March 8, 1972
The Berkeley Daily Gazette
Sixty-five followers of the Unification Church yesterday rallied at Sproul Plaza on the University of California campus here to announce the advent of an "ideal society" and the appearance here of the movement's Korean founder.
The young people, called "pioneers" is the world ecumenical movement originally named The Unified Family, essentially asked for a big turnout to hear Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, speak Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 at the Hotel Claremont.
Joseph Sheftick, director of missionaries for the church, explained the movement, which started in 1954, will "bring man together with the Creator".
Nancy Callahan, a philosophy senior formerly involved in politics and a Unification Church convert, said that neither Marixism nor Christianity as you have understood it" has the answers. Among the "pioneers," who have preceded Sun Myung Moon on each of his visits to seven US cities, are more than a dozen Berkeleyans.
The three-year-old Berkeley chapter, also known as the Unified Family, maintains three "living centers," including its church at 1727 Euclid Ave., and operates several small businesses. The Berkeley lecture series, called "This is the Day of Hope," is billed as three nights of "lecture, song, and celebration" to deal with such topics as the unification of religions, and the need for spiritual revival in America, the establishment of "God-centered families," and Marxism's challenge to Christianity.
Music for the event will be provided by the Unification Chorale, 80 young men and women currently training to be missionaries for the church in the US.
Tickets for the forthcoming talks are available from the Unification Church, 1727 Euclid Ave.
According to Edwin Ang, director of the Berkeley Unification Church: "Mr. Moon chose the United States for these speeches-his first such public appearances anywhere in the world-because he is convinced that America must fulfill a crucial mission for God in our time."