Hyuk Cho

Coming to the Vancouver School of Theology seems like marking the beginning of the spiral of the development of my theological formation, ever upward and outward. My preparatory theological education was at Hanshin University’s Graduate School of Theology in Korea, founded by Christian scholars who believed in academic freedom, scholarship and service in the world. One of them was the Rev. Dr. William Scott, a graduate of VST’s parent college, Westminster Hall. Even though there is no material trace of Westminster Hall on the UBC Campus, the impact of thoughtful leadership, engaged education and gracious gifts of VST on church and society is visible.

During my theological studies, I have also questioned the differences between the teachings of the church and the theological schools. The study of theology connects the church with the world through the learnings of intercultural theology, inter-religious dialogue, missiology, ecumenism, pneumatology, liberation theologies and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. In my pastoral ministry, I embraced theology wholeheartedly to enliven the church to find its role in this post-Christendom world and to build right relations with Others. Recently, I was elected a member of the central committee, the chief governing body of the World Council of Churches, by the 11th General Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany.

After twenty years of pastoral ministry, studying with and accompanying students at VST marks a thrust in the spiral; now I am developing theology to build connections among the learning community, the church and the world. It is a delightful undertaking. I am looking forward to the challenges of sharing persistent hope in times of discouragement, daring faithfulness when overwhelmed by disinformation, and radical love to embrace differences.

The Rev. Hyuk Cho is originally from Seoul, Korea. He received his BTh and MDiv from Hanshin University, Korea, and MTS and ThD from the Toronto School of Theology (Emmanuel College) at the University of Toronto. In his leisure time, he loves working with wood and is currently building a West Greenland Kayak with Alaskan yellow cedar and carving paddles from Western red cedar.