Part 31 A Decade of Celebrations Amid International Conflict
The war years were over, or so everyone thought, but the year 1950 ushered in a conflict in the Far East, this time in Korea. Thousands of American servicemen saw overseas time protecting the independence of South Korea, a country that had evolved shortly after the close of World War II. It had been in the hands of Japan during the war years and even before that the country had been known as Chosun China. At the end of the war Korea had been divided in half at the 38th Parallel. Influenced by the Communists of both China and the USSR, the North Korean army crossed the line and invaded South Korean territory. Through the newly formed United Nations the United States and several other member nations dedicated themselves to throwing back the invaders and supporting the notion of freedom in South Korea. It was not an easy task to get the Security Council to agree to this endeavor since even one veto from the “Big Five” members of this council would cancel the possibilities of entering the conflict. The vote to enter was taken on a day when the representatives of the USSR were peeved at the actions of the United States and others and therefore were not present when the vote was taken. Three years after entering the conflict the war was over. American leadership had changed at home and since the North Koreans had been driven back across the 38th parallel and were losing additional land they sued for peace and a long-term overseeing commission was left to iron out the details. Prisoners of war were released yet thousands of lives had been lost in the conflict.
Perhaps there are many people who would read this paragraph on the Korean Conflict and wonder why it should be included in this document regarding the history of Peoples United Methodist Church. There are several reasons among which was the fact that some of the membership of this church and certainly relatives of its members saw military service directly in Korea or at the least served in support capacities for the war effort. Equally there were members of the church that outwardly advocated against such action so far from home and with the belief that involvement was not what the Lord would wish us to be engaged in. The other major item that struck the writer of this chapter was that the Methodist Church had been building religious and political force in Korea since 1930, but its growing membership was emphatically effected by the invasion from the North. Some leaders of the Korean church were rounded up and never heard from again. In some similar instances in the past the persecution of a religious group, Christians in the past and most recently to this time Jews, steeled themselves with the support of the Lord Jesus Christ and survived what could have been another Holocaust. One can only see the magnitude of influence that the Methodist Church had on Koreans in the days, years and decades after the war was over. The Korean United Methodist Church, overcame the persecution of the invasion years and grew strong in the work of the Lord. As an arm of Methodism, today, it has a spiritually powerful influence in Korea. Additionally we know of the strength of Methodism among Koreans who have made their homes in the United States, in the New England Conference and even locally as found at the Rainbow United Methodist Church in Portland. At this writing the beloved Superintendent of the Tri-state district is Paul Chang, a gentle man whose influence has been felt on the local level, district level and conference level.
That conflict may have come to an end and yet conflict continued to grow with the USSR and its influence over Eastern Europe and the Far East. The Dulles Doctrine proclaimed in the mid-1950’s said that the United States would continue to defend countries in the Far East, just as the Truman Doctrine had left United States influence on Southeast Europe in the late ‘40’s. Missionaries of the Methodist church and others serving in the mission fields found themselves often in difficult conditions. In many instances missionaries were pulled out of their locations and sent elsewhere because their national affiliations feared for their lives. In several instances that was proved to be true and some missionaries lost their lives because their goodness and belief in the Lord were a threat to opposing political philosophies.
The period of the 1950’s saw the influence of the Methodist church in every corner of the globe expanding to meet ever mounting social and spiritual needs of a multitude of suffering souls. It was a period of time when the missionaries were always in the prayers of local parishioners and local Missionary societies or other church organizations were very active in supporting missionaries in the field whether in Africa, Asia or South America. One does not usually think of the need for mission work in Europe and North America, but Methodist mission representation developed on those two continents as well
While the Methodist Church had started an overseas relief program in 1940, the great impetus of need in the 1950’s strengthened this program and in 1968 this program became known as UMCOR or United Methodist Committee on Overseas Relief. Likewise another international organization that has periodically been supported by initiatives from Peoples is the Heifer Project which had begun in 1944 with a shipment of cattle to Puerto Rico. Peoples involvement began in the late 1950’s and has continued periodically since then.
From 1957 to 1963, the pastor of Peoples was William Chamberlain. It was probably during his ministry that Peoples became close for the first time to the Heifer Project. The students in the Sunday School came to church one Sunday and found a Heifer calf in a pen on the front lawn of the church. The reality of what would be sent to help develop herds in other countries was visibly observed in the presence of that calf. Later in Reverend Chamberlain’s career he actually worked on a crew that delivered calves to a site in Latin America. Since that time other shipments that Peoples have raised funds for have included more calves, chickens, goats, and pigs. Usually the Sunday school has been the sponsor, but this project has also been supported by both the Men’s and Women’s organizations.
The war years were over, or so everyone thought, but the year 1950 ushered in a conflict in the Far East, this time in Korea. Thousands of American servicemen saw overseas time protecting the independence of South Korea, a country that had evolved shortly after the close of World War II. It had been in the hands of Japan during the war years and even before that the country had been known as Chosun China. At the end of the war Korea had been divided in half at the 38th Parallel. Influenced by the Communists of both China and the USSR, the North Korean army crossed the line and invaded South Korean territory. Through the newly formed United Nations the United States and several other member nations dedicated themselves to throwing back the invaders and supporting the notion of freedom in South Korea. It was not an easy task to get the Security Council to agree to this endeavor since even one veto from the “Big Five” members of this council would cancel the possibilities of entering the conflict. The vote to enter was taken on a day when the representatives of the USSR were peeved at the actions of the United States and others and therefore were not present when the vote was taken. Three years after entering the conflict the war was over. American leadership had changed at home and since the North Koreans had been driven back across the 38th parallel and were losing additional land they sued for peace and a long-term overseeing commission was left to iron out the details. Prisoners of war were released yet thousands of lives had been lost in the conflict.
Perhaps there are many people who would read this paragraph on the Korean Conflict and wonder why it should be included in this document regarding the history of Peoples United Methodist Church. There are several reasons among which was the fact that some of the membership of this church and certainly relatives of its members saw military service directly in Korea or at the least served in support capacities for the war effort. Equally there were members of the church that outwardly advocated against such action so far from home and with the belief that involvement was not what the Lord would wish us to be engaged in. The other major item that struck the writer of this chapter was that the Methodist Church had been building religious and political force in Korea since 1930, but its growing membership was emphatically effected by the invasion from the North. Some leaders of the Korean church were rounded up and never heard from again. In some similar instances in the past the persecution of a religious group, Christians in the past and most recently to this time Jews, steeled themselves with the support of the Lord Jesus Christ and survived what could have been another Holocaust. One can only see the magnitude of influence that the Methodist Church had on Koreans in the days, years and decades after the war was over. The Korean United Methodist Church, overcame the persecution of the invasion years and grew strong in the work of the Lord. As an arm of Methodism, today, it has a spiritually powerful influence in Korea. Additionally we know of the strength of Methodism among Koreans who have made their homes in the United States, in the New England Conference and even locally as found at the Rainbow United Methodist Church in Portland. At this writing the beloved Superintendent of the Tri-state district is Paul Chang, a gentle man whose influence has been felt on the local level, district level and conference level.
That conflict may have come to an end and yet conflict continued to grow with the USSR and its influence over Eastern Europe and the Far East. The Dulles Doctrine proclaimed in the mid-1950’s said that the United States would continue to defend countries in the Far East, just as the Truman Doctrine had left United States influence on Southeast Europe in the late ‘40’s. Missionaries of the Methodist church and others serving in the mission fields found themselves often in difficult conditions. In many instances missionaries were pulled out of their locations and sent elsewhere because their national affiliations feared for their lives. In several instances that was proved to be true and some missionaries lost their lives because their goodness and belief in the Lord were a threat to opposing political philosophies.
The period of the 1950’s saw the influence of the Methodist church in every corner of the globe expanding to meet ever mounting social and spiritual needs of a multitude of suffering souls. It was a period of time when the missionaries were always in the prayers of local parishioners and local Missionary societies or other church organizations were very active in supporting missionaries in the field whether in Africa, Asia or South America. One does not usually think of the need for mission work in Europe and North America, but Methodist mission representation developed on those two continents as well
While the Methodist Church had started an overseas relief program in 1940, the great impetus of need in the 1950’s strengthened this program and in 1968 this program became known as UMCOR or United Methodist Committee on Overseas Relief. Likewise another international organization that has periodically been supported by initiatives from Peoples is the Heifer Project which had begun in 1944 with a shipment of cattle to Puerto Rico. Peoples involvement began in the late 1950’s and has continued periodically since then.
From 1957 to 1963, the pastor of Peoples was William Chamberlain. It was probably during his ministry that Peoples became close for the first time to the Heifer Project. The students in the Sunday School came to church one Sunday and found a Heifer calf in a pen on the front lawn of the church. The reality of what would be sent to help develop herds in other countries was visibly observed in the presence of that calf. Later in Reverend Chamberlain’s career he actually worked on a crew that delivered calves to a site in Latin America. Since that time other shipments that Peoples have raised funds for have included more calves, chickens, goats, and pigs. Usually the Sunday school has been the sponsor, but this project has also been supported by both the Men’s and Women’s organizations.
posted by Arthur Tordoff | 7:46 AM
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