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In 2001, the WMA opened a shelter for victims of domestic violence. In addition to these projects, the WMA also offers educational programs, ecumenical activities, and helps women ministers and their churches.
Born in North Korea and raised in South Korea, Sook Hee and K.J. moved to the United States while they were in their twenties and were the parents of three children. This move came close on the heels of a personal and religious crisis for Sook Hee, who learned at the age that her biological mother had died giving birth to her and the people she had known as her mother and father were actually her aunt and uncle. After much soul-searching, Sook Hee says, she opened her heart to God and began to feel at peace with God, with the world, and with herself. "I certainly believe that God has a great plan," she writes. That plan may have brought her full circle, as she now serves women and the church in her homeland. "I was sent back to Korea in the new millennium for the ministry of Korean women who are in trouble," says Sook Hee.
Sook Hee was a certified dietitian and certified social worker in Seoul, Korea, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in food and nutrition at the Sook Myung Women’s University in 1967. She was the director of the Samuel Daycare Center of the River of Grace Foundation until she moved to the United States. She became a certified social worker in New Jersey in 1994. Sook Hee received her master’s degree in counseling from Montclair State University in 1996. She was employed as a social worker at the New York Family Service Center from 1996 to 1999. She received her master’s of divinity from the New York Theological Seminary in 1998 and continues her studies at the seminary. She received her doctor of ministry degree with a focus on domestic violence in May 2001.
K.J. has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and a master’s of science degree in organic chemistry from the same university. His work was in special reactions of organo-metalic compounds, and he earned 42 U.S. and international patents related to plastic additives. In 2007 he earned a certificate of social work from the Department of Social Welfare in South Korea.
Sook Hee was ordained as a minister of the Word and Sacrament by the Presbytery of the Palisades, in New Jersey, in 1999. That same year, she participated at the 211th General Assembly of PC(USA) in Fort Worth, Texas, as a Theological Seminary Advisory Delegate. Sook Hee and her family attended the Presbyterian Church at Franklin Lakes in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and she is a clergy member of the Presbytery of the Palisades in New Jersey.
Sook Hee is accompanied by her husband, elder K.J. Bae, a chemist retired from the Crompton Corporation, Terrytown, New York. The couple is not accompanied by their three sons, Samuel, David, and Joseph. Sam is a medical doctor and his wife, Jade, is a lawyer. They have four children, Sofia, Christian, Reyna, and Ronin. David is an architect and his wife, Janine, is a lawyer. They have one child, Augustus. Joe is a partner in an investment firm and his wife, Janice, is a writer. They have four children, Owen, Daniel, and twins Sarah and James.
Sook Hee serves as associate pastor of YeJi Church, the memorial church of women's ordination.
Birthdays:
Sook Hee Bae - October 7
Kook Jin Bae (husband) - January 12
Samuel (son) - March 9
Jade (daughter-in-law) - June 12
Sofia (granddaughter) – February 10
Christian (grandson) - August 2
Reyna (granddaughter)- June 22
Ronin (grandson) - December 12
David (son) - August 23
Janine (daughter-in-law) - May 4
Augustus (grandson) - January 3
Joseph (son) - January 12
Janice (daughter-in-law) - January 13
Owen (grandson)- November 14
Daniel (grandson) - March 5
Sarah (granddaughter) - December 18
James (grandson) - December 18 |
