Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. Marion Pope
Attendees gather in Emmanuel College Chapel during A Celebration of Women in Ministry on May 26, 2026. The event honoured the life and legacy of Dr. Marion Pope, a United Church of Canada diaconal minister, nurse and missionary whose work in South Korea spanned more than three decades.
A Celebration of Women in Ministry event was held in the Emmanuel College Chapel on May 26, 2026, in honour of Dr. Marion Pope, a United Church of Canada diaconal minister, nurse and long-time missionary.
Pope spent 36 years in South Korea, serving with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, one of the oldest and longest partners with the UCC. She was a pioneer in public health nursing, among the first women ministers in the country and a supporter of South Korea's pro-democracy movement.
When she died on July 5, 2025, she left money to hold a conference to celebrate the ministry of women instead of a typical funeral service.
Moira Hutchinson, the wife of Emmanuel College Principal Emeritus Roger Hutchinson and Pope’s executor, asked Principal HyeRan Kim-Cragg whether Emmanuel could host this event.
The event was organized with the help of Betsy Anderson Vic8T2, Emm 8T2, Emm 1T3, Nan Hudson Emm 8T9, David Kim-Cragg Vic 9T3, Emm 9T9, Deborah Park Emm 2T1, Professor Swee Hong Lim and other friends. It included not only testimonials about her life and legacy, but reflections from leaders of Korean Rainbow United, a United Church network for Korean queer people and allies, on the continuing challenges facing women and marginalized communities in ministry.
The half-day conference was full of inspiring stories and conversations on human rights, gender justice, democratization movements and the impact of music on Indigenization and inculturation. It celebrated the fact that Pope’s ministry was marked by a deep commitment to education, music, social justice and the global church. It ended with beautiful music from the choir of Toronto’s Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church, where Park is the music director and Pope was an active member. Pope was an accomplished musician and lyricist and translated many Korean hymns into English.
Many friends in Korea were able to watch the event live online, even though it was the middle of the night for them. One week earlier, the Korean Broadcasting System, South Korea's national broadcaster, aired a documentary featuring Pope and other missionaries who supported citizens during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising and helped bring news of the government's crackdown to the international media.
The event included an auction of art created by Korean minjung feminist artist Yong Nim Kim. Proceeds from the auction, Pope’s own fund and donations from her former Korean students and colleagues will go to the Very Rev. Dr. Sang Chul Lee Memorial Scholarship, which supports students focused on Korean peace and minjung theology.
Pope, who was born in 1928, enrolled at the United Church Training School in 1953 to study diaconal ministry and was commissioned in 1955. In August 1957 she went to Korea where she remained until 1993.