Contemplative Deepening in Korea

by Tilden Edwards

A contemplative orientation has a wonderful way of transcending denominational and cultural boundaries.  In 2008, a small group of Korean clergy graduates of Shalem's long-term clergy program, with the support of Bishop Francis Park, organized an ecumenical program for Korean clergy and selected lay people.  The group was a mix of Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists, meeting at the Sacred Heart Sisters Roman Catholic retreat house, an hour away from Seoul, for six days. Carole Crumley and I led the gathering in 2008 and another six-day retreat/workshop there this past fall.

Just as with Shalem's U.S. programs, denominational differences with one another and cultural differences with us seemed to pale in the face of the deeper contemplative ground that we shared.  Participants were loyal to their particular Christian faith and yet they felt called to its deepening through contemplative awareness.  They seemed wide-open to experiential practices and to contemplative understanding and its implications for them and their churches. They supported each other in the face of their desire to evolve their contemplative leadership and to encourage contemplatively-oriented churches.  One participant had woven together the strong charismatic element found in so many Korean churches with a contemplative mind-set, with amazing fruits. 

Many participants also showed a serious concern for "contemplation in action." Some of their ministries included full-time work with the homeless and other church social centers.  Some particular participants seemed like real saints to us: full of trust in God, fervent, long daily contemplative meditation and prayer, many good and sometimes pioneering works of mercy and justice, and a willingness to give sacrificially of themselves in a steady way.

Their collective, collaborative energy was striking, reflecting a more communally-oriented culture than American individualistic culture and reflecting a strong work ethic.  In their culture, collaboration seems to be carried forward with a particular respect for older people and people in senior positions, and for well-educated people. These values carry over into the churches, although they are sometimes softened by a respect for the Spirit's movements and the unique image of God in every person.

The spiritual power of singing with a desire to realize or express the depth of God in life and community was brought home to me more than ever while we were there.  We sang many times each day, and the singing, primarily Taizé chanting, came to a climax in a long session of interspersed singing and silence during a 24-hour-period of collective silence.  Korean culture and churches highly value song as a means of bonding, enjoyment, and in a spiritual context, as a means of transcending our rational minds and their fragmenting ways-drawing mind, feelings, and heart together in human and divine community. 

Thirty percent of Koreans today identify themselves as Christian, 25% as Buddhist, and very few others seem to identify with any organized religion. There are other historic religious or semi-religious influences underlying the broader culture though, including Shamanism and Confucianism.  I believe that contemplative awareness potentially can cross not only over Christian denominational lines but also cross other spiritual and cultural lines and become a vital ground for transcendent unity and peace in the culture.  As the churches re-discover the contemplative depths of Christian tradition, they can help lead the way toward this larger shared ground with one another and with others.   At the same time, the offering of contemplative practice and awareness by the churches can attract new people to them: people who sense that a contemplative way can help put them in touch with their deep spiritual nature and community in God.

In a sense, Shalem has helped form a beachhead in Korea for contemplative understanding and practice. We have been called to this by the Koreans, who have found us, and by the Spirit, who led them to us. Now there is a further call: to help the churches there set up long-term programs to spread contemplative awareness further into Korean life. 

This special Korean calling seems to be the most established frontier of what the Spirit is giving Shalem in terms of an international mission. That outreach also is being seen in the people coming to us from South Africa, Cuba, Mexico and Canada, who want to evolve contemplative resources in their countries. As we've seen so often in Shalem's vocational history, none of these international callings were planned.  They were given.  They came to us through a variety of people and circumstances that have led us to see the Spirit's invitation to offer more broadly the contemplative gifts showered on us over the years. 

To view an album of the South Korea trip, click here.