It's Your Call podcast talks with John Egger, who has recently returned from Korea, where he served as an ecumenical Co-Worker in Mission with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK).
John is a lay person who considered ordained ministry in the United Church while starting his career, but instead discovered a call that was perhaps more "precarious," yet just as valid as a call to ordained ministry.
As a Co-Worker in Mission serving in Korea — a region with a long history of missionaries from both the United Church and the Presbyterian Church — some of John's work with the Korean church involved reworking traditional missionary relationships and mindsets.
John was excited about the opportunity to do something new in "mission," just as we are learning new ways to do church in a rapidly changing context. John's service with the PROK was multi-faceted, yet soon he discovered his primary call was to be present, connect with people, and build relationships. These were valued roles in the PROK, a church deeply committed to ecumenicism, human rights, and justice.
John is back in Canada now, sharing what he has learned in Korea, and continuing to be called to build connections and relationship between Christians in Korea and Canada, and beyond. The work of mission, says John, can be found all around us.
It's Your Call is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada, hosted by Karen Medland and Andrew Richardson. It is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple, and other podcast distributors.