Realizing the Interfaith Ideal: Action Beyond Dialogue

Inter-Religious Federation For World Peace
Frank Kaufmann -- NYC

From December 18 - 20, 1998, the Inter-Religious Federation for World peace, sponsored the conference Realizing the Interfaith Ideal: Action Beyond Dialogue in Washington D.C. The program transpired at two venues, namely the conference hotel, and the Washington Times. The concept for the conference revolved around an initiative calling for religious leaders to work formally with the United Nations.

This vision was enthusiastically received by the 126 international participants in attendance. The program consisted of 13 speakers in a carefully developed series of thematic sessions. The keynote address was given by Father at the Washington Times banquet (entitled An Understanding of Life and Death). Participants came from 30 countries. These included religious leaders, Christian clergy from several denominations, scholars, religious activists associated with religious and social organizations, and United Nations representatives. One of the most encouraging outcomes of the conference was the fact that the United Nations participants acknowledged the conference initiative as inspired, legitimate, timely, necessary, and doable. The opinions of the United Nations participants are noteworthy because the conference concept is a religious one, not a UN one. Thus its viability and credibility can be assessed only by those to whom the working relationship is being proposed.

The conference was called as a means to fulfill a providential necessity and was required to take place by a mandated deadline. Its call came late, at a difficult time, and to a badly understaffed community. Finally, the scope and parameters of the conference changed often during an unthinkably limited available time frame. The fact then that it was widely and publicly acknowledged as a significant achievement, and a recognizable contribution, shows that the blessing of God was on the effort. Credit must also be given to the effectiveness and responsiveness of Unificationists in the field, both domestically and internationally. Our united effort resulted in the presence of leading participants from the world of religion.

The end goal for the conference was to present a proposal for religious leaders to form an interfaith leadership body directly related to the United Nations. The essence of this proposal was encapsulated in Reverend Kwak’s speech entitled New Directions for Interfaith. In a carefully developed thesis, Reverend Kwak writes:

... For this reason, world peacemaking calls not only for the wisdom of statesmen and diplomats, but also fore the wisdom of the world’s religions, as embodied in the most honored representatives of those religious traditions. To implement such a program would involve a re-structuring of the UN as currently conceived. For, in addition to the representation of nation states, there would be representatives of the world’s religious traditions.

The essence of this thesis then was distilled into a declaration which was presented to participants to sign depending on if they consented. The declaration was signed by 100% of those in attendance. This was beyond the best hopes of the conveners.

In addition to the role of religion in world affairs, the second trademark insight attributable to Father is his understanding of the seamless web linking family order to world order. While peace conversations have transpired for decades, no one has delineated so clearly the relationship between grand matters like world peace and its indispensable dependence on family order. This insight also captured the imagination of participants gathered, and opened many eyes to Father’s unique ideological contribution in our time. This family dimension was ably put forth by the two Unification scholars on the program, Dr. Thomas Ward, visiting professor of International Relations at the University of Bridgeport, and Dr. Thomas G. Walsh, Executive Director of the International Religious Foundation (IRF). Their papers were acknowledged as well constructed, and containing innovative and important content.

Father’s speech was magnificent. The banquet at the Washington Times hosted an additional 130 or so guests from the D.C. area leadership bringing his audience to 250. Father read a prepared treatise explaining the passage from life to death, the nature of the transition, the subsequent nature of one’s existence in the spirit world, and the implications of these realities for earthly life and human responsibilities. Father was gentle, graceful, self-effacing, and endearing. This combined with the fascinating and riveting speech content to create a masterpiece; a truly memorable occasion. The participants attention to Father’s every word struck me as uncommon, and all the more noteworthy given the balmy style of Father’s presentation. Father tied the focus of his hour long speech to the conference theme at the very end in which he explained himself to the participants in this way:

There is a reason that I have addressed the participants of this gathering by speaking about the value of life as it relates to issues having to do with human life and death. You represent religions that are active throughout the world, and I want to stress that it is the responsibility of religious leaders to teach correctly with respect to life and death. Today, the political leaders of the world are seeking to realize world peace and human prosperity through the United Nations. In my judgment, however, the path to world peace will be incomplete if we rely merely on the political, economic and military functions of the United Nations. Political, economic and military aspects can only deal with external, physical and material things. The more internal and spiritual aspects can only be reached through religious teaching and through the unity and united actions of the world's religions.

The heartfelt reception Father garnered through his speech combined with the already extant enthusiasm for the conference theme and initiative brought a rewarding end result. The acclaim for the proposed agenda to investigate and develop the link between religious and political leadership became readily associated with Father, the source of the conference concept, and the benefactor for its substantial implementation. This is as it should be. Now there is much promise. A huge work remains however, if we are to see the eventual accomplishment of this stage toward the development of world peace.

Original Thinking

David Carlson

In recent articles we’ve reviewed several aspects of human history. This month we’ll focus on some related theories; sweeping concepts that deal with the origins of the Earth and all who dwell upon it.

These theories range from fairly scientific to impossibly absurd. They also vary in public acceptance, and not always as merited.

These theories attack "conventional science" quite forcefully, and sometimes they score telling blows. However, few could themselves stand up to scholarly review.

Many scholars believe in God, or various Eastern faiths. Others are atheists, and they don’t mind saying so. At least these folks are honest.

However, some "origin theory" advocates are charlatans. A handful are nut cases. Most of them are soon forgotten, but a few have bequeathed us a terrible legacy.

Thinking about our origins is important, because it relates directly to "who we are," and also to "what might happen next." The application of real science, common sense, and the Principle can go a long way towards sorting out this tangle.

Creationism

One popular origin theory is Creationism. The Creationist’s faith in God is admirable, as is their appeal to science. Their influence is growing, especially in America.

Unfortunately they’re trying to have it both ways, claiming that the Bible’s timeline is literally correct, and also that modern science is "just right enough" to support their version of things.

They claim that the entire Creation is only ten thousand years old. They used to say six thousand, but Archaeologists have found several long-inhabited cities older than that, so a bit of fudging became necessary.

If the Creationists are right, every mountain and valley was shaped by Noah’s Flood, and humans once walked with dinosaurs. (And we’re not talking Jurassic Park here.)

This would mean that every star and galaxy was also created recently. Since light travels at a certain speed, the light of any objects more distant than 10,000 light years would not yet be visible to us. Not unless all that light was created already on its way to our telescopes.

This "on its way" scenario must also include cosmic rays and neutrinos. These exotic, ghostly particles were discovered less than a century ago, and the expensive, specialized detectors that can "see" them were installed only recently. Sure enough, they have detected bursts of such particles, arriving exactly as predicted by science.

Creationists have their good points: they’ve found plenty of holes in Darwinism. One of their favorites involves whales. Scientists have yet to find any intermediate steps between a purported rhinoceros-like ancestor and the fully seagoing whales.

The structure of whale’s bones and breathing holes, and the up-and-down motion of their flukes, are so distinct that it’s hard to imagine what "evolutionary advantage" those changes might have provided, especially for some awkward "halfway" form.

This speculation may fall victim to the same "God of the gaps" fallacy that believers have gotten caught by before. On the other hand, it might provide evidence of Divine guidance.

Creationists often mangle statistics. Concerning Geology, they note that past eras were punctuated by massive volcanic eruptions; calderas like Yellowstone and Long Valley once exploded with the force of thousands of Mount St. Helens.

Then they point out that no such eruptions have happened lately (that is, since Noah’s time), concluding that "the newborn Earth is now settling down."

They neglect to mention that these eruptions clearly happened a long time ago, because they take place only once or twice in a hundred thousand years. They will definitely happen again! And when they do, it’ll be "Biblical" enough to suit even the fieriest of fundamentalists.

For Creationists to be correct about all this, one would have to assume that God is deliberately fooling us! The entire situation would be a massive and pointless exercise, if it were so.

Many other origin theories involve "historical catastrophes."

Catastrophism

In his book Worlds In Collision, Immanuel Velikovsky proffered a dramatic mishmash of careening planets and Biblical plagues. He may have learned even less Astronomy than this indicates: obscure British writer William Beaumont had presented the same ideas in the 1920s, twenty five years earlier. Countless readers accepted Velikovsky’s theories with enthusiasm.

Today’s computers (yesterday’s too, for that matter), can calculate the motion of the planets, backwards and forwards in their courses, for millions of years each way. They haven’t been going anywhere special, just around and around the Sun!

Another catastrophe theory involves the fabled Sinking of Atlantis, described by Plato more than two thousand years ago. Later writers thickened the plot by adding Lemuria and at least two other "lost continents." Supposedly, they reached a high level of development tens of thousands of years ago, then lost it all.

These mythic lands vary wildly in reported size and position, literally spanning the globe. One might suppose that, by now, we’d have found at least one fossilized Atlantis Brand beer bottle . . . Aside from a few near-shore stone ruins, no one has seen any real evidence of their existence.

However, the legend of Atlantis might be based in fact! The volcanic island of Thera exploded with great force around 1500 BC, ruining the prosperous Minoan civilization on nearby Crete.

Intervention

Arthur C. Clarke, an avowed atheist, wrote of a fictional "alien monolith" that gave a dramatic boost to the early hominids in Africa, four million years ago. This was depicted in the famous opening scene of the film 2001, with music from Strauss’ majestic "Also Sprach Zarathustra." (Note: Nietzsche’s book of that title is a screed for activist atheism.)

Erich Von Daniken seriously posited an alien influence upon human origins. His book Chariot of the Gods displays an old Mayan carving, which is covered by strange images of people, animals, and mythical creatures. He decided that one figure with a "fat head" depicts an alien wearing a spacesuit helmet.

Why this "ancient astronaut" was walking around that steaming jungle with his space helmet still on, he never said. (Today’s Space Shuttle astronauts rarely wear helmets even when they’re in outer space.)

Von Daniken claims it was "impossible for primitive humans to build things like the Pyramids," and concludes that they must have had alien help.

In fact, Archaeologists have now excavated the villages of the very workmen who did build them, going so far as to estimate their payroll, and to recreate the beer and bread they consumed each day. (Not very good, they report.)

On a grander scale, the entire idea of "helpful aliens" begs the question. If we couldn’t become civilized without outside help, then how did the purported aliens manage it? David Brin’s excellent Uplift War novels take this issue back a billion years -- and still don’t propose a final answer.

Space aliens are not the only ones alleged to have given humankind a boost. Raymond Bernard wrote of a "hollow Earth," with an advanced civilization living inside. As a child, this author had a book that depicted an eggshell Earth, with a miniature Sun in the middle, and openings at both poles. (My public school teacher had no rebuttal for it.)

Even today, Art Bell interviews people who claim to have "inside knowledge." One might not want to know how many listeners believed them . . .

Nazis

Here we encounter a "dark side" to the origin theories. Hitler once hoped to discover the "lost home of the Aryans" inside the Earth. It is claimed that famous explorer Admiral Byrd flew his plane inside -- and met Germanic people there!

Facts like "lava bursting upwards" and "water flowing down" have had no impact upon those whose minds have been made up. Neither have Russian tourist flights to the North Pole, or zillions of photos of the Earth from space.

Speaking of Hitler, there is one really scary origin theory. Early in this century, a man named Hanns Hörbiger developed an entire "ice cosmology," and taught it to the Nazis. It was embraced by the ultra-fanatical Ahnenerbe SS.

Hörbiger claimed that the Moon is made of ice, as were previous ones captured by the Earth’s gravity. Every so often one would crash down and melt, causing the disasters recounted in the Bible and elsewhere.

Today’s NeoNazis have used his ideas, and those of Savitri Devi and other little-known Hitlerian mystics, to influence the Green, Pagan, UFO, and other popular movements -- including leftist ones. (Read Hitler’s Priestess by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke.)

This author grew up around many New Age believers, and doesn’t really mean to disparage them. Most of them are decent people, if a bit muddled.

Principled View

There is a genuine Origin Theory, and it isn’t soulless Darwinism. All believers in God understand that people did have "outside help" in becoming human, and then, civilized. The Principle presents a larger truth that embraces both concepts.

Instead of Aliens, this help really came from the Angels. For the people of Biblical times, who had no scientific understanding, there would have been no distinction anyway.

In the end, we need not look far to discover the truth of our origins.

New Jersey Church Launches Il Shim Ceremony For Second Generation Teens

by Brian Sabourin -- Clifton, NJ

On Sunday, January 10th the New Jersey Family Federation conducted an IL SHIM Ceremony for all New Jersey blessed children in grades 7 through 12. Out of a pool of approximately 55 eligible children, 52 participated from a total of 36 different families. Attendance at the service exceeded 300 people (including children). Participants alone – parents and their children – exceeded 150 people. We did not have enough chairs to seat everyone. Many people simply stood in the back and a few people didn’t come in due to the crowd. In addition to the crowd at the Service, approximately 100 more people (children and teachers combined) attended Sunday School at the Clifton Church and helped prepare the reception after the service. By all accounts, it would probably be accurate to say that it was the largest and best-attended Sunday Service ever held in New Jersey.

Meaning of "IL SHIM"

IL Shim is a Korean term that means "one heart" or "one heart and mind". This term was chosen for this ceremony because of its implications for inter-generational unity and inheritance. True Parents conducted a similar ceremony called "IL SEUNG IL" or "Day of One Victory" (1985.8.20) centered upon Hyo Jin Nim and the second generation after True Father’s release from Danbury. In that ceremony, True Parents declared the beginning of the period of responsibility for the second generation. Four years later, True Parents also conducted an "IL SHIM" ceremony (1989.6.23) to proclaim the total unity between Heavenly Father and True Parents and the inheritance of this unity by the children. This ceremony was conducted on the occasion of True Father’s elevation and recognition as head of all Korean tribes and clans. During the ceremony, Father said that as children, who are to inherit the love and lineage of True Parents through the Blessing, we must completely remove ourselves from Satan’s influence. The IL SHIM ceremony was conducted to confirm our opportunity to now inherit this special status based upon the conditions made by True Parents and True Parents’ family.

It should be mentioned that True Parents did not authorize this New Jersey IL SHIM ceremony. Furthermore, it was not intended to serve as a forgiveness ceremony for those blessed children who have made serious mistakes. As of yet, True Parents have not indicated that blessed children in this situation have any hope for restoration. The New Jersey IL SHIM ceremony was conducted primarily to offer a pro-active and constructive deterrent to the development of serious spiritual problems. The term IL SHIM was selected due to its having been already used in a similar ceremony in True Parents family and because it seemed to be the most appropriate term for our purpose.

Purpose of Ceremony.

The IL Shim Ceremony was conceived to serve numerous purposes, four of which are listed below. These are not necessarily the only purposes, but rather only those that we have identified to date and which seem of most importance.

• Coming of age - to recognize children who are moving from adolescence to teen years (into puberty) as graduating from one level and moving into the next. The significance of this transition is also connected with coming into a new level of personal relationship with God. That is, God will now begin to relate to them in more of an adult fashion and they will be expected to take more responsibility for their spiritual life as they approach the top of the growth stage in spiritual development.

• Rite of passage - to signify that children who are participating in this ceremony have accomplished certain conditions of faith - such as having completed certain educational requirements - and have committed themselves to certain ideals - such as purity and a commitment to receive the Matching and Blessing from True Parents.

• Inheritance of tradition - to signify that as blessed children, they have received the grace of being "freed from original sin" as a result of the conditions made by True Parents and their own parents. As blessed children they stand in a "position of grace and blessing" and through this ceremony it is recognized that they now have a greater responsibility to maintain this position. This ceremony accentuates their responsibility to keep the tradition of faith that they inherited from their parents and welcomes them into more mature participation in their church and community. This ceremony underscores their personal commitment to do this.

• New Beginning - to signify that through participation in this ceremony and the (prerequisite educational programs) these children can be forgiven for past misbehavior (except serious violations) and be "reborn" into a new and fresh beginning in their relationship with God. As participants in the IL Shim Ceremony, they now have more responsibility to set a good example for other children and show the proper standard of behavior in relation to personal and public life. By participating in this ceremony, the children agree that from this day forward they will do their best to maintain all the conditions of the IL Shim Ceremony Pledge.

Why did we do it?

Well… Our tradition seems to have many beautiful ceremonies for young children. The prayer tradition at birth, the 8-day ceremony, the 100-day ceremony, Church Holy Days, and of course, the birthday ceremonies. However, as our children age, birthday ceremonies become less and less significant and Church Holy Days seem to lack a personal connection. There seems to be no public, church-based ceremony to recognize our children’s maturation into the top of the growth stage. Once the early ceremonies are finished, there seems to be no other significant event until the Matching and Blessing. Due to the importance placed upon the Blessing, it would seem appropriate to offer more preparatory rituals to reinforce the inheritance of our tradition during the turbulent teen years.

Ritual has been called the "glue for tradition." It helps to provide continuity between generations and cultural identity. Other faith traditions provide significant ceremonies to recognize and promote the inheritance of their tradition by their children. The "Bar Mitzvah" in the Jewish tradition or "Confirmation" in the Catholic tradition are typical examples that come to mind. We chose the term IL SHIM (one heart one mind) and conducted this ceremony to provide our children with a comparable ceremony to reinforce the fundamental aspects of our tradition.

Our Preparation.

To qualify for the ceremony, we asked all children to participate in a special workshop at Barrytown prior to God’s Day. In that workshop, the children offered a fast together with a confession and repentance ceremony, and made a written determination for the New Year. The content of the workshop dealt with fundamental issues of being a BC teen.

The Ceremony.

Many parents expressed sincere gratitude for this ceremony. Several parents commented to me that they had no idea it would be such a dignified and holy affair. One mother in particular called and said that the ceremony made a deep impression on her daughter. She had been having problems with her and this ceremony seems to have restored (to some extent) her daughter’s appreciation for being a BC. Another parent commented that his son seems to behaving in a more serious and adult fashion after the ceremony. Other parents expressed regret in not having prepared more and for not taking it more seriously. Many parents said that they want to make this ceremony a yearly tradition that the younger children can look forward to. Several parents mentioned that many the 5th and 6th graders who were watching the ceremony were impressed and were looking forward to participating next year. In general, the parents were very grateful and uplifted by the ceremony. The children – even the more callous among them – were moved to varying degrees. Some obviously did it only to please their parents, but as one child told me, "it made them think more deeply about things."

Ceremony Date & Frequency.

We have decided to conduct this ceremony annually on the first Sunday after God’s Day. This date was chosen to add significance to the ceremony in that it should symbolize a new beginning in life. Just as God’s Day is a day of making new determinations for the coming year, likewise, the children participating in this ceremony should make a new determination to begin not only the New Year, but also a new phase in their life. This date was also chosen in relation to the Day of Victory of Love which was declared as a result of the sacrifice of Heung Jin Nim who offered his life to protect True Parents. True Parents have declared Heung Jin Nim as the example and model for the second generation. Hence, this date was chosen to help connect his life to the life of our second-generation children.

Program Format.

In recognition of our desire to make this ceremony a significant church event, we planned to hold the ceremony in front of the entire church congregation with younger children present. Sunday school classes for grades 4-6 were canceled while the pre-k through 3rd grade classes were held as usual. We felt that the younger children should attend the ceremony with their families in hopes of making a lasting impression on them of the importance of being a "Blessed Child" and to underscore the responsibility of setting a good example for the younger children.

The format of the ceremony can be modified to meet local requirements, but we would recommend the following two fundamental components always be included (see accompanying program outline):

• IL SHIM PLEDGE AND PRAYER– the local pastor should explain the purpose and significance of the IL SHIM Ceremony and offer the IL SHIM Prayer before starting the ceremony. Next, the children and their parents all together bow to True Parents and then recite the family pledge. At the conclusion of this pledge the children will affirm their commitment to the ideals of the IL SHIM Pledge by bowing two times:

First, to God and True Parents (facing forward with back to congregation),

Second, to their parents and congregation (facing parents and congregation),

After completing their bows they stand facing the congregation and receive a warm and heartfelt applause from the entire congregation (standing ovation OK). After the bows are finished, they all together recite the IL SHIM Pledge, after which they may return to their reserved seats in front of the congregation with their parents sitting in reserved seats behind them - children all together and parents all together.

• INHERITANCE & COMMITMENT RING CEREMONY - following the pledge and prayer, we recommend that the children receive from their parents a "commitment ring." This ring symbolizes their commitment to purity as well as their inheritance of a blessed lineage from True Parents via their parents. This ring should be kept with them forever, or at least until receiving the Matching and Blessing from True Parents. The ring is important because it symbolically commits them to purity and provides a visible reminder of their commitment. We recommend the "True Love Waits" ring with "IL SHIM" engraved inside. This ring can later be given to their spouse.

A Reflection.

In general, the program turned out better than we expected and the turnout was much higher than expected in spite of short notice. We did not have the chance to properly educate or inform the community as to the content and purpose of the ceremony. Many found out about it only days before and learned of the content during the ceremony. In spite of this, however, they came anyway and seemed to be deeply moved. The most significant moment for me came when one particular child requested to join the ceremony. She had refused to participate earlier and for various reasons, was unqualified. I told her that unless she would change certain things in her life she could not participate. She ended up only watching the ceremony. Afterwards she and her mother came to me again requesting to participate retroactively. She said that she was willing to do the various conditions to "qualify." Later she told me that the ceremony had caused her to reflect more deeply on some of her attitudes and behaviors. I never expected this program to have that kind of impact on a person. I had almost given-up on this girl. To have her come to me and say this was the most gratifying moment of the event for me.

For others planning similar ceremonies, I would recommend more preparation and involvement of the parents. We had no for this due the to shortness of the preparation. If there were more involvement of the parents I think the ceremony could have been even deeper and more meaningful for both children and parents. I also feel that we must follow-up this program with a more effective youth ministry program. Rev. Hong and I are currently working on a new program for New Jersey. I also feel the need to underscore the importance of improving the Sunday service in order to maintain the involvement of the parents. One child asked me to personally call her parents next Sunday to ask them to come to Sunday service. She said that they never come and that she cannot come to our teen youth-group class unless they decide to come to service.

Ideally, I feel that the age of the children participating should be 13 or 14 (Junior High School). Older children may perceive the ceremony as trivial and merely conform out of parental pressure. Nonetheless, we encouraged even the older children to participate, and in spite of some sarcasm and negativity, they came and many were moved. Future ceremonies will primarily focus on 13 and 14-year-old children. I think older children – those graduating from high school – need something more. Some have suggested a ceremony that recognizes adulthood and eligibility for the Blessing that would be conducted after high school graduation. This is an idea needing much more thought and development.

In conclusion, from all that I have heard and seen, the New Jersey IL SHIM Ceremony was a great success and made a deep impact on many of the children. Yet it is only a ceremony. Many problems and serious issues remain. A ceremony certainly cannot replace the need for a well-planned and carefully implemented parental and church-based religious education program. Our children are facing many issues that challenge their faith on a daily basis. We need to establish comprehensive and well-integrated youth ministries that combine the efforts of the home, church, and community. The home alone is not enough. Likewise, the efforts of the church, if not supported by the home, will also fail. Ultimately, all three of these educational domains need to work together to provide a nurturing environment where a child’s spirituality can develop. Since the school and community are not about to adopt our values anytime soon, it behooves us to make greater efforts to work together and strengthen our education wherever and whenever we can.

Il Shim Ceremony Pledge

As a Blessed Child of the second generation

I freely and sincerely dedicate myself to:

• Love and honor God and True Parents by practicing a life of attendance with absolute love, absolute faith, and absolute obedience.

• Love and honor my parents by maintaining the tradition of our lineage that began with the Matching and Blessing of True Parents and has been passed on to me.

• Love and honor my church and community by giving of myself in service to others and by participating in church activities.

• Love and honor my future spouse, my future children and myself by saving sexual relations until the day I receive the Matching and Blessing from True Parents.

Mr. Sabourin is currently serving as full time Youth Pastor for the New Jersey Family Federation. He can be reached by email at briansab@aol.com or by phone at (973) 661-4075 or at the Clifton Church (973-916-0329).

Mr. and Miss University

by Highmy Herbers -- Silver Spring, MD

Somehow the world’s most beautiful students are also the nicest. Actually, that is how it is supposed to be. The Mr. and Miss University Beauty Pageant was created with the goal of promoting not only external beauty, but also internal beauty—heart—as well as international family. Sixteen countries were represented in the 1998 contest in Tokyo.

Our first day in Tokyo, Mr. University ’97 taught us the pageant theme song (which he wrote). Now, once you’ve got people singing together about never saying good-bye, you know they are going to be friends. I ended up doing things like dancing in a Disneyland parade with people I had just met, participating in a Japanese tea ceremony and wearing a kimono. In the end, I didn’t feel I had just been in a contest, but on some exciting camping trip.

Before going to Japan, I had determined that all I wanted was to be a good representative of my country. I am a bit shy and have some stage fright, so even when I practiced my song I would get nervous and my voice would shake. But as the days went by, I reflected upon my goal and the purpose of the contest. I concluded that though this was a contest, I was not really being judged; I was just there to offer beauty and joy to the people who would watch me. With this thought I could go up on stage with desire instead of fright. Well, I know I’ve sung better many times in my life, but I felt good.

In the end, my two desires were fulfilled. During the week I had befriended one girl who impressed me with her really strong conviction and sincerity toward purity. I still remember telling her, "I hope you get a chance to express your sincere heart," meaning she would go on to the second round of questions and answers. I was so thrilled when she was one of the five finalists. Her answer was so beautiful, too. She became the second runner-up. Mr. America also went on to the second round and also gave a great answer. I was standing next to him when the winners were called. When there was only the winner position left and only one person left, and it was he, I was smiling so hard I think I was happier than he was. Of course, now he takes his trophy everywhere with him. So I didn’t even make it to the second round, but I feel as if I were the winner. My friend could express her heart, my country could be represented and I could do my best. I had a wonderful time, and I am so grateful to the dedicated Japanese staff, the wonderful participants, my great partner and most of all to God who, once again, showed me the most important things in life and how I am a part of them.

Mr. - Ms. University Beauty Pageant

by Leandros Olivas -- Phoenix, AZ

In the end of October, I was asked to Represent America by participating in the 21st Mr./Ms. University Beauty Pageant which was to be held in Tokyo, Japan. After I accepted to participate. I began preparing the necessary requirements to compete. Sooner than I expected, it was time to go. Immediately I noticed the hospitality of the staff. I really began to appreciate them more and more as our stay progressed.

Before meeting the other participants, I did not know what to expect. Myself and Ms. America, Highmy Herbers, were one of the first participants to arrive. Mr. and Ms. Brazil, (Gutemberg Lopes Guedes and Alexandra Scotti) as well as last year' s Mr. University, Diego Costa, were among the first contestants to greet us. It was then that Diego told me, "...were going to have a lot of fun." Participating in other kinds of competition through out high school and for recreation, I always knew that in a serious competition it usually is not very fun. However, I found out that evening when we started talking, and getting to know each other, that it was more of an easy going, friendly atmosphere.

After the next few days more and more of the participants arrived and we got to meet them as they came. We began to have a pretty nice time together making friends with people all over the world. I was glad to have this kind of atmosphere instead of a serious type of competition. I myself like having a good time with people, telling stories, listening to jokes and hearing about interesting experiences.

Pretty soon the day of the pageant arrived. We had our dress rehearsal and then there was the show. Everyone, I thought, had a pretty entertaining stage performance. Before going on stage to do my performance I of course was a little nervous. After having watched the 1994 Mr./Ms. University Pageant, I never thought that one day, four years later I would on stage. Next they announced the ten finalists. Five male contestants and five female contestants were chosen. I was also won of the lucky ten to have been chosen. We were asked our question and then we all went backstage. We then came out again and waited for the prizes to be announced. This year there were ten prizes awarded. Mr. and Ms. Friendship Prize (awarded to those who one the most friendship votes), Mr. and Ms. Talent (awarded to those who earned the highest score during the First Phase of Judging), Special Prize for Mr. and Ms. (to those who left the greatest impression to the Judges), Runner-up Mr. and Ms. University ( to those who earned the second highest in the total score) as well as 1998 Mr. and Ms. University International( the representatives of the world who scored the highest among all the representatives). Soon enough the prizes were announced when finally my name was announced as Mr. University! Then Ms. Brazil, Alexandra Scotti, was announced as Ms. University! There were many pictures and much clapping.

However, I felt a little saddened after the pageant. In two days we would be returning to our countries. After having living with the contestants for several days we all really became close friends. When we did leave there were many tears. No one wanted to, or did say, good-bye. We all said that we would see each other again someday. We all came back to our countries but I knew that in a second I would trade that Title if could did not have to leave these wonderful brothers and sisters from around the world.

Korean Language Students Welcome You to Their New Web Site

by D. K. -- Seoul

As we all know, Father has always been emphasizing the importance of studying the Korean language. According to Father's direction, HSA International has established a scholarship program for young leaders of the Unification movement who wish to study the language, culture and traditions of Korea. As the program started in the spring semester of 1998, the first 50 participants were invited to attend a 1-year course at the Sun Moon University's Korean Language Institute. This group was named the Group of Missionary Scholars (GMS).

In December, 1998 a GMS Internet site was set up. The idea behind it is simple: to make our life known to brothers and sisters around the world, to create a historical record of the first Group of Missionary Scholars in the universe and to share our experience among ourselves as well as with those who will join the scholarship program after us.

Parts of the GMS web site are still under construction, but the plans are to offer visitors reports about various events in the life of a missionary scholar, an archive and photo gallery of GMS activities, accounts of precious experiences of our life in Korea, a place for discussions and exchange of opinion, as well as a collection of humorous, interesting and useful documents.

You are welcome to visit GMS home on the net at http://www.sunmoon.ac.kr/~gms.

Feel free to explore every corner of it and please express your opinion, comments, ideas by leaving a record in the guest book or sending a message to the webmaster (gms@jangmi.sunmoon.ac.kr) -- we appreciate your feedback!

Jin-A

by Jan Mendoza -- Clifton, NJ

The children enrolled at Jin-A kindergarten and Red Oak Academy used Christmas time to prepare a special program for their families and friends. We reserved time at our local Family Federation Church Center to present a Christmas program. Several reasons made this a special occasion for the children. First, it is Christmas, which is a favorite holiday and a special time of the year, and second, we planned a Christmas party for Saturday afternoon inviting family and friends to share in this festive time of the year with us at the church center. We also knew that a more formal program would need to be well thought out and to include in our academic schedule more practice and preparation time. In the past, we have held a smaller program in each classroom at school on the last day before Christmas vacation. This time we were preparing a performance on stage in a chapel. On performance day some of us came early to decorate the stage and chapel. There are many memories of holidays, and certainly decorating is top on the list of things we do for holidays.

We chose to provide three themes in our Christmas program: one, the traditional children’s Christmas of snowmen, Christmas trees, sleds and jingle bells; next, a more religious tone to tell the story of Jesus’ birth with "The Little Drummer Boy," "Silent Night," "Angels We Have Heard on High"; and last, present Jesus in relation to our True Parents on earth today, with "Joy to the World," "The Lord Has Come" and "We Love True Parents." It was a day filled with great talent exhibited in small skits, rounds, Christmas carols, solos and story-telling. As performances are prepared for, much practice is needed to feel confident for the big day. Children are natural thespians and this is a great opportunity for them to find joy in expressing themselves through music and the performing arts on stage and as a gift to others.

After the children’s performance, we asked parents to join with us in singing a couple of Christmas carols and toward the end of the program we offered a candlelight prayer service together with the families and frie -- ds present. The children remained on stage singing "Kumbaya" as lit candles were passed to the adults in the audience and church lights dimmed. Some children and adults participated one by one in sharing aloud a prayer about "what this season means for me—my hopes and dreams." The hour-long program was concluded with a light snack in the church basement. Families, friends, staff and children could all relax and share in one another’s company. It was a great day and wonderful experience for all of us, from the beginning of the planning stage to the day of the performance until we said our good-nights. It was a great way to celebrate the Christmas season.

Red Oak Academy is currently sharing space with Jin-A Child Care Center. Jin-A educates children from ages 2 to 6, including kindergarten. Red Oak Academy, at present, educates children ages 6 to 9 years old, which is grades 1-3 in the traditional school curriculum. We have plans for expansion of Red Oak to go up to sixth grade and have its own facility by Sept. 1999. Jin-A is accepting applications for all ages. Anyone in need of child care and/or wishing to enroll their children in our pre-K program may call to register children and/or inquire for more information. We are also accepting applications for Sept. 1999 Kindergarten. We accept transfers for Kindergarten to finish the 1998-1999 school term. Red Oak Academy is accepting applications for Sept. 1999. Please call Jin-A for more information and to have an application sent, or you may come to the school between 9am and 5pm, Mon.-Fri. Jin-A is located at 77 Jay St., Clifton, NJ 07110. Clifton is a very lovely town with a large church community including neighboring towns. It’s a wonderful place to raise children and we feel that Jin-A, Red Oak and the church community offer great activities and support for our children and families. We hope you can join us and our growing community.

Dream the Dream, Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk

by William Denn -- Albany, NY

This is from a sermon given Dec. ’98 at the Albany, NY Church.

There is only one God. But there are several major world religions. Each describes its understanding of God, but these descriptions differ substantially from one another.

There is only one Jesus, but there are over 400 denominations of Christianity. How do we know we’re following the correct denomination? There are substantial differences among them. My view is that we should respect the different views to be found within the Body of Christ, while we carefully, prayerfully examine our conscience and choose the one which feels and appears right to us! In today’s sermon, I will examine one man’s method for resolving this contradiction.

Joseph, the fiancé of Jesus’ mother, belonged to a religion, a belief system in which babies should only be conceived by properly married husband and wife. To do otherwise violated the laws of Moses, the great deliverer, the man of God par excellence. To conceive a child out of wedlock violated the will of God as Joseph had heretofore known it.

Joseph was a righteous man and wanted to do God’s will. However, for him, God’s will seemed to change in the course of one night’s sleep, through one dream. Disturbed to discover his fiancé pregnant by someone other than himself, he went to bed believing that he should "divorce her quietly."

How noble! He wanted to protect her from disgrace and a possible execution by stoning. He would accomplish this by marrying her but then quietly divorcing her. Marrying her was to protect her, divorcing her would have been to protect himself -- from a bad marriage, and to exonerate himself from responsibility for an illegitimate child not his own.

But that careful and painfully thought-out plan was challenged by one dream. The passage, from Matthew 1:18-20, tells that in his dream, an angel told Joseph that he should not be afraid to marry Mary because the baby she conceived was from the Holy Spirit of God. Joseph’s religious views were challenged by this dream. He awoke that day and revised his religious view based on the dream of the previous night.

How many of us here today have the courage to change our fundamental and deeply-held view based on a dream? How many of us have the faith necessary to do that? Do you believe that God can communicate to you in a dream?

Joseph had to answer this difficult question. I hope you don’t think that this was an easy decision for him. If you do, then you deny him the great courage he showed and the risk he took.

It can be risky to follow our conscience, to acknowledge God’s will as it is expressed to our personal heart of hearts. For Joseph this dream and its message obliged him to challenge a deeply held viewpoint regarding morality at the most intimate level of his life and destiny. His decisions had great personal and historical consequences.

Joseph’s decision to honor that dream angel forever shaped his destiny. He denied common sense, altered his religious code, and took a leap of faith. To do otherwise would have betrayed his religious inspiration. But it was a choice only he could make. God never forces us to do His will. In so doing, Joseph assumed the honor and position of the earthly stepfather of the Messiah.

What makes this kind of personal deliberation especially painful is that, what feels right to you may not seem right to me. We don’t directly experience one another’s dreams. Joseph had no one to blame or praise for his decision other than himself. Ultimately, the most important decisions you will make are between you and God.

Sometimes we would like to escape making important moral decisions by escaping into convention and orthodoxy. The problem with this approach is that God sometimes asks us to be unconventional and unorthodox. This was certainly the case for Joseph.

A mob leader, accused of capital crimes, was convicted largely on testimony from his own friends and accomplices. The cops weren’t so surprised; they see that kind of thing often. Everybody is trying to save their own neck when the law finally grabs them and the loud clang of jail cell doors strikes fear into their hearts.

The investigation went well for the police. They were even able to infiltrate the gang and hire one of the mob lieutenants to be a snitch, an informer. The arrest was only a little more difficult. The snitch set up a meeting, so police knew for sure that the mob leader would be there. Surprise was on their side, and resistance to the arrest was minimal.

One of the arresting officers sustained a head injury which required care. Fortunately, someone at the scene was able to give quick care and the arrest ended quickly. In fact, it went so well that no overtime was needed. The arresting officers appreciated that, because it was a holiday and everyone wanted to get home to their celebrations.

A careful examination of this arrest and conviction revealed more than the crimes of individuals, however. The failures were those of society itself. Some people complained that to say this was nothing more than a bleeding-heart liberal effort to exonerate criminals for their wrongdoing. But in this case, I think it was absolutely true. Society failed completely!

One of these bleeding-heart liberals researched the mob leader’s life and found a sad story. He was an unexpected child, born into difficult circumstances: poverty, a bad neighborhood, a lack of social and economic mobility. As a youth hew showed intelligence and sensitivity, but without opportunity he ended up doing manual labor and odd jobs, whatever it took to pay the bills and get by.

Who knows what would have happened if caring people of responsibility and affluence had recognized his potential and encouraged it with nurturing and higher education. But that didn’t happen. Street people recognized his potential and responded to him with as much loyalty as they were capable. However, this quickly took on the appearance of a gang, as it was largely composed of uneducated, street-savvy hustlers (i.e., unsavory types of people more skilled in just surviving than in art, or academia or the professions).

Government officials were not altogether clear about the socioeconomic forces at work here, but then again they didn’t really care. Nobody likes gangs -- not the police, not civic and not religious leaders. After all gangs are hard to control. Gangs are a threat to law and ordernot the police, not civic and not religious leaders. After all gangs are hard to control. Gangs are a threat to law and order -- they endanger society and breed unrest and possibly violence.

Prison officials looked forward to the scheduled execution, not because they were vicious people, but in the hopes that civil unrest and rioting by the street people might be avoided. They were surprised, however, that after the execution, the prisoner remained the focus of attention for the street people. Even more surprising was that some businessmen and respectable people became involved in the issues surrounding the executed prisoner’s life and gang activities.

Even years later, his imprisonment and execution became a cause célèbre. In fact, this executed prisoner became famous, and generated so much interest for people that we celebrated his birthday Friday, 2000 years after his death. Of course, I’m referring to Jesus Christ.

We now look back at the events surrounding Jesus with two kinds of vision. One vision is through the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia and romanticism. The other vision is through the rearview mirror of hindsight. We glorify a baby’s birth in a cold, dirty stable by pictorially representing it with winged angles and a supernatural star hovering over it. In our warm comfortable homes, we are not so sensitive to the pain and embarrassment that the Holy Family must have felt.

Like the residents of all small towns, people living around Jesus must have been aware of his unhappy origins. They knew or guessed that he was technically illegitimate. Mary showed before it was time. People talked. He was from a poor family. Did they know his first crib was an animal feeding trough?

I point out these sad facts to illustrate the challenge faced by the contemporaries of Jesus. It is never easy to transcend the relative morality and thinking of the day. God’s ways are not man’s ways. God sometimes asks us to be heroic in ways that others do not understand.

God asked many people to go beyond their relative Old Testament thinking to embrace a Jesus they did not fully understand. Only a few could do it. How sad! How different history might have been if people had been more courageous in meeting the challenge God gave them.

How different from past history the future might be if we could be courageous in listening and responding to the voice of God in our lives. Let’s be bold and faithful people of God, who allow God’s angels to visit our dreams. If we do so, we must be willing to take the risk of walking alone on a road less traveled. We may look like lost souls to those who do know the route we go, but to do so is to invite Christ and his angels to be our traveling companions. I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and God Speed on your journey.