In honor of the 28th Declaration Day of God’s Eternal Blessing (Chil Il Jeol) and the 22nd Declaration of the Realm of the Cosmic Sabbath for the Parents of Heaven and Earth (Chil Pal Jeol), the five subregions independently united to celebrate with their communities.

The ever growing Northwest Washington community celebrated the two Holy days on Sunday, August 12 at the American Legion Hall near Lynden, Washington. Customarily, they would gather at one another’s homes for Sunday Service and Holy Day celebrations, however due to the rapid growth in their community, it was decided to use the American Legion Hall which provided a great location, a low price and fine facilities. After Bellingham Pastor David Ryan explained the meaning of the landmark proclamations, the celebration concluded with a prayer and Eog Manseis before feasting.

The local Bridgeport community celebrated the Holy Days bright and early on Saturday, August 11 at 7:00 am. Bridgeport Co-Pastor Mika Deshotel lead the celebration with a pledge and a Hoon Dok Hwe reading followed by a group sharing of reflections from the reading. After the reflections came the cutting of the cake which was then served with some hot coffee while the community members mingled and enjoyed the celebration.

The Chicago Family Church also celebrated bright and early on Saturday morning, August 11 at 7:00 am at their new church center. This was the first Pledge Service to take place at the new church center where a total of 35 Unificationists gathered and listened to a reading of True Father’s message from July 1, 1991 (the first celebration of Chil Il Jeol). The attendees learned that before True Parents sent them off to do Tribal Messiah work, they had already prepared the necessary equipment and gave Unificationists the authority of messiahs of their tribes. The celebration concluded with three cheers of Eog Mansei!

The Washington, D.C. Family Church celebrated the 28th Chil Il Jeol and the 22nd Chil Pal Jeol on Sunday, August 12. The ceremony began with the singing of holy songs in front of a beautiful offering table set up by a few devotional Japanese sisters. After reciting the eight Family Pledges, Dr. Achille Acolatse delivered a beautiful closing prayer followed by the cutting of the cake and a Hoon Dok Hwe reading explaining the significance of the two Holy Days. The service concluded with congregational songs, a presentation of a poem by Yosei Arakawa entitled “Cheon Il Guk,” and a message by Nelson Ngoma who was born on Chil Pal Jeol in 2008. A few parents and children went fishing afterwards to continue the Holy Day celebrations.

On Saturday, August 11, the Worcester Family Church held a beautiful celebration service where a representative from the 1,800 couples blessing shared a message on the importance of these Holy Days and expressed the deep love of Heavenly Parent and True Parents. The service ended with a delicious potluck meal contributed by many of the local families.

On August 12, Sunday, the Kissimmee Family Church didn’t just celebrate the two Holy Days, they also welcomed Rev. Emmanuel Souck back home from Cameron, Africa. The celebration began with remarking the beginning of The Declaration of God’s Eternal Blessing, whereafter Rev. Souck shared his accomplishments in Africa where they held a Blessing of 20 couples, set up a back-to-school outreach with church pastors, and set up a Youth Association program in the community. The King family offered flowers from the offering table to the guests as well as back-to-school supplies for the children.

On Sunday, August 12, the Charlotte Family Church community gathered to celebrate Chil Il Jeol and Chil Pal Jeol with True Parents’ words on the meaning of the Holy Days. Unificationists who attended the Hyojeong Cheongpyeong Special Event in Washinton, D.C. on August 4 and 5 were welcomed on stage to share their personal reflections which moved the rest of the participants.

“What should have been an hour trip on the Interstate took me five hours! While moving slowly on the highway, my wife shared the story of one of the Minor prophet, Hosea, and how he experienced God’s heart through his wife’s wandering heart in the marriage. It moved my heart and presaged what was to come in the liberation for me. We have both good and evil ancestors who need liberation as in the story of Hosea. To be asked by Southeast Subregional Director Rev. Ernest Patton to pray was a great honor. Our D.C. area has many qualified leaders to offer opening prayers, and yet I was picked. This was very special to me. The atmosphere, the high spirit of the chanyang session moved me greatly.” –Klaus Schick, Charlotte, NC

“For several months I had been studying the invasion of England in 1066. The generations that I was liberating lived during these difficult times. A life of mud and death. A life of extreme poverty, hunger, disease, war, and hopelessness. While praying at the end of  the liberation, my mind was flooded with images of these people. They were being taken out of a cold, dark space and lifted up to a bright, warm place. I felt so very grateful to True Parents for making this possible.” –Mike Hampton, Bowie, MD

“The trip to Maryland took me 10 hours. But we stayed at a comfortable hotel close to the beautiful University of Maryland campus. The liberation event was well planned, with a good schedule, and excellent record keeping. The changyang session created an embracing atmosphere where one easily feels grateful and it allowed me to pray deeply and created a pervasive good feeling. This must also be the same sensation for our ancestors.
The overall feeling of gratitude and light of hope for the future was strong.” –Laura Hampton, Bowie, MD

“I went with a feeling of obligation, duty, and no expectations. For me, big gatherings sometimes can feel impersonal. As it turned out, the singing of Holy Songs and presentation of True Parents’ teaching on liberation of spirit beings created a bright, exciting environment. I felt proud to be a representative of the Queen city there. Internally, I could feel the sense of being forgiven and so must our ancestors feel, being forgiven. This is a
good thing.” –Els Dussek, Charlotte, NC