by Dr. Tyler O. Hendricks-NYC
On a bright Sunday afternoon in midtown Manhattan, four hundred leaders and members of the Unification Church gathered at the National Headquarters chapel for the inauguration of Jin Hun Park Moon and Sung Am Moon as Vice-Presidents of World CARP. Mr. Hyo Jin Moon, President of World CARP, greeted his new assistants in the keynote address. Un Jin Moon, the third daughter of Reverend and Mrs. Moon, and wife of Jin Hun Nim, also attended the event, as did Mr. Jin Sung Park Moon, husband of In Jin Moon, second daughter of Reverend and Mrs. Moon.
The program was convened by Reverend Joong Hyun Pak, Continental Leader of North America, and Dr. Joon Ho Seuk, President of CARP in American and the C.I.S, Included in the audience by special invitation were representative leaders of the American Constitutional Committee, headed up by Michael Smith, which included ACC leaders from as far away as North Carolina and Chicago, and-in response to a personal invitation from Jin Hun Nim, Frank Grow flew in from Hong Kong.
The event opened with a prayer by Rev. Joong Hyun Pak. Emcee Tony Devine, Vice-President of American CARP, then introduced the afternoon's choir, a trio of Manhattan Center recording artists, Torhild Niger (who recently released her first CD in Norway), and Ben and Stian Laurentzen. They captured the mood of the occasion perfectly with a lovely rendition of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun."
Dr. James A. Baughman introduced Mr. Sung Am Moon. Mr. Moon is the eldest son of Mr. Yong Sun Moon, a cousin of the Reverend Moon. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in economics from Kyong-gi University in Seoul, and is a recent graduate of the Unification Theological Seminary. After his graduation in 1992, he spent one year as a missionary in the C.I.S. Mr. Moon was a CARP leader in Korea during the 1970s, and also has a business background with Tong-Il and Saeilo.
Mr. Moon gave a comprehensive talk on the vision of CARP as the vehicle to fulfill the process of salvation as outlined in the Completed Testament Age speech, relating young people through Hyo Jin Nim to True Mother. He outlined the importance of education through the media, as developing at Manhattan Center, and called us to develop a more sophisticated, world-level, ecumenically-aware education system.
After Mr. Moon's remarks, Dr. Baughman introduced Jin Hun Nim. He is one of the nine children (including eight sons) of Mr. Chung Goo Park, known as "Tiger" Park, a man who made a tremendous impact in America and Europe as CARP leader from 1979 to 1982. A member of the 36-couple blessing, Tiger Park was famous for his fierce front-line way of life, sleeping together with the brothers in his sleeping bag, driving from center to center across the country, and leading the charge in many a harrowing counter-demonstration against communists on campuses in America and Europe, all the way to the last months of his physical life on earth.
Jin Hun Nim, his eldest son, was blessed with Miss Un Jin Moon in 1986. He has a Bachelor's of Science degree in economics from Columbia University and a Masters of Divinity from the Unification Theological Seminary. He has spent the past year and half teaching and guiding our members in the C.I.S., traveling from Kiev to Vladivostok. He recently delivered the most speeches of all the Moon family in the speaking tour of 100 American campuses (17), in the process getting personally in-touch with the activities of the church and CARP throughout America.
Jin Hun Nim expressed his deep gratitude to be working directly under Hyo Jin Nim, and he pledged his all-out efforts for victory on the front-line. He said that more than study of Principle in workshops, we are vitalized by the bringing of the word to young people who are thirsting for truth and life. He saw it throughout the C.I.S., and he sees the potential for it in America as well.
The keynote address of the afternoon was delivered by Mr. Hyo Jin Moon. Mr. Moon welcomed his new Vice-Presidents, and proceeded to map out a vision for the development of CARP within the larger context of the transformation of culture which is necessary to take place. (See the text of Hyo Jin Nim's speech in this issue of UNews.)
Following the keynote address, Dr. Joon Ho Seuk delivered the closing prayer. Gifts and flowers were presented to the new officers of World CARP, and they cut the celebration cake and led three cheers to begin officially their tenure.
The following morning Jin Hun Nim chaired a major leaders meeting, including the ACC leaders, and by mid-week he and Mr. Moon began a three-week itinerary to meet our leaders and members across America. The main purpose of their visitations: to find the best Divine Principle lecturers in America.