Former President Jimmy Carter is set to headline the United Methodist Church’s three-day summit in Atlanta on achieving lasting peace on the Korean peninsula.
The peace forum will be hosted by UMC Global Ministries, the denomination’s Atlanta-based missions arm. Along with ecumenical leaders from Korea and beyond, the event will be attended by a range of high-ranking dignitaries, from former U.S. ambassador to South Korea James Laney to current Korean consul general in the Southeast Young-jun Kim.
Mr. Carter will welcome the group during a public opening session Nov. 9, and be asked to comment on current events — including the historic June summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore — as well as addressing the role of the church in the peace process.
Methodists have been active in Korea for more than a century; the first protestant missionaries arrived in 1885. The Presbyterian church also has a strong presence in the country.
The headquarters of Global Ministries moved from New York City to Atlanta’s Grace United Methodist in 2016. It opened a Seoul office in April 2017 with the goal of working toward peace and reconciliation by establishing new partnerships across Asia.
One objective of the summit is to arrive at an “Atlanta Statement,” a sort of communique at the end of the conference that will chart the course for the church’s next steps in influencing the peace process.
Learn more about Global Ministries’ Seoul office: United Methodists Open Seoul Office in Partnership Drive
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