A church in Illinois’s small town has called for community support after its Korean-American female pastor and her family faced racial harassment.
The situation came to light on July 22 through a plea posted on the local media site ‘TheCity1.com’ by the Morrison United Methodist Church Parish Committee, part of the United Methodist Church (UMC).
In their appeal, six committee members, including Kathy Forth, urged local residents to protect their pastor, Rev. Seon-ah Kang, and her family from ongoing harassment.
The plea stated, “Our minister and her family moved here just two years ago to serve our church. Unfortunately, they have encountered harassment, bullying, and name-calling, from groups of Junior High boys riding bicycles, who insult them and their young child.”
Church representatives called on the community to immediately stop the harassment and assist in curbing such behavior by the perpetrators.
The members of Morrison United Methodist Church expressed in their plea that “our pride in our community is a bit tarnished at this point, due to the harassment from which they are suffering. It is our hope that the good people of Morrison will join together to stop this type of behavior.”
Attempts to reach Pastor Kang and the church for comments on the 23rd were unsuccessful.
Morrison United Methodist Church is located in Franklin Grove, a small village about 100 miles west of downtown Chicago, with a population of approximately 1,000.
Rev. Seon-ah Kang, who has been serving as the senior pastor the church since 2022, was born and raised in Korea. She graduated from Tokyo Union Theological Seminary, Methodist Theological University in Korea, Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. She lives with her husband Peter, a UMC clergy, and their son.
BY JOONHO CHOI, YOUNGNAM KIM [choi.joonho1@koreadaily.com]
