A Korean theologian who stirred up controversy...

A Korean theologian who stirred up controversy by including aboriginal dances and a shamanist paper-burning ritual for freeing spirits in her 1991 address to the World Council of Churches assembly was honored this week by the School of Theology at Claremont.

Scholar and feminist Chung Hyun-Kyung, an assistant professor of theology at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, was presented the Kilgore Award, which each year honors a person who has demonstrated exceptional creativity in the practice of ministry.

Chung is a Presbyterian theologian who trained at the United Methodist-related School of Theology at Claremont and the Women’s Theological Center in Boston. She is the first Korean woman to obtain a doctorate from Union Theological Seminary in New York.

The author of “Struggle to Be the Sun Again: Introducing Asian Women’s Theology,” Chung includes herself among “systematic” theologians who study doctrinal systems and religious practices and beliefs. Yet her assertion that Christianity can coexist with indigenous cultures--together with her attempts to reclaim the value of the human body in the Christian tradition of spiritual healing--have raised theological eyebrows around the world, said Mary Elizabeth Moore, a religion professor at Claremont Graduate School and at the School of Theology.

“She has taken a clear stand that Christianity need not obliterate or dominate other cultural or secular traditions,” Moore said.

Upon accepting the award, which was established by James E. Kilgore of Atlanta, an alumnus of the school, Chung spoke on “Gospel and Culture in Asian Women’s Theology.”

“I want to develop a theology which is very Asian, very feminist, very Third World,” she said in an interview this week. “The missionaries taught that in order to be a Christian we had to reject our traditional cultures and religion. I want to integrate Buddhism, shamanism, Taoism and some parts of Confucianism in order to discover a new understanding of Christianity in an Asian setting.”

Chung said that Christianity traditionally denigrated the body while elevating the spirit. “The church has become a bodiless institution,” she explained. “Feminist theology emphasizes the recovery of our bodily existence, including our sexuality and sensuality.

“Dance is a form of celebrating the presence of God with our bodies, a form of worship we have lost. I danced (at the World Council of Churches Assembly) with 18 young Korean immigrants and Australian (aborigines) to show the collectiveness of Third World theology in the real world, not from the library.”

CONCERTS

* Holly Near, accompanied by John Bucchino, will perform in a concert presented by the School of Theology at Claremont and Women’s Studies in Religion at the Claremont Graduate School at 8 p.m. Friday at the Bridges Auditorium in Claremont. Tickets are $20, $10 for group bookings. Call Ticketmaster at (714) 740-2000 or the box office at (800) 6600-ART.

Soloists, music directors and organists who performed at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles from 1867 to the present will be honored Sunday when “125 Years of Music” is presented to coincide with the church’s anniversary celebration. A recognition service begins at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon at 12:30 p.m. and a concert at 2:30 p.m. in the church sanctuary. 540 S. Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles. For ticket information, call (213) 385-1345.

The choir of the St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Corona del Mar presents the medieval liturgical drama “Visit to the Sepulchre” at 10 a.m. Sunday. Edgar Schell of UC Irvine narrates. Admission is free. 3233 Pacific View Drive. (714) 644-0463.

Miracle City Apostolic Church will present a free spring concert, “Let’s Celebrate Jesus,” at 7 p.m. today. The L.A. Mass Choir will be featured. 2333 N. Lake Ave., Altadena. (818) 398-5247.

DATES

Israeli parliament member Naomi Chazan, an advocate of religious pluralism and civil rights, will speak on “Prospects for Peace: The Inside Story” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at University Synagogue. Chazan, who belongs to the newly formed Meretz Coalition, chaired the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at Hebrew University, Jerusalem and has been a board member of the International Center for Peace in the Middle East, the Israel Women’s Peace Network and the Jerusalem Council on the Status of Women. $10 suggested donation. 11960 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 275-7017.

Assemblyman Louis Caldera will speak at an Ecumenical Service of Reconciliation to mark the anniversary of the 1992 civil disturbances at 11 a.m. Sunday at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. The Latino, Korean and Ethiopian congregations that worship in the church building, as well as Immanuel’s own multiracial congregation, will participate. 3300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 389-3191.

Ellen Umansky of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York will deliver the Nussbaum Lecture, “Finding God: What Our Foremothers Can Teach Us” at 8 p.m. services Friday at Temple Israel of Hollywood. 7300 Hollywood Blvd. (213) 876-8330.

Mayor Tom Bradley will receive the “Spirit of the Valley” Award from the Valley Interfaith Council’s Human Relations Awards Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 17, at Sportsmen’s Lodge. Actress and activist Bonnie Franklin will emcee the fund-raiser. Awards will be presented to David Auger, publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News; the Rev. Robert Fernandez, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of San Fernando, and Rabbi Bernard M. Cohen, rabbi emeritus of Temple Solael in West Hills. For ticket information, call (818) 718-6460.

The 125-year-old Church of Our Savior will renew marriage vows for couples married on Sunday afternoon, June 6. Those wishing to participate in the church ceremony and outdoor wedding reception should contact Martha Landise at (818) 794-7990.

BRIEFLY

Los Angeles philanthropist and Jewish community activist Max Zimmer, who turned 100 last week, was honored at recent events hosted by Camp Ramah, American Technion Society, American Friends of Tel-Aviv University and the Jewish Federation Council’s Board of Jewish Education. Temple Israel of Hollywood will fete him at services Friday evening and the University of Judaism grants him an honorary doctoral degree May 16.

Carl Karcher and Phil Delgado Jr. were honored recently by Milagro, a consortium of three Catholic elementary schools in the inner city of Santa Ana. . . . Betty Orum, founder of the Center for Children at La Tijera United Methodist Church, was honored at a retirement reception after 25 years of children’s ministry. . . . Local alumni and friends of the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., hold a 100-year reunion from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Claremont United Methodist Church.

The Movable Minyan is seeking participants for its “We Deliver Shabbat” program, which provides Friday night meals and music in the homes of members and others. (310) 285-3317. . . . Rabbi David Ellenson of Hebrew Union College speaks on “American Jewish Identity: Traditional Patterns and Future Prospects” at Occidental College at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (213) 259-2787. . . . Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills offers a workshop on “Your Family Tree” and a bereavement group for widows and widowers. (310) 288-3742 . . . Morris Pollard, the father of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, speaks at University Synagogue in Irvine at 8 p.m. Friday.

The Presbyterian Church is currently accepting grant proposals of up to $10,000 from community groups with a specific need that addresses self-development. For information, call the Rev. John Dean at (213) 483-3840.

Send notices to: Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, Calif. 90053. Fax: (213) 237-4712. Items must be brief, include a phone number, date, time and address of an event and arrive at least three weeks prior to it.