True Parents Hold Hoon Dok Hwe for 12 Hours at the Sheraton
At 5:00 AM on Wednesday, October 1, 2009, True Parents gathered with leaders and members on the 15th floor of the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia in order to start a new month together and to set a special condition for the event commemorating the publishing of the English version of As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, which was to be held from 7:00 that evening.
After everyone said the Family Pledge on the occasion of the first of the month, Father got up and stood in the spot where leaders stand to give reports and Wonju McDevitt stands to read Hoon Dok. He said that October 1st was a significant day from which we would no longer be under Satan’s dominion and instead be under God’s dominion. Father spoke using the mic and mic stand that leaders and readers normally use. He stayed in that seat for almost exactly 12 hours as he guided everyone in attendance.
After five hours had passed, Father said that the five ages of the individual, family, tribe, people and nation had been overcome, so now he could start reading the speech for that night. Some of the many things that Father talked about during the first five hours included: the proper way to put clothes on, guidance regarding the reproductive organs, God-centered explanations of Chinese characters, and the significance of various geographical locations in Korea.
Father was explaining and going over the speech for that night for the next seven hours. During that time, Kook Jin Nim, Dr. Bo Hi Pak and Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak arrived at different points in time to greet and attend Father.
During Hoon Dok Hwe on this day, Father taught about the new way that we should live starting on Oct. 1, then asked everyone if they would live that way. He received a strong “Ye” (Yes in Korean) to his answer.
On this day, Father did not have anyone else give a report or read. Father himself led the entire 12 hours, reading the speech that would be read at the event himself.
Report by Tossa Cromwell, Unification Church USA HQ