Kook Jin Moon
May 1, 2007
Seoul, Korea
Distinguished guests, leaders of the Unification Movement, my beloved brothers and sisters:
Today we are gathered here on this auspicious occasion to celebrate the fifty-third anniversary of the Unification Church. All the members of our movement who have worked hard in realizing the will of God and True Parents in each corner of the world send their respects. At this moment, I am sure they are offering their thanks and congratulations for the grace and love God and our beloved True Parents have bestowed on them.
When we look back on the history of our movement it all began from the Seodaemun church. Yet, we have since then made incredible growth and now have a worldwide foundation built by the tears, sweat and blood of our True Parents, with the blessings of Heavenly Father. The force that drove our movement to this victory can be found in True Father's unyielding determination to liberate God by fulfilling God's will, in line with his promise to do so, made to God on Easter Sunday in 1935 after accepting the mission of bringing salvation to all humankind.
With this determination and passion, True Parents have led their lives. This year in particular we celebrated True Father's eighty-eighth birthday. Yet, as they have shown us during the "Rally to Declare the Beginning of a New Universal Civilization of Peace," even today, True Parents are placing their lives on the line and investing their entire being for the sake of the world on this path.
At the beginning of the seventh year of Cheon Il Guk, True Parents proclaimed a jubilee year in God's providence, a year the likes of which humankind has never experienced. God's heart has been in pain throughout history because Satan's dominion entrapped humankind within its evil sovereignty, in the fetters of the 'era before heaven.' That time has finally come to an end, and from this year on the gates of the revolutionary era after the coming of heaven can be opened wide, ushering in an era of a new sovereignty of goodness, in which humanity can attend God as the central being.
A jubilee year in God's providence refers to an era in which history and all creation have returned to that pristine era at the time of creation, where creation existed in a state of beauty God desired and as His object of joy. Thus, I believe that we, who live in such times, should radiate and give off a lovely fragrance like that of a beautiful flower as God's objects of goodness...
True Parents have founded many providential organizations in order to fulfill the providence and the Foundation has been supporting these organizations. Because these organizations were created by True Parents for the purpose of contributing to the fulfillment of the providence, to better understand the situation and the details of their activities and achievements, I have personally visited each and every one of these organizations.
After that, with True Parents' permission, I began a tour of our churches, which serve as the root and the foundation of our movement and the providence. With a goal of visiting 120 churches, I have successfully visited 72 churches as of today. During my tour I was deeply moved at the sight of our dedicated church leaders and members who have followed True Parents to this day and are working hard to realize God's will.
I also was able to see the difficulties of our church and the critical issues that need to he resolved. To offer help from my position, a Task Force Team was formed in conjunction with the Korean Headquarters for the development of our churches. At this time, this team has completed an accurate analysis of the field and is developing a long-term plan for addressing these issues. In consideration of the unfavorable circumstances of the field, the Foundation allocated a budget of 2.5 billion won in 2007 and will continue to work on improving the church environment. This is not simply about repairing the church buildings but is about improving the church environment and building an infrastructure to give strength to our witnessing activities.
Until now the revenue generated from our land in Yeouido [used as a parking lot] served as a great source in supporting our providential organizations and churches. Yet, with the development of that land, we no longer can expect such revenue. At this point, the Foundation is supporting the providential organizations from the profits generated from our affiliated companies. These companies, which began making a profit two years ago, have overcome many difficult situations and have restructured themselves into profit-making businesses. Yet, these companies are not generating enough profit to sufficiently help all the providential organizations.
We, of course, have great hopes for the Foundation and are confident that our profits will continue to increase. However, the situation at the Foundation still requires more time to stabilize itself and thus the decision to allocate 2.5 billion won for supporting churches was made after much deliberation. Yet, despite the financial burdens, the Foundation has decided once and for all to set aside the financial resources for improving our churches under the greater goal of developing our church as a whole.
At such a time, I would like to share the thoughts that led me to make this decision, which I have kept to myself until this time. I would like to reconfirm the providential importance of these times and make a new beginning by combining all of our strengths.
Like you, I fervently desire to make real True Parents' words and to create a substantial foundation here in Korea, the providential homeland. In order to fulfill True Parents' words, there needs to be a suitable strategy and system in carrying it out. Only then can our members and even the people of this nation and world see our vision; only then can we truly create Cheon Il Guk on earth, which is our desire.
I believe that there needs to be a concrete and clear strategy and system for creating Cheon Il Guk according to True Parents' providential desires and that this must be done based on the passion and mutual agreement of all those involved.
Furthermore, we should not just follow True Parents' words but we should be fully aware of the original goal and vision and become owners who can practice and take action based on those words. We should not confine ourselves by becoming servants who simply carry out orders; we must become true filial sons and daughters who understand their parents' will and make it real.
Now is the time for the True Family and all the members of the world to become one in substantially building Cheon Il Guk through mother-son cooperation centering on True Mother. True Mother has always done her best to faithfully and absolutely follow True Father. I personally believe that the example that she has shown is something we all should emulate in this age. True Mother has always given her entire being in leading a life of complete oneness with True Father.
Where others would have failed, True Mother -- now sixty-five years old and a mother who gave birth to thirteen children -- went through demanding schedules yet continuously submitted herself to True Father's will. There is no way we can fathom the depth of her heart. I had the opportunity to accompany True Mother during the world speaking tours. Young as I am, I found the tour to be very taxing each day. Yet, True Mother has taken up the responsibility of carrying our fortunes from the victory in Korea with the "Rally to Declare the Beginning of a New Universal Civilization of Peace" to Japan, America and the entire world. The hardships that await her are beyond imagination. Yet, even today True Mother is going on this path based on that unwavering and absolute standard.
Beloved brothers and sisters! We are truly at a significant point in time. It is a time for us to become one and to combine our strengths. From my position I have done my best to return victory and glory to God and True Parents by showing results. My fervent hope is that all our leaders and members beginning with the president can become owners of the providence and take part in this holy task. When God's will is fulfilled, let us shed tears of joy and victory together!
Once again I would like to congratulate you all on the 53rd anniversary of the Unification Church, and I would like to return this day's glory to God and to True Parents and to all of you. Thank you very much.