Mother of Peace Featured on Local TV Stations

Imagine flipping through the television channels and coming across a program featuring Mother of Peace, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. That’s exactly what’s happening now in two major Pennsylvania cities, where the 5th Rally of Hope and World Summit 2020 are airing on Public Access Television (PATV) thanks to a local Unificationist.

“Welcome to the Universal Peace Federation, my name is Ray Lipowcan,” says the engaging host. “The Universal Peace Federation is an international and interreligious network of individuals and organizations, including representatives from religion, government, civil society, and the private sector dedicated to achieving world peace.”

UPF, which was co-founded by Dr. Moon and her late husband, the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, sponsors the Rally of Hope series and World Summit 2020. Lipowcan, a local UPF coordinator and resident of Pittsburgh, wanted to make the nonprofit’s programs available to a broader population. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the state’s two largest cities, with 1.6 million people and 302,000 people respectively.

“I put in a request to the local PATV station,” says Lipowcan, “and produced the shows in the Pittsburgh television studio which airs them. Then I sent the programs out to the Philadelphia station.”

PhillyCAM (Philadelphia Community Access Media) and PCTV21 (Pittsburgh Community Television) are community media centers which distribute locally-produced media on cable, FM radio, and online. Various cities and towns nationwide typically have such a station available in numerous households.

“The UPF programs can be watched on cable TV through Xfinity or Verizon Fios,” says Lipowcan, “and also streaming on AppleTV and Roku. I did a short introduction, then showed Dr. Moon’s speech, and added some concluding remarks at the end.”

Airing weekly in May and June, Lipowcan put together highlights of the World Summit 2020 program, which addresses issues such as sustainable peace, international security, and global development. He also shortened the 5th Rally of Hope program to 30 minutes featuring Dr. Moon’s keynote address—a message he says can resonate with many people.

“One of the things that all cultures, nations, religions, and races share is marriage,” says Lipowcan. “We always talk about marriage and families being the cornerstone of society and world peace. Many of the programs UPF offers celebrate marriage and unity, which are important for healthy families and a more peaceful society.”

Lipowcan says public access media is a great tool to touch more lives. On screen, he is flanked by two complimentary books offered to viewers—Dr. Moon’s bestselling memoir, Mother of Peace, and her late husband’s autobiography, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen. The couple, who fled war-torn North Korea during the Korean War, spent more than five decades working toward lasting world peace, establishing a wide range of global peacebuilding initiatives and projects.

“Hopefully we can expand this outreach to more public access stations across America,” says Lipowcan. “I would be happy to work with anyone who is interested. They really don’t have to do much, just join their local PATV station.”

Lipowcan is already tapping other markets, putting in a request to public access media in North Carolina. He encourages other Unificationists to do the same, using the platform to share about more programs, including the Marriage Blessing movement initiated by Rev. and Dr. Moon.

“If anyone has access to program material that they want aired, please send it to me,” he says. “It has to be either a YouTube or Vimeo link for my station to use it, but this is really a great way to reach the public and share our programs with them.”

You can find your local public access television station here.

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