Japanese Culture Summer Festival Held in New Jersey

Contributed by Atsushi Takino

We held a Japanese culture summer festival at the Clifton Family Church in New Jersey on the evening of July 23, 2016. For more than ten years, we have invited our friends and neighbors to the festival, and this year more than 30 guests joined us, making a total of 120 participants for the evening.

Each year, the number of guests increases, but it is still sometimes difficult to communicate because of a language barrier: for many in our community, Japanese is our first language.  

However, we believe we can testify powerfully to people living in the United States about True Parents and our blessed family culture by doing our utmost to serve and attend them. We are always thinking about how we can improve in giving more joy and love to all those who come.

This year, we invited a local, Japanese traditional drum group to perform at the festival. Many in the audience were delighted by their performance. We are also very appreciative of the many young adult Unificationists who supported the event. They gave us energy, joy, and hope to continue forward.

I believe we can establish a blessed family culture–the culture of heart–in our community, through young and elder Unificationists working together, centering on Heavenly Parent and True Parents, as we did this weekend at the summer festival.

If you have a story to share about ongoing activities in your local community, please visit familyfed.org/share-a-story and let us know!