The Presbyterian Layman – July/August 2000 Volume 33, Number 4 – Posted August 4, 2000

Moderator Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee “Pray to God wherever you go, and we will see each other’s faces in our prayers.” Those were the last words 19-year old Syngman Rhee heard from his mother as she urged him to flee the Communist regime that had killed his father. Eighteen days later, Syngman and his little brother crossed the border into freedom. On the 50th anniversary of that exodus, Syngman Rhee is moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA). “The only thing that sustained me then, and the only thing that sustains me now is faith in God,” he told the General Assembly. “In life and in death, we belong to God.” That strong faith served Rhee well in early tests of his leadership. Rhee chose Rebecca McElroy, a director of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, to be his vice moderator, a decision that drew fire from the Witherspoon Society, and an unsigned protest that was circulated through the Assembly. But Rhee didn’t budge. And when word spread that a demonstration inside Assembly Hall was planned, Rhee broke ranks with previous moderators by declaring that he would not allow it. When commissioners appeared nervous over pending controversies, he led them in a hymn and called them to prayer. Exercising fair but firm control, he was decisive in his rulings, remembering that a moderator’s first duty is to ensure an orderly context for the work of the Assembly. Declaring the Church’s faith, Syngman Rhee will not be driven off course by those who insist on autonomy. We believe he will hold fast to the tiller in turbulent times, and the Church that he loves will be blessed.

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