On October 14th, the Women’s Association Choir of the Presbyterian Church of Korea performed a concert at the Kálvin Square Reformed Church as part of a larger concert tour throughout locations in Hungary and the Czech Republic. This concert tour marks the 13th international mission choir concert tour that the Women’s Association has conducted.
The concert tour began in Debrecen before moving to perform at the Kálvin Square Reformed Church in Budapest on October 14th, after which the choir will perform at the Korean Presbyterian Reformed Church in Budapest and the Uránia National Film Theatre before moving on to the Czech Republic.
The Women’s Association Choir of the Presbyterian Church of Korea was founded in 1992 to " participate in evangelism and the church unity movement through its music service praising God, and to contribute with its musical service to the various events of the Presbyterian Women’s Association.” The choir celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022 and has participated in 12 overseas concert tours, including visits to Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Hungary, and Russia; the October 14th concert marks the choir’s 13th overseas concert tour. The Women’s Association Choir previously partnered with the Reformed Church in Hungary in 2019 to “engage in mission through music” and visited Hungary as part of its mission tour among Reformed churches in the region.
The relationship between the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) and the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK) goes back several years and was confirmed in 2006 by a sister-church agreement. In 2012, the RCH Synod recognized the Korean Presbyterian Church in Budapest, led by a missionary of the PCK, as its own congregation, with the primary objective of reaching out to Koreans studying and working in our country. Through the 2012 resolution, the Korean Presbyterian Church in Budapest was established as a congregation of the RCH and is embedded into the structure of presbyteries and districts.
The concert opened with greetings on behalf of the RCH by Balázs Ódor, Ecumenical Officer of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary, and Kim Hee Won, honorary leader and elder Kim Heewon of the Presbyterian Church of Korea’s Women’s Association Choir. Kim Hee Won’s greeting recalled Psalms 146:1-2: “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, my soul! I will praise the lord as long as I live and sing psalms to my God as long as I live…” Kim Hee Won said, “Music is the language understood by everyone who breathes on this earth…We hear [song], and in that moment, we are drawn into this wonderful world.”
The program featured four sections: traditional songs, two soloist performances, Korean Christian Praises, and “praise that gives joy and hope.” As part of the program, a devotional was delivered by Dr. Katalin Koncz-Vágási, pastor of the Sarkad-Belváros Reformed Parish and leader of the Hungarian Reformed Women’s Association in the presbytery of Békés.
The program was a testament to the Women’s Association choir’s commitment to “mission through music,” showing that music service can unite church communities in praising the gospel. As Kim Hee Won said in her greeting, “The one and unchanging God who gave us music and the ability to sing and to know has implanted it in us so that we may praise the lord together, so that when we gather together in thanksgiving, it may be the gift that belongs to all…Music is ours today: let us live it!”