Las Vegas Events Promote Family Values
The Las Vegas Unification community has been bustling with events this month. Each event, whether it was hosted by the Las Vegas Family Church, the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP)-Las Vegas, Shine City Project, or the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), guided participants to study family values, embrace their true identity as God’s children and to make change in the world and their everyday lives. Here’s the latest from Las Vegas:
Celebrating True Children’s Day
Over 40 Unificationists got together at the Las Vegas Family Church for their True Children’s Day prayer and festivities. Thanh Le emceed the event and Rev. Andrew Compton and Mrs. Lydia Compton gave a representative prayer. Rev. Ken Doo gave the Holy Day message and a closing prayer. Several of those gathered sent in reflections.
Anti-Bullying Program
On Friday, November 13, the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) and Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP)-Las Vegas students hosted an anti-bullying program at the Clark County School District (CCSD) Southwest Behavior School, which is a second chance school for middle school and high school students.
Shine City Project
On Friday, November 13, Shine City Project cleaned up near the intersection of Maryland Parkway and Sierra Vista Drive. Eleven volunteers made up of UNLV students and local Japanese missionaries helped to fill six bags of trash. During the service project, a number of onlookers in the area stopped to appreciate the work of the volunteers, including employees of a nearby tire retailer store and orange vendors who gifted a bag of oranges for the volunteers. Janette, a regular member of Shine City Project, led the service project on Friday morning for the first time. For a year and a half, Jeffrey Silerio, former President and current Vice President of the SCP student organization, had organized all of the service projects. With more students being trained to look for and plan service projects, the student organization hopes to grow and have a greater influence in the city.
On Saturday November 14, 11 Shine City Project volunteers participated with other groups in “Wetlands Hands On!”, a Clark County conservation program at Wetlands Park on the east side of Las Vegas. Wetlands Park is the home to the Las Vegas Wash, a filtration system that prevents city waste from entering into Lake Mead, the source of drinking water for Las Vegas. Volunteers performed tasks varying from picking up trash, removing graffiti, building fences or digging up an invasive plant species.
After a couple of hours of hard work, the Shine City Project volunteers went to visit the Borneman family home, where Mrs. Sangmoo Borneman along with Mrs. Lydia Compton were busy preparing lunch since early that morning. Sangmoo is an active member of the Las Vegas Family Church community. “I want to support our local youth activities, but I don’t have much to give,” said Sangmoo, “The best I can do is open my home to the students and feed them.” The volunteers really appreciated Sangmoo’s hospitality. “Mrs. Borneman was giving us ice cream, fruit and brownies after she made Korean Bibimbap,” shared Katiya Morales. “At the end when we were all leaving, she even gave us all a hug and goodbye!”
Volunteering at the Wetlands Park and having lunch at the Borneman family home was a special experience for Shine City Project. “I never knew volunteering could help the community and bring people closer together at the same time,” reflected participant CJ. “In the future, I look forward to more experiences just like today.” Having the students come to the Borneman home after a service project was also an outreach opportunity, meant to show the love of the Las Vegas Family Church culture. Several students travel from out of state to go to school in Las Vegas, so they miss their family and home cooked meals. By connecting more closely with local Unificationists, students can understand more about the values we uphold.
CARP Weekly Discussion Night – “The Shoulders I Stand On”
CARP LV holds a weekly discussion night. This week’s focus was “The Shoulders I Stand On,” which emphasizes the importance of recognizing those who came before to lay the path we currently walk on. Katherine Duncan introduced the guest speaker, Mrs. Jenni Davis, an Air Force veteran, who shared about how she stands on her father’s shoulders. Her father, also a veteran, raised her and her eight siblings with a strong moral standard and values. The evening ended with discussion, testimonies and setting goals for the next week.
For the month of November, CARP has been building off of the same theme, “My life is a gift,” with the purpose of encouraging students to give their gift to others. This month’s program is designed to help students understand the importance of gratitude and appreciation for family and friends. The goal at the end of the month is to have more students involved with helping plan CARP activities and attending Divine Principle retreats.
2015 National ACLC Convocation
The 2015 National ACLC Convocation themed, “God-Centered Families: The Gateway to Heaven,” began with an opening dinner on Monday, November 9 at the International Peace Education Center. Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Dr. Michael Jenkins and Pastor T. L. Barrett gave the welcoming remarks at the event. Nearly 100 clergy and ministers from around the country joined with 20 local Unificationists to celebrate the opening of this year’s convocation. Local ACLC representative, Kay Yamaguchi has been working for over 25 years reaching out to clergy in Las Vegas. Pastor Giddings, a Las Vegas minister, has already received the Marriage Blessing of True Parents and will organize a Blessing Ceremony at his church on November 29. At the convocation, these clergy and ministers gathered to hear talks and testimonies about the importance of the Marriage Blessing.