Dr. Kim Returns to Washington
In a whirlwind of service, FFWPU Continental Chairman, Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, visited all three church communities in the National Capital Area of District 1 on Sunday, November 5, 2017.
He began the day by hosting a breakfast meeting with the Northern Virginia Family Church leadership team headed by Pastor Werner Seubert. To both first and second-generation attendees, Dr. Kim emphasized the precious value of American Unificationists’ response to True Mother’s providential efforts to establish Cheon Il Guk during the past year.
Dr. Kim then was driven to Bowie, Maryland, by Dr. and Mrs. Michael Jenkins, the national co-chair of American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), who used the time to consult with him on plans for the upcoming Global Rally for the Unification of North and South Korea, which will take place on November 11 in Seoul.
A packed room awaited Dr. Kim at the New Hope Family Church, and Pastor Jim Boothby opened the service by recognizing the guests in the audience. Eileen Barker, an emeritus professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, came as a guest of Dan and Susan Fefferman. Also attending was the pastor of a nearby church, Pastor Sunday Thankgod, who, since his recent trip to Korea with ACLC, considers himself a Unificationist.
Appropriately, Dr. Kim’s sermon included an overview of 2017 and a vision of our future. (See the video from New Hope Family Church and photos of Rev. Randy Francis.) After an impressive lunch served by Hideko Aoyama and her team, Dr. Kim answered questions from about 30 brothers and sisters. It was clear that hearing the overview from a national perspective was very hopeful and motivating.
Next, Dr. Kim traveled to the Washington Family Church to be the keynote speaker at a conference for Unificationists of African descent. It was sponsored by the Africa New Hope Association (ANHA) and hosted by the Washington, D.C., community, whose lead pastor is Dr. Achille Acolatse. Delegations even came from New York and New Jersey to re-energize their efforts to unite the world’s populations into one family under God.
John Patrick Magoola, the first Unificationist to join in Uganda, gave a brief and very moving account of meeting missionary Bill Connery in the early 1970s. Other elders—Rev. Vital Ilemabila (the president of ANHA), Rev. Zagery Oliver, and Rev. Levy Daugherty (national senior executive advisor to ACLC)—offered insightful commentary on how True Parents have impacted our lives. Dr. Kim conveyed his embracing message with great love and warmth. He noted the earlier video of True Parents visiting African nations in 1995 and commented on how True Mother is focused on the restoration of Africa and on her upcoming visit to Senegal.
Mrs. Jane Karimi, originally from Kenya, offered a closing prayer that recognized the suffering course of Africans and True Parents and expressed gratitude for the continental director giving his time and heart for the conference attendees. The atmosphere after offering four cheers of victory was warm and joyful, and everyone was invited to enjoy the abundant African dinner together.