WFWP in Beijing

by Nora Spurgin, WFWP American President

For many individuals and organizations, planning a program at the NGO (non-governmental organization) Forum in Huairou, China, was no simple matter. I felt as if I had a bad case of "Beijing Block" for the last half-year; deadlines were early, commitments were late, and information was inconsistent. I could only envision an enormous, chaotic flea market of the world's women selling their wares, their agendas, their struggles and their visions.

Huairou, almost 25 minutes to one hour outside of Beijing, was all this and much more. There were the bicycle paths lines with blooming rose bushes and graceful willow trees, romantic in the misty light of the summer night. There were brightly-lit hotels and stores; uniformed guards standing in absolute focus at their stations. There was music- ah, such music!-the music of women expressing the sorrows, struggles and pain of their oppression. There was other music expressing the near-ecstasy of feminine creativity crying out to their Creator Father-and-Mother God.

There was the meeting and sharing and laughing. There was the vibrant color. Beautiful women dressed in every color of the rainbow. Some were adorned in headdresses and others donned brilliantly-colored scarves. On the other hand, there were those who made a statement by their lack of adornment, with shorn or shaved heads. And there were those who covered their bodies completely and those who flaunted them.

Huairou, a resort suburb of Beijing, was a combination of established hotels and newly constructed apartment complexes with bare cement floors and whitewashed walls. It was obvious that the Chinese Organizing Committee had made much effort to meet the needs of the NGO Forum, which hosted up to 25,000 women. In addition to hotel meeting rooms, many tents had been set up for workshops and seminars. A large stage faced an audience of women gathered around tables under brightly colored parasols.

Hundreds of programs, workshops and seminars were scheduled all day, every day, throughout the eight days. Most of them were held in tents or small meeting rooms holding up to 60 or 70 people. Due to the large numbers of activities and people and the open character of the forum, many events were canceled or changed. One day, I attended two events in which the presenters did not show up. In both cases, someone took charge and guided the meeting in sharing experiences with each other.

WFWP International had scheduled a seminar for Sept. 2, featuring Maureen Reagan as a keynote speaker, with four panelists. The meeting room we were assigned to was a small room for sixty, and we were told we could negotiate for more space once there. Upon arrival we discovered a larger room with a capacity of 200 in the same hotel with a two-hour opening. Trying to negotiate for it proved a tedious process, and we were finally told it was first-come, first-served: if it's available, use it.

On the evening before our event, the Australian WFWP members showed us a sticker design they had made featuring "Celebrate the Family." Ms. Reagan decided it would make a great poster design, so Jennifer Hager, WFWP representative from Hong Kong, took it to the nearby business center where she scanned the design into the computer, enlarged it, and added the information about the speaker, time and place. Using a color copier, we had instant posters. After dividing into teams, we soon had, posted around the city, twenty color and fifty black-and- white posters advertising our event. One half-hour before our seminar was to begin, a Japanese WFWP member who is a student in China discovered that the group using the larger room had not completed their program and were planning to continue into the next hour. The student, however, presented a solution. She had found an auditorium just a short distance away which was available, easily seating 350. It was spacious and, to our amazement, air-conditioned. It didn't take much discussion for us to decide to move our event there. Stationing guides along the way, we moved all the guests to the auditorium.

Although our beginning was chaotic, in the end our program was attended by between 400 and 500 people and many representatives of the press. Most impressive was the introduction of WFWP representatives from seventeen different nations, including: Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and America. (Nigerian representatives canceled due to lack of funds, and our representative from Brazil could not get a visa in time.)

The program opened with a short video on WFWP, greetings by our international president, Mrs. Gil Ja Sa Eu, introduction to WFWP by Mrs. Motoko Sugiyama, and the keynote speech "We Can Be Heard" by Maureen Reagan (the full text of this speech can be found in the latest WFWP national newsletter). She said, "We are builders of our communities. The peacemakers on a daily basis. Ask any mother the art of family peace and you will receive a lecture in psychology and understanding which will rival any course in a university. Family values is not an abstract notion, it is the real day-to-day workings of a family unit. Each family unit is a group of individual human beings with their own particular experiences. The dreams, the goals, the ambitions of each of those family members is important....

"A family is a foundation of society and at its center is the woman. The fulfillment of her dreams is essential to the harmony of the family. Deny her value and there is chaos. So long as the least of us fails to reach the simplest of our dreams, we are all, as women, undervalued....

"The voice of women, the day-to-day knowledge of real people with real dreams, the role of women in the 21st century will be heard. It is as though the 20th century was the time to find our voice; now we must speak with authority for the world to listen."

The panelists were: Dr. Kyung June Lee, speaking on "The 21st Century and the Education of Young People," about the movement to recover morality through true families; Kuei-Mei Huang, professor of Chinese culture, University of Taiwan, "Women and the Reconstruction of Family Ethics"; Mrs. Keiko Kaneko of Japan, "What is the True Liberation of Women?"; and Princess Zarayda Tomano of the Philippines, "In Search of a New Ideology of Education and Values which can Strengthen the Family."

Our seminar was given a glowing write-up by Mary Kenny in the British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph:

"One could see immediately the appeal of the Moonie cult: it centres on the anxiety that is growing in so many countries at the erosion of `family values.'

"`Where before, infidelity was a rarity, now it is the norm,' lamented an Islamic speaker from the Philippines, Princess Zorayda Tomano. `We are seeing the separation of parents everywhere, and children growing up in families without adequate parental guidance. The ideal of a man and a woman united by marriage to have children is no longer honoured.' A professor of Chinese culture from Taiwan, Kuei-Mei Huang, said that the world trend towards `broken marriages, extramarital affairs, family violence and single-parent families' was among the most disturbing aspects of modern society.

"The Moonies, however daft and dotty they seem in the mass-wedding pictures, nonetheless have a growing constituency because there are enough people in the world who feel genuinely worried about the decline of traditional values, towards which the churches seem so weak-kneed and irresolute. And far from being drawn into the debate on whether we should have women priests, or reduce the `patriarchy' discernible in the traditional value-systems, these folk are much more anxious about the lack of effective patriarchy in society in general.

"Prof. June Kyung Lee, a principal at the Sun Moon University in Seoul-a quietly-spoken, serious woman in a neat, powder-blue suit-said that one of the causes of crime and delinquency today is that the relationship between father and son had so widely broken down. `Confucius taught that the basis of morality is the relation between father and son. Filial piety is the root of respect and of honour. Filial piety develops honour towards our relatives, our teachers and those to whom we owe respect as well as towards our parents. Filial piety teaches parents to become models for their children, for two- thirds of behaviour comes from example. parents should show honesty, respect, care and love.'" I've quoted this at length because it is so refreshing to read a journalist who has an inkling of what our community effort is all about.

The seminar, entitled "True Families: A Moral Renaissance," gave WFWP delegates an opportunity to stand together and make a statement for the strengthening of the family and the resurrection of morality in our society.

As we leave Beijing behind us, our experiences there will live on as a reference point-a time when women's voices mingled. In the words of Maureen Reagan, "The voices of women, the day-to-day knowledge of real people with real dreams will be heard. It is as though the twentieth century was the time to find our voice; now we must speak with authority for the world to listen."

True Parents: The Master of Giving - A Reflection

by Carl Redmond-Australia, Oceania

I would like to give my impression of True Parents and their love. You know I spend my whole (church) life trying to fathom Father: and I still come up stumps! At a time when there seems to be "no hope" and "more of the same," along come True Parents throwing a rope to us poor wretches struggling in darkness and up! we go-pulled by their love to "higher ground": saved, redeemed by their compassion and love, which surely extends not only to us but to all humanity.

In my church life I experienced 20 years of leadership. Whether I was truly qualified to be a leader is another matter, but let us continue. During that time I witnessed over and over again Father's incredible love and example of incredible giving. Not only would he speak to us through the night, but also provide for our every need. Surely he was expecting us to do the same for our own brothers and sisters. The only thing was: did we have the content and same incredible heart of love towards them as our True Parents have towards us? If we in leadership positions were in a spirit to resonate with the heart, thinking and feeling of our True Parents, our church would ultimately flourish and grow! Trouble is, we get "filled up" by them at many conferences and gatherings, then we allow ourselves to get distracted and deflated by our own misdeeds and shortcomings. We think no one is watching except God and so we sin. Then we think, "Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day" and just go on from heavenly, original nature to fallen nature, from ship to shore, buffeted around by whatever inspiration comes, be it positive or unpleasant, until we finally realize that perhaps, after all, we are ultimately responsible for our own heaven and hell. Then we start to shape up and answer or respond to the call of God in our lives, and to become the people worthy of our True Parents' love and expectations, ultimately-if anyone could indeed be worthy of them!

Would adoration be the correct word to use? So often have I been saved and lifted-resurrected by your love and grace! So many times your strength of vision seems to blast us all off the planet, only to be reminded once again of how deeply and personally you care for each one of us. It truly is an agape, i.e., cosmos-centered love in the true Christian sense of the word, yet a love so personal that none could bear ill-will or resentment for not having been loved enough. For God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son-that He gave us True Parents; for God so loved the world that He wants us to become the embodiment of True Parents' love, life and lineage. This then is the ultimate realization of the benefit of grace: to become Christ-or Christ-like, at least; as the Bible states: "Christ the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Him," indicating, as the Divine Principle clearly states, a difference of only "time and order."

One of these days we'll get it right, Father. One of these days we will become the embodiment of all that you desire for us, all that you see in us, dearest True Parents.

Until then, be patient with us, or impatient if that's what you so desire. Here remains in the land "Down Under" one so profoundly grateful, so profoundly appreciative of all you are and bring to this world. True Parents: the Master of Giving, the Master of Love!

True Parents' Tour '95 in Region 6

by Jim Bard

On Sept. 13 True Father spoke at the beautiful new state-of-the-art Ted Mann Concert Hall on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. About 450 people attentively listened to hear what the renowned sage from Korea had to say. Father later commented that the people attending were very pure. Coverage of the speech aired on the 10pm Channel 5 TV report. Both major papers and the University paper also covered the speech. Letters of best wishes were sent from Gov. Carlson, Congressman Ramstad, University President Nils Hasselmo, and student leaders from the U of M. Student body President Matt Musel offered welcoming remarks, and a leader of the Mil Lacs Ojibwe tribe as well as a local newspaper editor gave awards of recognition to Father. In his introduction, Col. Buford Johnson recalled the words of his grandmother who told him, at a young age, that the measure of a man is the size of his helping hand. With a robust voice Johnson then said, "Let me introduce to you a man who has a helping hand big enough for all of us, Rev. Sun Myung Moon."

Even though Rev. Moon was in the midst of a torturous schedule (we would later learn he was nearly to the point of complete exhaustion), one would never have guessed it from his delivery, for he spoke as always with eloquence and charm. Special thanks are due to Rev. Hun Suk Lee and Keith Anderson for their diligence and leadership and to the dedication and hard work of Betsy Orman, Serenity Carlson, Scott Quinn, John Reed, Glenn Willis, Bruce Smith, Steve Bohle and many other brothers and sisters from throughout the region.

South Dakota, Sept. 29

Two weeks after the speech in Minneapolis, In Sup Nim spoke at the Ramada Inn in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dennis and Mayuri Hoffman and Dan and Rumi Weigel (with help from Nadiah Metawah, Lori Julius, Edward Batino, Michael Moyongo and others) made excellent preparations for a well-attended speech. Bruce Smith was very active and very successful in contacting the local media, as he was for each event in our region. Letters of support and recognition came from the local Sudanese, Kurdish and Ethiopian communities, as well as letters of welcome from Mayor Gary Hanson, US Sen. Tom Daschle and Congressman Tom Johnson.

North Dakota, Oct. 6

In Sup Nim spoke next in our region the following week, this time in Fargo, North Dakota. John and Keiko Foss, Larry and Betsy Orman, and Jurgen and Cindy Pfeiffer worked together with harmony and effectiveness. The speech was given on the North Dakota State University campus at the Beckwith auditorium. Nearly 100 guests attended, in addition to local church members. John Foss served as MC and read letters of welcome from Gov. Ed Schaefer and Sen. Byron Dorgan. Letters of appreciation also came from local Chinese, Sudanese and Bosnian communities. After the message was given, some of us met In Sup Nim at the Fargo church center and had an intimate, heart-to- heart chat.

Wisconsin, Oct. 18

Madison, Wisconsin was the next venue for delivering "The True Family and I" in region 6. The speaker this time was Jin Hun Nim, who gave the speech at the Wisconsin State Historical Society auditorium on the University of Wisconsin campus. Scott Ferch, Marion North, Heidi Vetterli, Jeff and Terry Porter, and Steve Bohle were some of the main movers and shakers who gave so much of themselves in preparing for this event. Dave Tebo did a fine job as MC and Jim Anderson introduced Jin Hun Nim. Later Jin Hun Nim spoke to us for more that an hour about what True Parents are doing and how the World CARP Academy and CARP in general are supporting the vision of our True Parents.

Iowa, Oct. 26

The region 6 tour concluded at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa where Hyun Jin Nim spoke to a standing-room-only crowd. Hyun Jin Nim spoke like a seasoned orator, looked like a movie star and showed the graceful confidence of a prince. Letters of welcome came from Mayor John "Pat" Dorrian and Sen. Charles Grassley. Media coverage came on the local affiliate, which covered the speech in their 10pm report, as well as in the Des Moines Register and the front page of the Communicator. Andrew Shoultz and David Payer were the primary organizers of the event and they received support from other Iowa members, as well as members from throughout region 6. After the talk Hyun Jin Nim spoke warmly to the guests who attended the speech, asking what they thought of the speech and encouraging them to bring home a copy to read through again. Later Hyun Jin Nim spoke to a smaller crowd in his hotel room, emphasizing that Father's vision for tribal messiahs is that we should try to live close together to create a Unification community, especially for the sake of the second generation.

True Father's Seattle Visit

September 18, 1995
by Daniel Davies

When we got news of True Father's plan to speak in Seattle, we all took a deep breath. How are we going to prepare in two weeks?

Our community clicked into gear. We have a talented community in the Puget Sound region. People had talents honed during earlier campaigns. Although many have work and family responsibilities, they volunteered their time generously.

True Father arrived with an entourage at around noon on September 18th. We felt honored that he visited on the anniversary of Washington Monument. The Washington Monument Rally in 1976 marked a milestone in God's Providence. Old timers, do you remember America and the world in 1976? The United States and the world have come a long way in twenty years.

Father looked tired and ill when he arrived. We had gotten reports that he had skipped talks to the family in other cities. We thought that after his speech we would all go home early. We were in for a surprise.

Father's speech went well. Steven Goldsmith wrote an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer published the next day that captured the event well. True Father, upon hearing the article read the next morning, said that the article was the best published during the speaking tour. This is an excerpt:

Rooting out the world's problems depends on restoring love within each family, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon told a Seattle audience last night.

Decrying the ills of free sex, homosexuality and escape from familial duties, Moon said his teachings can bring a new era of true love.

"You must unite as absolute husbands and wives," Moon told the audience in a nearly full Seattle Sheraton Hotel ballroom that seats 900.

The 75-year-old Korean evangelist read his speech with a slightly hoarse voice. He was nearing the end of a grueling three-week U.S. tour that has landed him in a new city nearly every night.

Local members of Moon's Unification Church said they has less then two weeks' time to prepare for the third major U.S. speaking tour of the man they call "father."

Moon speaks in Oakland, Calif., tonight, then winds up the 15-city visit in Anchorage, Alaska, tomorrow. There, he will rendezvous with his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, who has just finished hosting former President Bush and his wife, Barbara, at a Tokyo rally.

Hak Ja Han Moon heads the Women's Federation for World Peace, sponsor of the event that drew 50,000 people to the Tokyo Dome. Protests greeted the event in Japan, which is especially wary these days about unorthodox religious groups such as Moon's in the aftermath of a poison gas subway attack last spring allegedly carried out by the Aum Shinrikyo sect.

Unification Church recruiting methods attracted criticism in the 1970s, as did Moon's tax-evasion conviction in the 1980s. His hard- right political agenda also drew opposition and suspicion. But the 1990s face of the Unification Church seen last night was of middle-class, middle-aged, multiethnic moderation.

In a 10-minute video presentation before the speech, Moon praised the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the greatest American of the 20th century.

And in his speech, Moon said he had been persecuted and criticized by the entire world.

"The time has come for you to know that such persecution was not the result of my committing a crime," he said. "Instead, it was to save you. And now, unlike in the past, people realize that I am a man of goodness."

Moon is perhaps best known lately for presiding over mass weddings, including an August 25 event that united 360,000 couples worldwide. Moon said he is sending his message to a broader audience.

In last night's crowd, Massaru Tsukahara of Bothell said he had seen Moon in person several times. He said the Unification Church founder had been unfairly portrayed as demanding obedience from his flock.

"People like to use the world `obey,'" he said. "We don't have chains. We're not pressured to obey Rev. Moon. I believe what he preachers."

Most, but not all, of the spectators seemed familiar with Moon's preaching. One woman, who declined to give her name, said she was "a committed Christian" who was there to "study" Moon.

"I don't believe what they believe," she said.

Introducing Moon was Joseph Bettis, an emeritus religious studies professor at Western Washington University and a United Methodist minister.

Bettis called Moon a leading voice in the world for diversity and tolerance -- spiritual, racial, cultural., political.

Bettis said he personally was a liberal who did not belong to Moon's church, but considered him "the great spiritual teacher for the 21st century."

After Father's talk, the Seattle area family gathered at Windemere estate. We enjoyed the surprise of listening to True Mother's rally in Japan live, the last stop on her tour. George Bush gave a heartfelt speech. He spoke of the respect he has for the Japanese people. He spoke of the need for continuing to strengthen relationships between the United States and Japan.

True Mother spoke in Japanese. Only Japanese-speaking people could follow the talk, leaving me out. Japanese-speaking family at Windemere thoroughly enjoyed the talk. True Father foremost.

Father spoke with True Mother live over an intercom phone after her talk. We listened in. Father had been looking ill and tire before speaking with Mother. Afterwards, he rejuvenated. He began speaking at 11 pm and continued until 4:30 am. The packed room felt excitement. Father spoke mostly in English. We could follow most of what he said and assume pretty well the rest. Father departed for Oakland after sleeping one hour and eating breakfast.

My single lasting impression from Father's visit? True Parents have a bottomless love for each other. That exciting love ignited the entire Pacific Northwest family.

To Win the Culture War

UViews November:

This week's budget impasse has brought it to an unprecedented degree of impact: America is in the midst of a civil war, called the culture war. Radio pundits predicted that if it a government shutdown came, it would last but a day. This reminded me of the Washingtonians who travelled out with picnic baskets to watch the fighting at Bull Run. The inside-the-beltway crowd of 1861 were sure the conflict would conclude in one day. Unfortunately, the Richmond elite thought the same thing. The Civil War lasted four years. We will be fortunate if the culture war is over within four years.

The roots of the Culture War lie deep in human history and run a fault-line straight through the American experience. Problems surfaced with the theological and cultural division exposed through the Great Awakening: the new lights versus the old lights; Harvard University versus the Log College; the evangelicals versus the liberals. The battle then was fought over preaching styles and religious doctrine. The gap widened through the second Great Awakening period. It became a notable fissure after the Civil War. In that period, Darwinian theory made entrance into American universities and churches.

American church leaders perceived Darwinism to be a dramatic statement affecting traditional faith in God, the purpose of creation, good and evil, and the meaning of salvation. The churches split in their response, into liberal and conservative (pro-Darwin and anti-Darwin) camps.

Darwin seemed to have science on his side. Many Christians chose to accept Darwinian conclusions and adjusted Christian theology accordingly. This liberal position came to dominate the mainstream churches and seminaries.

To reject Darwin's conclusions it seemed one had to reject science. It meant that one was rejecting reason, logic, and the modern world in general. Thus, those who affirmed the Bible and the traditional Christian worldview were put in a defensive position.

The gap widened over implications for ecumenism, philanthropy, the social sciences, the role of the government, and morality. The ultimate division appeared in the 1990s: Pro-Family versus No-Family, the battle-line of the Culture War.

On the left in this war stands the movement for homosexuality, the distribution of condoms to teenagers, single-parenthood, state-support for abortions and unwed mothers, and so forth. The left's premiere representative is our president, elected in 1992.

On the right stands the "Religious Right," promoting family values and sexual purity, and opposing abortion, pornography, homosexuality, and so forth. The Religious Right swept its candidates into office in 1994.

Both left and right bemoan the rising tide of pornography, violence and sexual immorality in the media (newspapers, television, movies, art). They agree these are tough problems, although the right is far more alarmed about it than the left, which seems more concerned about spotted owl eggs than human fetuses. They disagree about the causes of the problems and, hence, the method to solve them. Neither side has any convincing answers.

The reason for the split of left and right, and the dearth of answers, is that both sides are manifestations of traditional Christianity. The Christian worldview does not restore the true relationship between mind and body, male and female, parents and children, church and state, or between races, or between religions. That is, Christianity does not have a way to achieve the ideal of love for which all people are yearning. Therefore, in the name of achieving that ideal of love, some Christians follow faith and some reason; some exalt tradition and some progress; some the individual and some the community; some the church and some the state. And they line up on the liberal or conservative sides, and fight each other.

Since traditional Christianity cannot bring an end to the Culture War, Christianity cannot create a culture of peace. And every religion has the same dilemma. Modernist and fundamentalist Muslims fight. Liberal and orthodox Jews fight. Within Buddhism, Hinduism and every religion is the same problem. We need a synthesis, a way to unite the two sides.

There have been three great syntheses in the Christian tradition. The first was the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, which remains the foundation of Roman Catholicism. It integrates all aspects of human experience, with God as the center. Its weakness is that the the spirit world was placed above the human. Therefore, the life of celibacy was honored, and family life thought to be second best.

The second was Puritanism, developed from the theology of Martin Luther, John Calvin and a host of others. Protestantism brought human energy to focus upon this world and praised family life. Its weakness is that, having its roots in a protest movement, it cannot serve as the basis for a new authority of goodness.

The third great synthetic expression of truth to come out of the Christian tradition is Unificationism, the thought of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. It brings the perennial wisdom of the East to bear upon the truth of God's historical work through the biblical traditions of the West. This theory is also termed Headwing Ideology and Godism. Unificationism teaches how to unite the mind and body, husband and wife, parents and children, and all aspects of life on the basis of true love, life for the sake of others. Thus Reverend Moon provided a foundation to solve the problems of the American society by clarifying the difficult issues of Christian thought.

To win the Culture War, this new religious ideology must build upon the foundational ideals of this nation: belief in the harmony of religion and science; longing for the beloved community; the sense that America has a divinely-given purpose; reverence for the conscience; voluntarism; racial tolerance; religious tolerance, and the family.

To do this, Reverend Moon had to call America back to the ideals of the founders of the nation, and empower Americans to renew American idealism and responsibility. "God is the motivation, the cause and the foundation of the independence of America," Reverend Moon stated, "America was born through the Providence of God." ("God's Hope for America," June 1, 1976, New York-Yankee Stadium) In the 1960s and 70s, America had drifted from those ideals. Through his crusades in the 1970s, Reverend Moon re-instilled a love for our country, which bore fruit in the 1980s.

Reverend Moon lifted up America's founding ideals, all of which are expressions of true love, to create the new peace movement. All the organizations he creates knit together men, women and families from formerly enemy nations, races and religions into networks of peace.

These organizations exemplify the best of what America stands for. They are fulfilling the responsibility of Christian America. They implement true love. True love must be practiced around the conference table, on the streets, in businesses, and most importantly through the home and family, which is the fount of true love. Homes and families are created through marriage. This is why Reverend and Mrs. Moon perform international, interracial and interreligious eternal marriages, centered on God. This is the Blessing.

From 1960 until 1990, the Blessing was just for Unification Church members. Beginning in 1992, the Blessing has been granted to all people of good will and respect for the ideal of true love through True Parents. The Family Federation for Unification and World Peace stands for the ideal of world peace accomplished through the perfection of marriage and family life. The foundational ideals of America will be realized for each of us, on the personal and family level, through the Blessing of marriage.

Reflections about the Messianic Mission

The Messiah is the incarnation of God, the Creator, who deserves our infinite gratitude because He bestowed upon us infinite love, life and lineage. The Messiah is the root, on earth, of humankind. Because of the fall, he appears in the middle of history, not at the beginning. But he is actually the beginning of the true history, the history of goodness. He comes at the end, but he is the beginning.

All humankind can receive true life from the Messiah. The Messiah's mission is to give us life, period. The method to receive life is through receiving his Blessing upon marriage, the institution of love.

Christianity has been awaiting the Messiah, as did Judaism 2,000 years ago. In both cases, the chosen people did not recognize the Messiah when he appeared in their midst. He appeared too humble; he was unqualified in their eyes. Therefore they did not honor, respect, or want to engraft to him. They did not value his blessing.

The Messiah came not to "earn" mankind's love. The purpose of the chosen religion was to raise people to be able to recognize the Messiah through their spiritual perception, intellectual acumen and conscientious common sense, as children naturally love their parents.

Because of the failures to receive Jesus 2,000 years ago and Reverend Sun Myung Moon today, the Messiah had to win our love "the hard way." Jesus and Reverend Moon did this by giving and giving, as a parent to children, by giving his life to demonstrate to "stiff-necked people" who had rejected true love, or were under the sway culturally of those who rejected it, that he loved them more than he loved himself. Ultimately, Jesus could not get the point across until his gave his physical body. And Reverend Moon? Prison six times, and unending persecution and suffering.

The Messiah who was rejected had to begin with nothing to give substantially. All he could give was his teachings and his love. Through this, he had to find one person to recognize him. What joy in Heaven when he found that first believer!

Then what did this first believer have to do? He or she had to follow the course of the Messiah. He had to resist the temptation to bask in the Messianic love, and instead had to "take up his own cross" and sacrificially love others at the cost of his life, by teaching and practicing the Messiah's way of life, sacrificing for the sake of others. Thus Reverend Moon always sends us out as pioneers, to fight the same battle he is fighting.

Why is this so? It is because the Messiah comes as God's incarnation in order to make us all God's incarnations, God's children. This does not happen by magic; it takes our total effort to become people of true love through him. And whatever the course mankind imposes upon the Messiah, that is the course that all mankind must follow.

The Messiah must win the recognition, respect and acceptance from the whole of mankind. To do so, he must win it from the prepared representatives of mankind, ultimately the world's leaders raised up by God. Therefore, Reverend Moon must speak to and gain the recognition of the highest leaders of society. The world's leaders, however, will not listen to just anyone off the street. They will accept only those who have foundations which they freely recognize as equivalent to their own.

For the Messiah to build this requires tremendous investment. This investment goes beyond his personal resources; it requires investment on a national level, on a world level. It means he must create institutions, and this requires money. It is the followers of Reverend Moon who must provide this money. Therefore a follower may spend his entire life raising and donating money.

Is this a wasted life on the part of the follower? No; it a life offered so that the Messiah may be victorious, so that the one man who represents all mankind may offer all mankind to God. The disciple becomes part of the Messiah's offering, part of his flesh and blood. The disciple is representing the incarnation of God to the world. In fact the disciple is part of that incarnation.

What kind of institutions would the Messiah create? His main concern would be to build institutions which promote the ideals of true love and peace, centered on God. Look at the Unificationist institutions; this is what they are doing. The agenda of these institutions would be first to bring accomplished leaders together to dialogue, to make friends, beyond race, religion and nation. This in itself is a worthy accomplishment. Second, it would be to educate these people about what matters: God, true love, the family, absolute values. Third, it would be to actually connect these people to the Messiah on the individual and family level by a bond of true love; this is the Blessing.

Fourth, it would be to call these people to bear their own crosses, and offer themselves, their institutions, their nations and their religions, sacrificially for the sake of God, history and the eternal future of humanity.

This is why the UC is the church which demands continual sacrifice of its members, centering on the fortunes of one individual, the Messiah, Reverend Sun Myung Moon. As Kierkegaard wrote, "All of mankind, the entire world and all of history, must pass through The Individual." And once we pass through The Individual, we must thereafter pass through The Family, The Tribe, The People, The Nation, The World, The Cosmos and God.

Once you grasp this, you grasp the nature of the Unification Church.

The Philadelphia Sisterhood Ceremony: Rekindling America's Spirit

by Hope Igarashi-Weehawken, NJ

We have held two Sisterhood Ceremonies in Philadelphia, PA which have each been very good experiences. The preparation work has been challenging at times. However, the beauty and victories have certainly been worth the effort. We are very grateful to True Parents for the opportunities.

Through the conferences, our staff and our sisters of Japan have been reminded that Philadelphia is a key and important city in our nation's history, as I will later explain.

Oct. 27-28 we held our second conference in Cherry Hill, NJ, just a few minutes from Philadelphia. On the seminar day, we were fortunate to have as guest speakers Mrs. Norman Vincent Peale, Ambassador "Lucky" Roosevelt (who is very lucky!) and Matt Biondi. They each gave incredible testimonies which had all of us either in tears or in laughter by their sincerity and honesty. We found them to be fine and noble people, which says a lot for the true American spirit.

The following day, we were honored to have Dr. Joyce Brothers as our keynote speaker. She was so gracious! Her speech was intellectual and informative as she reassured us that women have their special qualities and their places in this world. She was also very tender.

We were very fortunate that she agreed to cross the bridge, and it was a moving experience for us all. She was deeply moved by the Bridge Ceremony. She wept so much that even when she began her speech she was still crying and had to pause for a moment to compose herself. She was overwhelmed with joy!

Some of the VIPs who crossed the bridge were also deeply moved. One of them, a state director of 39 chapters of a Catholic retreat group, wanted to become a WFWP member and asked if it was okay to send a donation. A professor who heard of the conference from a flyer posted at the university she taught at asked so many questions and wanted a book which explains about our church and its activities.

Candi Staton, the entertainer, was great and expressed her love and praise for Jesus through her songs. During one song, she had all the women holding hands and dancing to her music. The atmosphere was electric!

Rekindling America's Spirit

On an internal level, some of the staff experienced a new aspect of the IWFC-the liberation of the American forefathers. Philadelphia is actually the birthplace of America's democracy. The signing of the Declaration of Independence took place there, as well as our Constitution. Many other historical events took place there. Mrs. Spurgin felt our forefathers' strong pull at this conference. One week before our conference, our New Jersey staff held its usual Il Jung prayer. While our Japanese coordinator, Masako Jamison, was praying deeply about our forefathers and calling out their names, I experienced them near us. A few forefathers were at our New Jersey church pulpit trying to speak at the podium, but it was Abraham Lincoln who finally reached it. His eyes were serious. He wanted to say many things but the words couldn't seem to come out. I felt he was trying to speak on the rekindling of America that he loves so, and desperately wants us to help save our country.

Mrs. Watabe, the leader of the women from Japan, felt the presence of one of our American forefathers in her hotel room. The next day, as she toured historical sites in Philadelphia, she felt his presence again while praying in the historical Christ Church where George Washington and other forefathers often prayed.

Both the Japanese and Western staff realize now that the forefathers and foremothers need us and can get liberation from the ceremonies. It is exciting and a responsibility to liberate them and this country. Philadelphia is proving to be a very necessary conference. I'm certain that in each region, unique aspects of the conferences are being discovered.

We are grateful to our Japanese sisters both in America and in Japan. Their love and prayers for America are helping us better to appreciate and value our own heritage. The conference ended on a high note as we all danced together. We felt liberated and healed by the purity of the dancing!

In conclusion, we give special recognition and gratitude to Rev. Joong Hyun Pak, Rev. and Mrs. Do Hee Park, Mrs. Nora Spurgin and Mrs. Yoko Kobayashi for their advice and support. Special thanks also go to the National Headquarters staff in New York and our local staff who are all working with constant commitment and dedication. And, of course, our deepest gratitude goes to our True Parents.

The People

by Dee Longo Shiga

The first Thanksgiving inspires us because it was a time when people of different faiths and cultures gave thanks to God for His many blessings.

During this season on thanksgiving, I would like to dedicate this poem to the first inhabitants of this land...

Long before this was our home
The People lived throughout this land
A mighty culture, rich in reverence
A noble race, proudly living the traditions of their ancestors

With deepest respect for the earth
And all she gave them
Asking the Great Spirit to guide their ways
They welcomed us as brothers into their nation

Then came treaties tainted with deception
Breaking the sacred hoop of the nation
How will we compensate for the broken promises of our forefathers
That caused the extinction of a way of life

I hear their spirits cry for retribution
Calling us to join them in the ghost dance
Awaiting the One who will lead us out of all oppression
We will heal our brotherhood, and all circles shall be joined

The 1995 Autumn Classic Horse Show

by Mark Turegano-Port Jervis, NY

The 7th annual Autumn Classic Horse Show took place September 5th through the 10th this year at New Hope Farms in Port Jervis, NY and marked a brilliantly successful completion of one cycle of this premier competition's evolution as one of the major international horse shows in the world.

Over 900 horses participated in the 6-day event, coming from as far away as California and Canada. The featured competition once again was The $100,000 Autumn Classic Grand Prix that was cited by all the riders who came this year as the most exciting and the largest Grand Prix of the 1995 show jumping season.

Warming the hearts of all in attendance was a special ceremony that took place before the Grand Prix competition involving The Make-A-Wish foundation. Make-A-Wish is the charity organization that arranges for terminally ill children to spend a day with one of their heroes from the sports or entertainment field.

Lesa Ellanson, Special Event Coordinator for The Autumn Classic Horse Show, contacted the Orange County Make-A-Wish Foundation in August and learned that there were numerous terminally ill children in the area that wanted to meet Grand Prix riders from the show jumping field. Subsequently, the director of Orange County Make-A-Wish asked if two children could come to the show this year as special guests of The Autumn Classic. The Show Committee wholeheartedly granted the request.

One of show jumping's foremost riders, Debbie Stephens, volunteered to spend time with the two children during Grand Prix day and made their visit a special one. Debbie is an accomplished equestrienne and has represented America in numerous international competitions. She also appeared in the recent Julia Roberts movie, Something to Talk About, as a Grand Prix rider playing herself. The movie has a Show Jumping Grand Prix competition as one of the main sub-themes of the story line.

To begin the ceremony, the two children were given a carriage ride around the arena in front of the 3,000+ capacity crowd. They were then met by Debbie Stephens and Lisa Mangano, Miss Quarter Horse New Jersey, who hugged and kissed the children and showered them with presents. The two children were beaming and ecstatic, and the crowd was in tears at the scene. The Orange County Executive, Joseph Rampe, who was also in attendance at the show, addressed The Autumn Classic spectators proclaiming September as "Make-A-Wish Foundation Month" for Orange County in New York State.

The Kleenex came back out during the presentation of the second award of the evening. It was a memorial award given to the wife and daughters of Jim Garvey, former Town Supervisor of Deerpark and also former Sheriff of Orange County. Jim had been a close friend of New Hope Farms for many years; sadly, he died this January after a long battle with throat cancer.

Jim began his career of public service as a New York City police officer. He was decorated for valor after being seriously wounded in a shoot out in the city. He and his family moved to the Town of Deerpark in 1976 where Jim later served as Town Supervisor and finally as Orange County Sheriff till his death. Jim, as well as his family, was loved by the entire community. Not unexpectedly, many in the crowd gave Jane Garvey, his wife, and Karen Garvey, his daughter, a standing ovation upon their receiving the award.

The warmth that filled the atmosphere was soon enhanced by the electricity of world class competition in the Grand Prix itself. Thirty three of the best riders in North America were vying for the coveted top prize of $30,000 as well as a chance to improve their standings in the IBM/USET computer rankings. Leopoldo Palacios, South America's leading course designer, crafted a very sophisticated course of jumps and turns that challenged the stellar field of riders and their mounts to their limits.

Among the riders this year was Rev. Moon's third daughter, Un Jin, who was coming off a noteworthy accomplishment at The Nations Cup competition in Falsterbo, Sweden this summer during which she garnered one of only three at-large spots for Asian riders in The 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. With that performance, Un Jin became the first Korean in the history of the Olympics to qualify for three Olympic Games in a row.

Also competing at this year's show was Margie Goldstein, two-time Rider of the Year and a previous winner of The Autumn Classic, as well as Lisa Jacquin, a member of the Silver Medal American team at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Lisa was a sentimental favorite for many in the crowd who had seen her finish second in two previous Autumn Classic Grand Prixs. Adding to Lisa's crowd appeal was the fact that she was riding the oldest horse in the field, 21 year old For The Moment (whose nickname is Fred), and that she herself had recently broken her collarbone and was riding with a severe injury.

Much to the audience's delight Lisa Jacquin turned in the first clean (fault free) round and had cleared the first hurdle on the way to earning top honors at the show. Un Jin Moon, regarded by many in the industry as one of America's top amateurs, nearly became the second clear round with a sensational ride on her 1992 Olympic mount Equador. Disappointingly, Equador pulled one rail and finished with a four fault performance that was extremely respectable in the world class field but was not good enough for a spot in the jump off.

Ultimately, 6 riders, including veteran Eric Hasbrouck, Debbie Stephens, and 21-year old sensation Laura Chapot, made the final jump- off. Laura Chapot is the daughter of a husband wife team who both competed for America in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy: Frank and Mary Chapot. Laura was riding the legendary, solid white gelding named Gem Twist, who (with Greg Best aboard) won the individual Silver Medal at the Seoul Games. Gem Twist was, during the late 80's, widely considered one of the top three horses in the world. After a few quiet years, Gem Twist, has made a comeback on the Grand Prix circuit under the tutelage and training of Laura's father Frank.

Lisa Jacquin was the first to go in the jump off and had the crowd on their feet as she sped around the intricate jump off course. Dishearteningly, For The Moment slid at one of the jumps and threw Lisa to the ground. The audience gasped in apprehension, fearing that Lisa might have re-injured her shoulder, but breathed a sigh of relief when she regained herself and left the arena under her own power.

Eric Hasbrouck turned in a solid performance in the jump off and seemed the sure winner. But the night was to belong to young Laura Chapot who went for the win in the jump off and took the talented Gem Twist deftly through the course at a blistering pace to bring home the blue ribbon and $30,000 in prize money.

The final tears of the evening were tears of joy that came from Laura's parents who were both in the stands watching her compete. The win catapulted her into first place for Rookie of the year honors, a title she is now highly favored to win as no other rookies have won a major Grand Prix of similar stature to The Autumn Classic. The Autumn Classic finished its seventh year in both an exciting and a heart-warming fashion and proved a fitting testimony to the vision of Rev. Moon, who has provided enormous internal support for the show throughout its history. While Rev. Moon was not able to attend this year's show because of The True Family and I speech in Boston on the same day, nonetheless, this year's success is largely due to the spirit and standard he has set for the show from its inception.

Next year The Autumn Classic has been guaranteed coverage on ESPN and will be seen by up to 47 million people, the viewing audience of ESPN. ESPN is widely considered as the foremost broadcaster of Show Jumping competitions in the country.