FFWPU USA President Reflects On Visit to North Virginia

On August 13, 2017, Rev. Richard Buessing and his wife, Marjorie Buessing, visited the Unificationist community in North Virginia for the first time, holding Sunday service with them in the historic Bull Run Regional Park.

With Unificationists from various nationalities in the audience, Rev. Buessing was immediately struck by the beauty in the diversity of the North Virginia community: “What I felt when I stood up and looked at everybody is that we are here together because of True Parents. This is the fruit of True Parents’ lives, their work.” Feeling further gratitude for True Parents, Rev. Buessing continued, “I am able to relate to so many different people here—from Korea, Nepal, Africa, the Philippines—because of True Parents. Without them, my world would have been very small.” 

Since joining the Unificationist movement 46 years ago, Rev. Buessing’s world continues to grow even larger due to True Parents as the FFWPU USA President. His face split into a smile as he recalled the world that was before him in North Virginia: “At one point, someone set up a television to watch a Japanese movie on a screen, which made everyone laugh. Later, there were Filipino Unificationists who were line dancing. And there were also Korean Unificationists who joined in,” Rev. Buessing said. “It was quite heartwarming to see all the people.”

As the smell of delicious barbecue filled the air and children jumped gleefully in a bounce house nearby, Rev. Buessing delivered a message of hope to the Unificationists in attendance in an outdoor shelter under the beaming sunlight. He first thanked everyone for their efforts in making “Peace Starts With Me” a success, delved into the impact of the powerful, beautiful interfaith gathering under God, and the consequent revival of the Christian spirit. “These were all miracles no one thought we could achieve,” Rev. Buessing said. He also noted the faith of Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, the Continental Chairman of North America for FFWPU, who prayed desperately at Cheongpyeong for America to welcome True Mother with open arms at Madison Square Garden. 

With True Parents and Dr. Kim as examples, Rev. Buessing discussed the power and importance of prayer. “We really need to pray for everything and all the events that are happening in the world,” he said. “We need to call upon God and really work in this world through our Unificationist families.”

Rev. Buessing then praised the loyalty and heart of True Mother:  “The kind of difficult course that True Mother went through in her life that we don’t always understand—not just physically, which was definitely difficult—but also the things she had to contend with to constantly follow God’s will is such an incredible testimony to the lives of True Parents.”

Although True Parents have paved the path to God for the Unificationist movement and the world, Rev. Buessing reminded those in attendance that we must do more: “As Unificationists, we have inherited so much from our True Parents–we have all the tools, their words, and their example of how to live our lives,” he said. “But we need to connect to the living God through their spirit, through their heart. The more we become conscious of True Parents, the more we are drawn closer to the living God, our Heavenly Parent.

Inspired by the family atmosphere of the Sunday service, where he met Unificationists and also reconnected with old friends from the past, Rev. Buessing concluded his message with hope: “You can become whatever you want to become.  You are really the children of God and True Parents,” he insisted. “The world may seem like it is crumbling, but it is not the first time the world has crumbled. Ultimately, God’s will is absolute. We always have hope, regardless of how the world may be.”