 Rhee elected moderator of 212th General Assembly By Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Sunday, June 25, 2000
Following the election, Rhee described himself as a third generation Christian - his grandmother was an evangelist and his father a preacher. "All those years God's mercy and grace sustained my life," he said. "God is the power and the source of our strength." He repeated a phrase he used several times during the question and answer period, "In life and death, we belong to God." Rhee received 257 votes; and was followed by Jill Martinez with 107 votes; Youngil Cho with 82 votes, and John Herndon, 65 votes. He was nominated by Rebecca McElroy who said that Rhee "looks for opportunity in a sea of negatives … he understands the importance of the local church in building up the body of Christ." "Fifty years ago this Thursday in Korea I became refugee fleeing from North Korea to South Korea," said Rhee in his nomination address. "In such uncertain days, one thing that has sustained our life was our trust in God. In life and death we belong to God." He continued, "When you experience the word of God in such a way, you want to share that amazing grace of God with others. Sharing the witness of Jesus Christ in words and deeds in our communities and throughout the world is as important today as it was 50 years ago." Mission and evangelism are what Rhee believes are the highest priorities of the church, and the second, he said, is to rekindle the spiritual renewal in our church. When asked during the question and answer period, "What do you have to say to those among us that assert that as a denomination we have reached an irreconcilable impasse in our faith?" Rhee replied this was a very difficult issue. "We are not in conflict because we hate each other. We have conflicts because we love our church." "I do not agree that we have come to an irreconcilable point at all. We may have differences but we have the power of the Gospel to work things out." Rhee called his understanding of mission as a strength which would help him during his year as moderator. "I have been on both sides - as receiving the Gospel from missionaries to sharing the gospel." As for his weakness he said he didn't always understand the customs, but he believes with patience that can be overcome. Rhee, a native of Korea, was endorsed on Dec. 7 by Atlantic Korean-American Presbytery. Rhee graduated from Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia and from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He worked as a pastor in Louisville, then served as campus minister and professor of sociology at the University of Louisville for 13 years before joining the national staff of the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1973. In 1998, Rhee retired as associate director for the Worldwide Ministries Division of the PCUSA to become a visiting professor of mission and evangelism and director of the Asian American Ministry and Mission Center at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va. He has been engaged in evangelism and mission work to rebuild Christian churches in such countries as the former Soviet Union, China and North Korea and for the ministry of reconciliation and peace. Rhee has worked for the leadership development of racial ethnic churches. He has worked for racial justice concerns and has served as a member of the President's Advisory Council for Race Relations. Rhee is married to Haesun Rhee, a medical doctor, who is also a native of Korea. They have three grown children - Anna, Mina and Peter. |
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