The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

The research was conducted by The University of Michigan-Dearborn Pluralism Project.

History

The first meeting of the Korean Presbyterian Church was held at 2:00 p.m. on May 28, 1967 in a room in the basement of the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit. As a result of this initial gathering, a decision was made to continue meeting in the same place. This became the base for the congregation officially headed by the Reverend Kwan II David Hwang. As the congregation grew, it moved its services to the chapel of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, a white congregation, in Detroit where services could be held on Sunday morning. At this location and new time, children from the congregation joined with those from the Westminster congregation in Sunday school.

In 1971, the Korean Presbyterian Church became formally associated with the Presbytery of Detroit. In response to the needs of a growing congregation, in 1975 the church moved to its present location in Southfield, a middle-class suburb of Detroit. The site, a heavily wooded area, was the former home of the Riverside Chapel of the Trumbull Avenue Presbyterian Church of Detroit. On July 4, 1976, ground was broken on the property to build a new sanctuary, which was dedicated on June 19 1977. In 1980, once again, ground was broken to add religious education classrooms to the building. This addition was completed in 1981.

Membership

The total size of the congregation is approximately 1000, and has been increasing over the past few years. Membership is composed almost entirely of people of Korean descent. Services, however, are conducted in both Korean and English to minister to the needs of a diverse congregation. This includes both Korean-born individuals who tend to participate solely in the Korean ministry and Korean Americans, born in the united States, who take advantage of the English language services. Although the original members of the center were mostly blue collar immigrants, today's members tend to be white collar professionals.

Activities and Schedule

Each Sunday morning there are three worship services that divide along language lines. Services in Korean take place at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m; the English-language service takes place at 10 a.m. While the English service is taking place, there is a Korean Bible study group meeting. At 11:30, during the Korean-language service, there is Bible study and a class for young people to teach them Korean culture and history. At 1:00 p.m., there is a meeting of the Young Adult Group. Following the services, there is a free medical clinic where people with health-care skills provide information and assistance to members of the congregation. During the week, there are staff meetings, Bible study sessions, and organization meetings for men and women. While most of the of church's activities are focused on the Korean community, the leadership of the center has joined with others to discuss issues affecting the city of Southfield. Members of the center have participated in local environmental projects including the annual Rouge River clean-up, walk-a-thons to raise money for charities, and providing assistance to the homeless.