Korean bishops visit Lovely Lane
By Rev. Bonnie McCubbin
Lovely Lane, where the Rev. John Goucher was once the pastor, holds a special place in the story of the Korean Methodist Church. Goucher financed the sending of Methodist missionaries, who brought the Methodist Church to Korea in 1885. On Nov. 6, eleven bishops from the Korean Methodist Church and their spouses and guests visited Lovely Lane UMC and museum in Baltimore.
Coincidentally, the ceiling of Lovely Lane UMC reflects the night sky on November 6, 1887, when the building opened – 134 years to the day of the bishops’ tour.
The Rev. Dae Sung Park, pastor of Bethany Korean UMC in Ellicott City and a prominent church historian, served as the bishops’ translator and cultural guide. The Baltimore-Washington Conference has a partnership with the South Conference in Korea.
The bishops marked their visit t Lovely Lane by singing "Amazing Grace" and "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" in Korean. They concluded their time in the sanctuary in prayer and with the taking of photos.
At the museum, the bishops focused intently on the life and impact of Goucher, who is credited with bringing Methodism to Korea, and was the pastor of Lovely Lane Church when the centennial building opened in 1887. Goucher also secured the land adjacent to the church to start a college for women, which is now Goucher College.
The Korean Methodist Church Council of Bishops also spent several days with leaders from Wesley Theological Seminary, in Washington, D.C. On this historic visit, the seminary, shared information about their honored episcopal guests.
The Korean Methodist Church, which grew out of the Methodist Church, consists of 12 conferences, 213 districts, 6,600 churches, and 1.3 million members. The bishops are also pastors of their own large churches, ranging in size from 10,000 to the Kwanglim Methodist Church, which has over 100,000 members. Its pastor, the Rev. Chungsuk Kim, is also a board member of Wesley Seminary.
The Korean Methodist Church, whose vision is to “Bring Back Light into the World,” is active in mission with 1,340 missionaries serving in 80 countries on six continents, sent by the denomination and by individual congregations.
If you or a group from you congregation would like to tour Lovely Lane UMC in Baltimore, contact the church office at 410-889-1512, or . Pilgrimages and visits to the museum and archives may be arranged by contacting the museum office at 410-889-4458 or .