40th Anniversary of the Washington, D.C. Family Church
On December 2, over 300 Unificationists and local dignitaries gathered at the historic Washington, D.C. Family Church to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the building’s dedication by True Parents, which took place on December 4, 1977.
The Washington, D.C. Family Church is first national church building founded by the Unification Church of America. Church pastor Dr. Achille Acolatse served as emcee for the special day, which began with holy songs, prayer and a cake cutting followed by a delicious luncheon buffet.
Local Unificationists planned and prepared for several months for this special day. A committee arranged for the cleaning, painting, and decoration of the building, while volunteers landscaped the outside grounds and renovated the beautiful garden that sits at the entrance of the former Mormon Chapel. The dedication coincided with the completion of a $2 million restoration project to repair the building’s almost 90-year-old stone exterior.
District Pastor Rev. Ernest Patton led with opening remarks that were followed by an inspirational reading of True Father’s “Renewed Pride” speech, which he gave at the dedication four decades ago. In his sermon, True Father said:
“I can see how hard the Washington members have worked to make this day possible and I’m sure they have learned a great lesson about how hard restoration work can be. It is common sense that it is not easy to restore something to a state better than it was originally. The Unification Church, however, has a new tradition of acquiring something old and restoring it to a state better than its original condition. That is our faith and dedication. It is very symbolic that we have restored a former Mormon Church into our heavenly temple, but we are not just talking about one church. We are going to follow this pattern to restore the nation, the world and the cosmos.”
To the audience gathered, True Father’s words from 40 years ago felt even more relevant in 2017.
Then the words of the Honorable Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia, were read:
“For four decades the Washington, D.C. Family Church has been a cornerstone of faith for the residents of Adams Morgan. With the church’s focus on the family and character education for our youth, I commend your spirit of selflessness and encourage your congregation to continue to serve the spiritual needs of our city’s residents with renewed faith, determination and commitment.”
The mayor was represented by Rev. Thomas Bowen, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs. Rev. Bowen thanked the founders for creating the church and applauded the church’s efforts to meet the spiritual needs of the congregation and the nearby community. He extended an invitation to work together with the city’s faith leaders to reach out to the homeless, the poor, the hungry, and to help heal the city.
Further congratulatory remarks were given by Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Continental Chairman of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) North America; Rev. Richard Buessing, President of FFWPU-USA; Mr. Thomas McDevitt, President of Universal Peace Federation (UPF) International and Chairman of The Washington Times; and Dr. Michael Jenkins, Co-Chairman of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC).
A special highlight and treat was the performance by the New Hope Singers International (NHSI). Founded by True Parents in the early years of the American movement, the group plays an integral part in the history of the Washington Family Church. Forty years ago, the group stayed at the church for several months to help raise funds to restore the pews and building in preparation for the opening ceremony.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary event, 25 New Hope Singers came to Washington from across the nation, Canada and Europe. The singers performed several selections that were sung at the historic 1976 Washington Monument rally, where True Father spoke before 300,000 people.
After the audience was moved by the beautiful voices of the singers, religious leaders representing Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Unificationism offered a prayer for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula. The crowd then watched a special video presentation with footage of the actual 1977 ceremony, including True Father’s sermon and the celebration afterward.
Notable attendees at the inauguration included Colonel Bo Hi Pak, who translated True Father’s words and founded the Unification Church of Washington, D.C. in 1965; members of the True Parent’s family; David S.C. Kim, who began missionary work in Portland, Oregon in 1959; Neil Salonen, then-president of the Unification Church in America; Rev. David Hose, the first Washington, D.C. Family Church pastor; Colonel Sang Kil Han; Joong Hyun Pak; and many elder Unificationists.
After the video presentation, the Washington, D.C. Family Church Children’s Choir led the congregation in singing the Cheon Il Guk anthem in Korean, and performed True Parent’s birthday song. Mrs. Julia Moon, Chairwoman and President of the Universal Ballet, South Korea and the Kirov Academy of Ballet, Washington, D.C., gave special greetings before the Kirov Academy of Ballet performed a series of vignettes. The Washington, D.C. Family Church Sisters then performed Mugung Hwa (True Mother’s Song) and young Unificationists performed the Mujogeon dance.
The program concluded with a call to action, a closing prayer, and cheers of Eog Mansei (Victory for ten thousand years).
In celebration of 40 years since the dedication of the Washington, D.C. Family Church, we invite everyone to support the local community in the preservation of their historic building.
Birian
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Congratulations to DC church Pastors. ” A TOUT SEIGNEUR, TOUT HONNEUR “.
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Emaculate Mungye
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As a member of the Washington Family Church, i couldn’t be prouder. The pastors and the community’s hard work handsomely paid off. I’m truly thankful to the leadership for spearheading such a beautiful celebration. I thank our TPs for blessing America and Washington DC especially with this monument.
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Valerie Bradshaw Bradshaw Tembo
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It was a beautiful and memorable experience. I was there forty years ago and I was there today with my family and all my wonderful historical brothers and sisters. But we also have to remember our dear brother and leader Rev. Joong Hyung Pak who was instrumental in making the events forty years ago successful.
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Henry Mungai
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Several interesting things happened on this momentous day. $40 years ago, Dr Bo hi park translated for T Father as True Parents shared their Heart and 40 years Later Hoon Sook Nim would share T Mothers heart in her spontaneous and Heartistic remarks.
Also Rev Francis captured the moon aligned with the steeple of the church at exactly where the UC symbol used to be. In the night a non unificationist African American photographer-Ishmael would capture the Large clocks on the steeple of the church across the street aligned with the Moon and remarked “this is a one time moment in history”. It is noteworthy too that December 3rd marked the exact time when the Moon in its orbit was closest to the earth this year.
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Randy & Kumiko Francis
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Congratulations True Parents you made this great monument for our Heavenly Parents Will in Washington, DC. Now, as Rev. Richard Buessing reminded us, we must all Forgive, Love and Unite to reach higher and wider to bring the Holy Blessing and fulfill the Heavenly Kingdom THE substantial land of God – Cheon IL Guk – to all humanity. Congratulations to all the DC Area Family!
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Hannah More
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Wow, amazing. Hard to believe it’s been 40 years! I was there, and I remember the spirit so profoundly and TP so loving and caring of us. I came up from Richmond, VA with our entire membership. Congratulations!
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