The Reverend Im Hyon Jung has been named one of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary‘s Distinguished Alumni. Jung will be honored for her remarkable service on November 13 at the Seminary’s Homecoming in Evanston, Illinois.
Rev. Im Hyon Jung serves as Director of International Relations, Asia and Global Programs Manager for Discipleship Ministries and Upper Room Ministries of The United Methodist Church. An ordained elder in the Wisconsin Conference, Jung is a certified spiritual director, retreat and workshop leader, program developer, and ministry coach.
In her work, Jung travels internationally and engages congregations and leaders interdenominationally and inter-religiously. She truly practices what John Wesley proclaimed, “the world is my parish.” Jung has a passion for encouraging people to walk closer with God, be attentive to God’s presence in their daily lives, and be more like Christ as they grow deeper and wider in their faith journeys and ministry.
Jung received her Master of Divinity from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1993. During her time in seminary, Garrett-Evangelical widened and deepened her spiritual life, providing a space for her to encounter the organic spiritual formation and spirituality of Teresa of Avila. Soon, Jung became a devoted student of not only Teresa of Avila, but also John of the Cross and Ignatius of Loyola. These spiritual giants molded and guided her own spiritual life, strengthening and empowering her to love God and God’s people throughout her life and ministry.
Jung shares the early state of her faith journey in the book The Holy Seed of Calling: Korean-American Clergywomen’s Journeys toward Ordination, National Association of Korean American United Methodist Clergy Women (2010).
Among Jung’s daily spiritual practices is walking and hiking. She has hiked through the hills and mountains of several countries, including a pilgrimage to Annapurna Sanctuary and the Dingboche Himalaya Trekking Route in Nepal, four spiritual pilgrimages to Camino de Santiago in Spain, the Great Wall of China, and three of the highest mountains in South Korea. Jung finds God’s abiding presence, awe and wonder, comfort and peace, love and grace, beauty and delight, and strength and empowerment on the trail through this spiritual practice.
Jung lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, Resident Bishop of the Ohio Episcopal Area. She is an avid gardener, maintaining both a vegetable and flower garden, and enjoys spending time with her family including two adult sons, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.