Korea: Luther camp
Salvation - not for sale
Luther Camp
Young reformer: Yejin Lee
Church: Lutheran Church in Korea
Implementation period: March to December 2016
How many people were involved? 13
How many people did you reach? 40
What did you aim at?
Organizing a camp program for the whole youth group in the Korean Lutheran church and preparing discussions on subjects such as gender equality and Lutheran identity.
What did you achieve?
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40 youth members gathered and discussed how to change our church community concerning the position of women, the lack of female pastors, and gender equality in the church
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Raising awareness on gender equality in our church
What did you do?
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Organize discussions for the youth at local parish
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The creation of a banner including a brief explanation about Lutheran doctrines
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Participation of the youth in Sunday services
Interview with young reformers
- What is the ongoing reformation you want to see in your church?
I would like to see more participation and presence of youth in my church.
- What has been the reaction of the project among the youth?
In my own parish youth group we had discussions about gender equality and the role of the youth in the church. These kinds of topics are not so common in our church to talk about it, this was confusing for many youth.
- How has been the participation of the youth in the reformation project?
We had 7 monthly meetings in the church with the same youth group, the parish pastor and youth leader were also supporting to arrange the meetings. We usually had a group of 15-20 youth every time.
- What has been challenging about creating the project?
It was difficult to make the youth participate in the discussions; the youth were questioning why they need to discuss it. The topics are not familiar to youth in the parish.
- Did everything go as planned?
No, the original plan was to organize a bigger event, but the main goal to have the discussions with the youth was accomplished. The project was successful in this way.
- How do you see the continuity of the project?
For my church, we will continue discussions about the roles of women and youth members and also consider our church's role in the community. Youth need to have an increased presence in our church, and the church needs to engage them in decision making.