Jay Barrett/KMXT
September 5, 2012
In this July 19, 2012, AP file photo, the Rev. Sun Myoung Moon speaks at the 2012 Peace Cup in Suwon, South Korea. AP photo
The founder and leader of the Unification Church died Monday in South Korea at the age of 92. The Reverend Sun Myung Moon died at a hospital the church owns near his home in Gapyeong. He was hospitalized with pneumonia last month, and his condition grew worse late last week and he slipped into a coma.
About 100 people in Kodiak attend the Unification Church, and the Reverend Moon had a home here, which he would visit often. Charter captain Chris Fiala said Moon loved to fish and said he felt Kodiak was a special place.
Pastor Jai Nan Fiala says the church will be open to the public on Sunday for those who would like to come and pay their respects.
-- (Moon 1 17 sec “But he also thought it was providentially … he felt about Kodiak.”)
Moon would come to Kodiak a couple times a year to sportsfish – chinook in June and coho later in the summer. Fiala, who is a charter captain, spent a lot of time fishing with him and believes Moon’s work is not yet done:
-- (Moon 2 26 sec “I know him very well; I spent a lot … joyful time and hopeful time.”)
Even though he was recognizable worldwide and led a church and church businesses worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Fiala said Moon felt at home in Kodiak:
-- (Moon 3 32 sec “He used to walk down the streets … here, he was very comfortable.”)
Jai Nan Fiala is the pastor of the Unification Church in Kodiak. She and her husband were matched by Reverend Moon in the 1980s, and have raised their children in Kodiak. She said Moon’s mission has always had a consistent message:
-- (Moon 4 28 sec “His teaching was never-changing … he felt he was on God’s side.”)
She says even with Moon’s passing, she, and others in the church, will still live by his words of wisdom:
-- (Moon 5 11 sec “He never wanted us to be sad or … and do our best.”)
The Unification Church owns the International Seafoods plant in Kodiak, and operates a number of fishing boats. It is also the dominant supplier of fresh seafood to a majority of sushi restaurants in America.