Foundation Day 2016

As we near the Cheon Il Guk Holy Days of February, Dr. Michael Balcomb, FFWPU USA President, shares the following message with Unificationists nationwide.

Dear Family,

Greetings from a very snowy New York! I would like to invite you to join me in reflecting on the importance of the upcoming Holy Days, and in particular Foundation Day and the Holy Marriage Blessings that will take place in Korea and around the world.

As you’ll remember, True Parents used to mark the days remaining to Foundation Day, starting in about 2010. The countdown was part of True Father’s final and favorite speech, Cosmic Assembly for the Settlement of the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind and for the Proclamation of the Word by God’s Substantial Self. Father carried that speech with him at all times in a loose leaf binder so that he could update it as needed. In it he spoke of the significance of Foundation Day:

It is a time for a great cosmic revolution to change history, to unite the spiritual and physical worlds and to create the ideal kingdom of heaven that God has longed for since the beginning of time. We can no longer postpone or prolong the fulfillment of His wish. I have already proclaimed that January 13, 2013 will be Foundation Day. That day will be the actual beginning of God’s Kingdom of Cheon Il Guk. That day will be the origin. (January 2012, Korea)

Still, when True Father ascended on September 3, 2012, there were many who wondered how this bold prophecy could possibly be fulfilled. For 172 long days between True Father’s Seonghwa and Foundation Day we struggled to find meaning in our grief and our loss, and to uphold our faith in the cosmic importance and grace of Foundation Day as the day of new beginnings.

As the day itself drew near, we urged Unificationists across the country to prepare for Foundation Day through prayer, repentance, devotional readings and offerings. Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, who was then serving as FFPWU USA and FFWPU International President, sent out an official direction and invitation to all members and families to participate. Brothers and sisters who had been distant for years joined us as we joyfully received the Foundation Day Holy Wine and Blessing from True Parents.

That was then.

These days our brothers and sisters at Sanctuary Church claim that the Foundation Day Blessing was not valid. They say that to redeem ourselves, we should abandon our faith and trust in that special Blessing of True Parents and attend a Sanctuary ceremony instead—or face dire consequences!

Well, I’ve listened to their explanations and find them unconvincing. It remains my unchanging faith that our True Parents are one and their Blessing is eternal. To paraphrase Hebrews 13:8, True Parents are the same yesterday, today and forever.

So how then should we respond?

As we approach this coming Foundation Day, we may indeed harbor regrets and doubts about the course of our movement and even our own families during the last three years. We fall short in so many ways. The latest round of divisions and setbacks are heartbreaking.

Still, in times of trial, we must first take a searching look within ourselves, and not succumb to the easy temptation to blame some deficiency in the Foundation Day ceremony, the holy wine, the vows, or even the Officiator. When things don’t go well, we often look to blame someone or something else, rather than take responsibility ourselves. But there is no future in that way of thinking. I don’t want to be like John the Baptist who, though he heard the testimony of God Himself that Jesus was the long awaited Christ, lost his faith and began to “look for another.”

If the root of the current confusion starts within ourselves, then so does the solution. We need to trust True Parents. Let us look around us through the eyes of faith, and honor True Mother and True Parents. Let us affirm that True Father in heaven and True Mother on earth and together exercise their divine authority on behalf of God, our Heavenly Parent, and they will continue to do so forever.

We have much for which to be grateful. True Mother has fulfilled her pledge to open up True Parents’ words and make them more accessible, and the three volumes of Heavenly Scripture are a treasure of insight and divine wisdom, especially welcome to those of us who lack access to the first great textbook – the 600+ volumes of Father’s sermons in Korean. Of course the Divine Principle and all the eight great textbooks remain essential as well.

She’s investing in the education of a new generation of leaders through programs like the Global Top Gun workshops, the Universal Peace Academy and provided scholarships around the world. Heavenly Tribal Messiahship is flourishing in Asia and the seeds have been planted here in the USA. We’ve benefited greatly from the opening of the International Peace Education Center in Las Vegas, which is already the site of Blessings, Divine Principle workshops, peace summits, and more.

Every time I have the chance to meet True Mother, I am newly encouraged and comforted by her unchanging faith, her dedication and her deep love for True Father. Now that the three-year mourning period is completed, I see her moving forward with an eye to the future; and she’s made a very public commitment to make the victory of Foundation Day ever more substantial by 2020.

God, our Heavenly Parent, is yet on the throne. As we pass through these final weeks of preparation, I want to invite all of you, wherever you may worship, to join together in prayer, praise and gratitude!

Sincerely,


​Michael Balcomb,