UNITED STATES-NORTH KOREA-CHURCH
Ohioan formerly held in North Korea attends church
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) β An American who was arrested and held for nearly six months in North Korea has returned to his home church in Lebanon, Ohio.
WHIO-TV reports that Jeffrey Fowle attended Sunday School, followed by a worship service, at Urbancrest Baptist Church with his wife and three children. The 56-year-old Fowle was reunited with them Wednesday after intermediaries negotiated his release from North Korea.
Church congregants applauded as Fowle and his family walked on stage Sunday. The Rev. Tom Pendergrass prayed with them.
Fowle has said little since returning. He said Sunday: “It’s good to be here.”
Fowle arrived in North Korea on April 29 and was arrested in May for leaving a Bible at the nightclub, something he acknowledged in interviews with The Associated Press. Christian evangelism is considered a crime in North Korea.
He had been awaiting trial. Two other Americans still held in North Korea have been convicted and sentenced to years in prison.
Sound:
161-w-31-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with the Reverend Tom Pendergrass, pastor, Urbancrest Baptist Church of Lebanon, Ohio)–An American who was arrested and held for nearly six months in North Korea for leaving a Bible at a nightclub has attended Sunday services at his home church in Lebanon, Ohio. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. ((opens with sound)) (26 Oct 2014)
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