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BISHOP'S OFFICE

In 1884, William Scranton, a doctor living in Cleveland felt called by God to serve as a medical missionary in Korea. This calling also became the calling of his mother Mary Scranton, who had moved to Ohio to be near her son after her husband’s death. Mother and son were commissioned as missionaries and in 1885 – supported by their Methodist Episcopal Church congregation in Cleveland, Ohio – arrived in Korea.

Despite many challenges the mission of William and Mary Scranton flourished. Their lives modeled the Wesleyan tradition of the Methodist movement that had been introduced in the peninsula country the year before their arrival. Together, they worked tirelessly in helping establish churches, schools and clinics in Korea, laying groundwork that continues to impact lives today more than a century later.

Ohio United Methodists Visited Korea in April 2025

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, resident bishop of the Ohio Episcopal Area consisting of the East Ohio and West Ohio Conferences of The United Methodist Church, proudly claims that he is a product of Ohio Missions because the Methodist Church was instrumental in his conversion to Christianity when he was a teenager. When he began his ministry one of his early appointments was to East Gate Church, a congregation born from the mission and ministry of William and Mary Scranton.

Bishop Jung led a delegation of leaders from the Ohio Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church to Korea in April 2025. The team visited many churches and institutes of higher education that today are fruit from ministries planted long ago by Mary and William Scranton. In addition to visiting sites, Ohio United Methodists fostered relationships with longtime ministry partners in the Korean Methodist Church.

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Learn more about the missions ministry of Mary Scranton in the video below.

To view the video below with English subtitles: 1) start the video and pause it, 2) in the lower right corner of the menu click the gear settings icon, 3) click the right arrow next to Subtitles/CC, 4) click Auto Translate, 5) scroll down in the list and click English.