18 WEDNESDAY

DECEMBER 24, 2008 COMMUNITY

Expat living is a page dedicated

to the issues that affect expats'
daily lives. It is your page,
where you can share stories about
your life in Korea. Send story
ideas to Matthew Lamers
at mattlamers@heraldm.com

A crucifix at the Seoul Anglican Cathedral
Photo by Matthew Lamers/The Korea Herald
Christianity in Korea
This is the first part in a series looking into re-
ligion in Korea. The first objective is to learn
about the lives of the expatriate clergy. The second
is to give expatriates a springboard from which to
develop spiritually by providing the contact infor-
mation and service times for their religious ser-
vices. Feature articles will examine Christianity,
Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and
Sikhism. — Ed.
By Regina Walton
Expat Interviews
In the expatriate community it’s easy to find a
group of friends to drink and party with.
However, it can be more of a challenge to estab-
lish a spiritual sense of belonging.
Pastor, missionary,
scholar Reverend Paul Mooney
English-language Ministry
at Seoul Cathedral
Reverend Paul Mooney, from Dublin, Ireland,
describes himself as a “city boy and a Dubliner at
heart,” because he was born and raised there.
He first came to Korea in August, 1980 and
stayed until 1982. At that time, he was a theo-
logical student doing his missionary training in
Korea. He had been studying with a Roman
Catholic organization called The Columban
Fathers at their school in Ireland — St.
Columbans. During that time, he studied the
Korean language at a language institute named
Myongdowon, which no longer exists.
When asked when he decided to become a rev-
erend, he quickly corrected the question, saying,
“I don’t know whether people actually decide to
become a reverend or if something decides them
to become one.”
What brought him to the church?
“For me, it really goes back to the time I was a
teenager and I started to feel some way attract-
ed to becoming a priest, for want of a better word
... specifically a missionary. So I suppose, I’ve had
that kind of leaning since I was about 16.
“For me, the funny thing is, I’m actually living
half a mile from where I lived in 1980, and I’m
working sort of half a mile from where I studied
in 1980.”
He explained that he came back to Korea after
all these years because in his heart, he is more of
a traveler. When he left Korea, he was Chaplin of
the Mission to Seafarers in Busan. After he left
Busan he was in the same ministry in Brussels,
Belgium. After Brussels, he returned to a parish
in Ireland.
“What attracted me to come back? Well, I was
looking through the job section of the Church
Times website one day, and I saw they needed a
chaplin for the English congregation in Seoul.”
He said he had visited York Cathedral a year
or two earlier. “It was somebody that had died
and it said ‘pastor, missionary, scholar’ on his
(epitaph). I said ‘that’s what I want to have on
mine.’ So this kind of makes that possible to do
what I feel is my own calling.
“I knew I was ready. The job was there and the
job was open. I came over and interviewed and it
worked. I’m very, very happy. It’s one of the most
satisfying experiences I’ve had, ministering with
the foreign congregation here.”
He explained that “the word Anglican basical-
ly means English, so Anglican Churches are
churches that derive in some way or other from
the Church of England.
The Anglican Church is located in downtown
Seoul beside the British Embassy, across from
City Hall, and is held upstairs in the main
chapel. The services Mooney presides over are in
English. The Eucharist service is every Sunday
at 9:30 a.m. in the church’s crypt chapel, which is
downstairs from the main chapel. On Sunday at
5 p.m. there is the Evening Prayer.
The church has a Bible study for adults after
the main Eucharist service. He added that the
church has Sunday school for children. For read-
ers who are not in Seoul, but are interested in
Anglican/Episcopalian services, there are
English speaking services in Daejeon. There is
also a service in Namyangju in Gyeonggi-do
which focuses on migrant workers.
“For a start, it’s English speaking. The largest,
but there is no majority; I would call U.S., which
would be closely followed by Canadians. ... They
include people of all possible types that you
would find within North America.”
He said that includes Korean-Americans,
Nigerians and other Africans, Filipinos, Sri
Lankans, Australians and Europeans. He said
Korean nationals also attend.
“Either Koreans who lived and worked abroad
for awhile and who like to still worship in
English. Maybe they started coming to the
Anglican Church when they lived abroad or went
to a similar type of church like a Lutheran
Church and just find that they like coming to a
liturgical Protestant church. And, from time to
time, we have a few Koreans who just like to wor-
ship in English. I would think because we’re a
liturgical Protestant church, which is not really
part of the Korean mainstream of Christian reli-
gion in Korea, we don’t tend to have as many
Korean-national worshipers as other English-
speaking congregations might have.”
He also explained that because his congrega-
tion is so spread out, that most events take place
on Sunday simply because it’s easier for everyone
to attend.
For more information on Seoul Cathedral:
www.skh.or.kr/cath%27e.htm
Pastor-in-training: David Shaw
The Onnuri Bucheon English Ministry,
Presbyterian
David from Perth, Western Australia, was born
in Nottingham, England which he playfully de-
scribes as “Robin Hood territory.”
He has lived in Korea for almost five years. “I’m
a reverend in training, but doing the job. I’ve done
two out of three years in a master’s of divinity
course here in Korea.
“I’m going to a school called Torch Trinity
Graduate School of Theology. I took a year off be-
cause I had to marry a beautiful woman. I’m going
back next year to finish my study and training,” he
told Expat Living.
Similar to Reverend Mooney, Shaw described
his entry into ministry as not so much a choice,
but more as a calling. “When I was about 21, 22
(years old) I went on a short-term mission trip to
Africa. We went to Malawi.
“A little thing happened before we left. I was
asked to preach before we left. After the service a
man came up to me. Never seen him before, nev-
er seen him since. And he said, ‘God has a word
from the Bible for you.’ I’m a conservative
Baptist. I don’t believe in people coming up to me
with the whole ‘God’s word’ thing. But he took me
to a passage of scripture in 2nd Timothy that ba-
sically said ‘do the work of an evangelist and a
pastor. That’s where you’re going.’ That freaked
me out because basically I wanted to be a physi-
cal education teacher.
“I didn’t think much of it, but later in the same
evening, a woman — a deacon in our church —
came up to me and she said ‘God has a word for
you.’
“She opened her Bible and gave me the same,
identical verses from the Bible.”
In his own words, he said he was freaked out,
but chalked it up to coincidence.
He said a week later he was boarding the
plane and his youth pastor, who didn’t know
what had happened a week before, had written a
Bible verse for every person going on this mission
trip. She gave him the piece of paper and it was
the same verse.
“For me, I look back on that day as the day
when God confirmed his call to ministry. So I did
a Jonah and ran the opposite way. I continued to
pursue phys-ed teaching, including coming to
Korea. And, five years later, I find myself having
ministered for two years. So I didn’t choose it, it
came to me.”
He went on to describe his church. He said he
works at a church called Onnuri English
Ministry in Bucheon. Onnuri is a campus
church. They have campuses in Seoul, Seobingo
and one in Yangjae.
“I happen to work in Bucheon. We have a congre-
gation of about 30 people. On a good week we can hit
40 or 50. (It’s) mostly foreigners, although some
Koreans come as well.”
Onnuri is a church with about 40,000 members.
“Onnuri is certainly the biggest English min-
istry in Korea. It has the biggest resources for
people who need help with maybe counseling or
special needs or Korean lessons. They’re the best
resource to help people where they’re at.”
All of the churches have a small group min-
istry or Bible studies for people seeking those
kinds of spiritual activities.
When asked to distinguish his church, he fo-
cused on the “core beliefs” that Christians have
in common. He believes if those core beliefs are
practiced, for example, Trinitarian God and vir-
gin birth, then they’re a Christian church.
The service is in Bucheon is at 2 p.m. near the
Sangdong Home Plus in Bucheon. You can learn
more about Onnuri’s Bucheon English service at
oembucheon.com and the Seoul Onnuri Churches
at onnurienglish.org
Go to ttgst.ac.kr for more information on the
Torch Trinity Graduate School of Theology.
Regina Walton can be reached through her blog
http://expatjane.blogspot.com

Seoul Anglican Cathedral Myeong-dong Cathedral

Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
www.skh.or.kr/cath%27e.htm (02) 730-6611
Onnuri Bucheon English Ministry,
Presbyterian
For information, including service times and
contact information, see oembucheon.com
for Onnuri Bucheon and onnurienglish.org for
Onnuri Seoul
Jubilee Church
Inter-denominational, English ministry in the
Gangnam
Sunday service at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
(Children’s Ministry at 10 a.m. only);
Morning prayer from Tuesday to Friday at 7a.m.
Wednesday night service from 8 p.m.
Phone: (02) 569-2293-4
Daeduk Hanbit Presbyterian Church
English service is at 12 p.m. Sunday
Sunday Bible study at 1:15 p.m.
Phone: (042)-863-0725
Seoul Union Church
Evangelical and ecumenical church
Located near Foreigner’s Cemetery Park,
English language services
north of the Yanghwa Bridge
Phone: (02) 333-7393
Somang Presbyterian Church
English service at 1:30 p.m. Sundays
Offers English Sunday school
Phone: (02) 512-9191~6
Community of Christ
Sunday services at 11:00 a.m.
English translation is available.
Non-denominational
Advanced English discussion club meets
weekly
Located near Yonsei University
Phone: (02) 334-7912
Yongsan Baptist Church
Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and English wor-
ship at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Nursery care available
Bible study at 9:40 Sunday morning
Located near the Crown Hotel in Yongsan.
Phone pastor Bill Ecton
(02) 796-0284
Sunday Mass at 9 a.m.
preceded by confession
Youngnak Presbyterian Church in English.
English worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Phone: (02) 774-3890
Service Building
At 3 p.m. in the Mission Chapel Yongsan Chapel Community
Located in Jung-gu, Seoul Mass at Memorial Chapel at 5 p.m.
Phone 2280-0228 or 011-613-5896 Saturdays and 12 p.m. Sundays.
Website: www.myiwe.com Phone: (02) 7915-8176
South Post Chapel Mass
Yeouido Full Gospel Church at 8 a.m. and
For full schedule, go to www.yfgc.com Catholic religious education
Located in on Yeouido Island, Seoul at 9:30 a.m.
Sundays Phone: (02) 7918-4044
Hannam International Church
Celebrates Mass in the Franciscan Chapel St. Paul Orthodox Church, Seoul
at Hannam-dong Irregular English service
English Mass at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Phone: (02) 362-7005
French Mass Saturdays at 6 p.m.
German Mass Sundays at 10 a.m. English Bible study
Italian Mass Sundays at 11:30 a.m. in Apgujeong
Spanish Mass Sundays at 12:15 p.m. Mostly native English speakers,
Phone: (02) 793-2070 some Koreans
Near subway station
Hyewha-dong Catholic Church Phone: 011-359-1317
Mass every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. At 3 p.m.
Phone: (02) 764-0221 on Saturday afternoon