-regional bodies and networks, to embark in sinodal processes of mutual listening beyond our imposed usual boundaries; to discern the prophetic voices beyond our spaces, to recognise the faith of the faithless among us, and to embark in the uncertainties of exploring the hope beyond all hopes within all broken realities. We pledge our communities to trust God towards intergenerational listening, to bring to the centre the parts of our shared body that are in pain and struggle. Social and geopolitical challenges are increasing mistrust and radicalisation within our communities. We need to be able to hold each other in mutual fragility and vulnerability, as we have seen the need on the Korean Peninsula to overcome past unfair burdens.

By discerning the kairos of God, we must remember differently, identifying the ghosts of the past (such as the Cold War, imposed public enemies, and the demonisation of all otherness), by embracing the present with courage while facing the future with strong commitment towards peace. We encourage one another to see and witness the love of Christ in our encounters with all other human beings.

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We Build Peace When...

We build peace when we’re talking together We build peace when we remain fervently committed to one another We build peace when we learn to live through our differences We build peace when we use privilege for the benefit of others We build peace when we have justice!

We build peace when we build and participate in diverse communities We build peace when we preach We build peace when we share food We build peace when we learn from each other.

We build peace when truth is revealed, and every voice has the space to speak We build peace when we face each other’s difference straightforward We build peace when we engage with curiosity We build peace when eating together at a table.

We are courageous despite our fear We build peace when we plant seeds of hope in areas where violence has been inflicted WE BUILD PEACE WHEN WE START LISTENING We build peace when we recognise each other’s humanness We build peace when our fear of something going wrong stops preventing the possibility of something going right.

Peace is built yesterday for tomorrow We build peace when humanity is restored to those without power We build peace NOW Love is the thread that binds, Peace, the path we walk together Together—they are always a blessing.

We build peace when we tell the truth We build peace when everyone is equal We build peace when we hold hands We build peace when we struggle!

We build peace when we weave together stories, struggles, and hopes.

We build peace when we are empathetic We build peace when we take that first bold step— We build peace when we learn to accept our interconnectedness as God’s creation We build peace in radical hospitality, service and love for all.

A Collective Poem by Uniting Churches, Methodist, and Wesleyan Young People

ID 13789216 | Peace © Muladhara | Dreamstime.com

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A Call for Kairological Recollection of the Past Bonhoeffer is right when he insists that the theological vocation of the church dwells in its recollection of the past: Who has God been for us before, now, and in what is to come? In Latin, to recollect goes to re-cordis. This is to be able to return to the heart (cordis), in and out, aesthetically and existentially, by meeting seriously who God is among us. The recollection that the church aims for as its central vocation in relation to God is then crucial, contrasting with perishing ideological narratives of development and success that harm and annihilate in necropolitical ways.

It is clear that in the current globalised challenges, we are approaching an end to the myths of modernity regarding rule and law, as well as an end to religiously imposed metanarratives that stem from centuries of imposed violence towards public enemies, the different, the foreigner, and the Other(s). This end, after Covid-19 and still unfolding genocide in Gaza, might be the institutional end of what protestant Christianity has been in the last five centuries. If the great wars of the twentieth century ended in massive disaffiliation from established Western European Christianity, the cynical silence of our religious institutions is making it impossible for coming generations to be able to belong and relate to instrumentalised religion as inflicting theologies of death. Theologies that remember in compromising ways without serious re-cordis.

The mandate of the World Methodist Council gathered in Gothenburg is clear: we need to find ways for ecumenical and interreligious formation towards peace and reconciliation in new intergenerational ways, and also, in different ways of recollecting the past, hence, theologically being able to challenge ideological impositions that insists on dehumanising other human beings with a façade of rule of law, national security narratives or soteriological superficial understandings in language of salvation for minor-

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ities. In that, contrasts what the church must recollect, in that it differs from continuing the cycle of genocide after genocide in cynical ways, as if nothing can stop the wheel of history harming the majorities around us.

From June 23 to 27, a group of young people from Wesleyan, Methodist, United and Uniting churches from 17 countries met for a pilgrimage of deep encounter and listening. What we face is the recurring infliction of violence, which has its historical and present-day tensions and relations to all regions of the world. From massacres of students in Gwangju resisting militarised control of the country and demanding democratic elections, to massacres of civilians made a public enemy by the state in Daejeon, and deep listening of political propaganda and military intervention that demonises the other across the border in the north, Paju, and the DMZ. This was the question from one of the local farmers to us: Why is it interesting to you that you’re coming here to see North Koreans from a glass window from the DMZ? Indeed, we could only apologise for such surreal (as in an episode of black mirror) and violent practice imposed intentionally to dehumanise other human beings.

What could be the relation of civilian and student massacres across the globe during the twentieth century, from Tlatelolco in Mexico City to Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, from Casa de Moneda in Santiago to May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju?

Dehumanising public policies to benefit politically and financially a small minority in the world with imposed warfare supported with a wide public infrastructure of media and the continuous silence of our religious institutions, which, most of the time, at the merciless moment of crisis and suffering, intentionally decided to align with power and privilege.

our of pilgrimage in kairological recollection, then we must avoid all ideological impositions regarding the understanding of memory, peace, truth, and reconciliation.

This is by avoiding all abstract approach that, without political commitment, imposes the language of ‘is complicated.’ The living or killing of others is not complicated.

Annihilating human life is contrary to all Christian teaching, and all that comes with its public policies, such as the increasing warfare budget for NATO, increasing nuclear tensions, international military presence, and the intentional trafficking of armament across the globe.

Most of the guns used to kill our siblings close and far every day are coming from the same small group of countries that have in common the public narratives of national security, and at the same time have historically stormed our countries with missionary agencies for the implementation of theologies of death. What if all the budget available towards ‘international missions’ from the United States of America and Europe were used to challenge openly and directly the ongoing infliction of public policies of death? I wonder how the church can embrace the present with kairological recollecting by going back to the heart, in contrast to empty and abstract, superficial understandings of memory, justice, peace, and reconciliation. This is the process by which we are moving forward intergenerationally in a continuous, ongoing journey as pilgrims of encounter and listening, embracing love for all in the face of challenging imposed systems of death.

Article by Revd. Dr. Samuel Murillo President-Officer Youth and Young Adults in the World Methodist Council

When we take seriously the theological and vocational endeav-

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Her Excellency Dr. Bensouda 2025 Peace Award Recipient THE WORLD METHODIST COUNCIL welcomes all to an evening honoring H E Dr. Fatou Bomm Bensouda, recipient of the 2025 World Methodist Peace Award Tuesday, August 12, 2025, 7:00 p.m., Wesley Towers No. 3 Cruickshank Rd, Accra, Ghana Co-hosted by The Methodist Church in Ghana Since 1977, the World Methodist Council, representing 80 million Methodists globally, has honored individuals who contribute to peace, reconciliation and justice. Dr. Bensouda will be recognized for her courageous efforts worldwide.

A reception on the Terrace will follow the ceremony. __________________________________________ For questions regarding the ceremony please contact communications@worldmethodistcouncil.org

Tracing the Wounds, Tending the Peace In the heart of the Korean peninsula, from 23rd to 27th June, young adults—from Methodist, Wesleyan and Uniting Churches across 17 nations—came together for the Young Adult Pilgrimage of Peace (YAPP). This journey was not one of ease but of wounded remembrance, prophetic imagination, and embodied resistance. Across Gwangju, Daejeon, Paju, and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), our feet carried us through sites of trauma and courage— traversing not just geography, but time, memory, and theology. A recalling and pressing question in our journey was: How do we remember truthfully, act justly, and hope radically?

Gwangju: Memory and Resistance In the quiet grounds of the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju, where graves of students and civilians killed during the 1980 Democratic Uprising stretch across green hills, we confronted an unresolved truth: no full account has ever been made, and no one has been held responsible for the military crackdown that left hundreds—possibly thousands—dead.

Young Adults visit the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju. Photo by Ms. Lamma Mansour

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Tracing the Wounds, Tending the Peace continued...

Gwangju was isolated, with limited media coverage, while official reports attributed the unrest to external influences. These falsehoods were weaponised to dehumanise the victims. Even after 45 years, mothers and survivors continue to ask: Who gave the order to shoot? Why has justice and honour not been restored?

The enduring spirit of Gwangju—a spirit of sharing, courage, and solidarity—resonates far beyond Korea. As a local elder put it, “We shared blood and rice. That is peace.” This spirit reflects youth-led movements worldwide that continue to fight for democracy, peace, and justice. From the People Power Revolution in the Philippines, where students played a key role in overthrowing a dictatorship in 1986, to the recent protests in Thailand calling for constitutional reform, and the Spring Revolution in Myanmar following the 2021 coup, young people continue to endure brutal repression, and have consistently stood at the forefront of resistance and political imagination. Similarly, the ongoing struggles of civilians in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and other places—who endure severe hardships and restrictions—reflect a broader pattern where vulnerable communities are silenced, marginalised, and caught in the crossfire of complex geopolitical conflicts.

These movements share a refusal to accept fear as normal and embody a bold vision for a different future, often against overwhelming odds. Our pilgrimage acknowledged that peace is not passive but a courageous commitment rooted in community, memory, and hope.

Daejeon: Listening to Heal At Gollyeongol Peace Park in Daejeon, under a steady rain that seemed to echo the weight of memory, we confronted a quieter, often overlooked chapter of Korea’s history—the massacres of civilians during the Korean War. One participant, who lived in the same city yet had never fully known this history, reflected: “We talk about peace, but we have not learned to listen. This is where it begins.”

Hearing testimonies and sensing the lingering silence of grief from survivors and families who still seek recognition and truth for more than 70 years, our pilgrimage called not for easy reconciliation, but for something deeper: truth before peace, grief before harmony. It became an act of theological listening—one that refuses to spiritualise injustice or bypass the wounds demanding honest acknowledgment.

At the DMZ: Seeing Through the Walls In the border town of Paju, we faced the surreal experience of peering into North Korea through observation points—tourist binoculars, souvenir shops, security fences. It was jarring. A local farmer asked, “Why is it interesting to look at people through glass?”

For many, it evoked other borderlands—walls in Palestine, fences along the US-Mexico border, militarised zones in Kashmir. In all these places, seeing is framed through suspicion rather than relationship. Dehumanisation is coded as security.

Korean theologian Rev. Dr Heejin Kim reminded: “Peace in Korean is ‘안녕’—not merely the absence of violence, but the presence of wholeness. You cannot reach 안녕 without crossing the distance between people.” The DMZ thus became more than a site of national tension—it became a theological site, confronting the ways churches too have built walls: with language, doctrine, and silence.

Peace Workshops: Carrying the Journey Home Small groups met to reflect on our takeaways and what it means to be pilgrims of peace—not only here but at home.

Gwangju, May 18th Memorial Cemetery. Burial site for the victims of the student protests of the 1980 uprising. Photo by Ms. Lamma Mansour

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Common themes emerged: Peace is relational: “Nothing about me without me.” “Don’t let your neighbour walk alone.”

Peace is love embodied: through meals, stories, art, and presence.

Peace is truth-seeking: asking hard questions, amplifying buried narratives, refusing ideological silence.

Peace is theological: grounded in the image of God in all, resisting all that denies human dignity.

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Theology in Action: Witnessing Through Brokenness What gives this pilgrimage its theological meaning?

It is not nostalgia but a call to incarnational witness—God’s presence revealed amid brokenness.

By entering places marked by pain and injustice, we embraced vulnerability. This pilgrimage embodied kenosis: humble self-emptying that opens space for memory to fuel resistance and for presence to inspire prophetic hope.

We named challenges clearly: peace without concrete action, reconciliation without confronting truth, mission divorced from repentance. We also critiqued the church’s historic complicity in systems of violence, colonialism, and death-dealing ideologies.

Yet amid these realities, we found hope—seeing Jesus as a peace-builder who welcomes all, the Spirit as a unifying force that honours difference, and the church as a community that breaks bread with the wounded.

Voices from the Pilgrimage Stanford Runyowa, UMC (Zimbabwe) “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:18) The peace pilgrimage in South Korea was a transformative experience that broadened my understanding of peace, reconciliation, and justice. We learned to address conflicts with diplomacy, tact, and nuance, fostering unity and commitment to peace. This visit planted seeds of peace that will hopefully yield a harvest of righteousness.

Inspired, I feel compelled to echo its message across Africa, promoting peace, justice, and healing. With patience, hope, and faith, we can build a brighter future.

Sosiana Tangi, WMC YYA (Australia) As a Pacific delegate, I saw us in one canoe— many nations, one rhythm—paddling toward a shared horizon of peace.

What an honour to join the World Methodist Young Adults Peace Pilgrimage in South Korea, where every step stirred something sacred and transformative within.

“We didn’t come as tourists, but as witnesses to peacebuilding.”

I carried the hopes and prayers of my community, woven into the stories of young leaders from around the world.

On South Korean soil, I felt the sorrow of ongoing division—and the strength of those still longing for healing. But this was only the beginning: the weaving of a larger mat of stories to carry home and know this is where reconciliation starts when we listen to truth tellings of those around us and it becomes our own as well.

We listened to activists, elders, and families. We stood in silence. We prayed, we wept, we hoped. In every encounter, we glimpsed peace shaped by faith, courage, and community.

I return not just moved—but committed: to live peace boldly, uplift young voices, and walk faithfully toward justice.

Thank you to everyone involved in making this happen! Ouannnaaa! Such a blessing!

Junyoung Kim, KMC (Republic of Korea) It was a strange and heavy day—filled with kind people. Everything felt unfamiliar. Language and culture stood like tall walls between us. Perhaps we were always meant to be strangers passing by. We have lived with this discomfort: misunderstanding, resenting, accusing, even killing. That our shared ground lies in such pain is a quietly tragic truth And yet, face to face, we chose to bear that sorrow together. We gathered words, wove thoughts, and dared to imagine peace— not as a distant prize, but as something born in shared ache and unspoken tears.

I hope that when we look back on this pilgrimage, we’ll remember it this way: “We met those we were meant to meet, went where we were called to go, and carried the stories that must be remembered.”

That silent offering becomes the seed of peace.

And so, we made a promise: to meet again, someday. Goodbye for now.

Until that day, peace be with you.

Thanks be to God.

Young Adults from the Youth Pilgrimage hearing stories of injustice in Korea. Photo by Ms. Lamma Mansour

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Article by Stefanie Gabuyo World Methodist Council Youth and Young Adult Committee Chair (Co-ordinator) First Friday Letter page 9

Photo credits: Perkins School of Theology/ R. Hipps

Please send press releases, articles and resources! Submissions should be a page or less (450-500 words), edited and ready to publish. Contact us by Monday, 21 July at communications@worldmethodistcouncil.org if you would like your story to be included in the August edition of the First Friday Letter.

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About the First Friday Letter

This and past First Friday Letters can be found online at FirstFridayLetter.worldmethodistcouncil.org.

The First Friday Newsletter is a monthly publication of the World Methodist Council.

The World Methodist Council’s website may be found at worldmethodistcouncil.org.

Publisher: Rev. Dr. Reynaldo F. Leão Neto, General Secretary

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Communications: Michaela Bryson All stories and photos, unless otherwise stated, are protected by their respective copyrights. Please do not copy without expressed written permission from the Council.

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