A Beacon of Hope

This week in history, February 14-20:

• True Parents’ 32-City Day of Hope speaking tour begins (February 15, 1974)
• True Father sends a letter and videotapes to 300,000 U.S. ministers (February 16, 1985)
• The third phase of the 400 Million Couples Holy Blessing is held (February 16, 2002)
• True Parents officiate the 1.4 Cosmic Blessing Ceremony (February 17, 2010)
• True Mother officiates the Cosmic Blessing Ceremony (February 17, 2013)
• Senator Robert Dole convenes anti-Unification movement investigation (February 18, 1976)
• The Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation is inaugurated (February 20, 2013)

February 15, 1974

True Parents’ 32-City Day of Hope Speaking Tour Begins

True Parents’ public speaking tour of 32 mid-sized cities of the United States began on February 15, 1974, in Portland, Maine, and concluded on April 21 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The speech that True Father gave throughout the United States, “The New Future of Christianity,” contained the statement “For the realization of God’s will, the returning Lord will not come on the clouds.” True Father also said that Jesus died when he did because John the Baptist failed to fulfill his responsibility. (Materials provided by the FFWPU History Compilation Committee)

February 16, 1985

True Father Sends “Letter from Danbury” and Videotapes to 300,000 U.S. Ministers

Dr. Bo Hi Pak led Unificationists at Belvedere in a farewell gathering hours before True Father departed to Danbury Correctional Facility in 1984.

In August 1984, shortly after his incarceration in the Federal Correctional Institution at Danbury, Connecticut, True Father proposed that Unificationists produce and distribute sets of videotapes explaining the Unification Principle for Christian ministers throughout the United States. Originally the plan was to offer 30,000 videos to 30,000 ministers and to ask each of them to share their tapes with ten other ministers and with their congregations. By October, American Unificationists had distributed more than 30,000 tape sets. True Father felt that was not enough. So it was decided to distribute videotapes directly to 300,000 ministers. It required several months to produce, duplicate, label and package the videotapes, which was done entirely in-house. New Future Films worked with 25 staff members around the clock in areas set up on the sixth, eighth and tenth floors of the World Mission Center (New Yorker Hotel) with 800 video-copying machines in continuous use. The crew managed to turn out 900 tapes daily. Another 23 members worked in the shipping department. Packets included three 120-minute-long videotapes on the Unification Principle, a brochure and booklet about the Unification Church, an Outline of the Principle text, a book of True Father’s talks titled God’s Warning to the World, and True Father’s personal “Letter from Danbury.” Twenty-eight tractor-trailers were required to ship all 300,000 packages to the mailing location. The project was completed on February 16, 1985. True Father stated, “I feel very good because that is all done now; that was an incredible operation.”

February 16, 2002

400 Million Couples Holy Blessing, 3^rd Phase

On February 16, 2002, True Parents blessed some 4,000 couples at the Olympic Fencing Gymnasium in Seoul. This was the main ceremony of the third phase of the International Holy Marriage Blessing of 400 Million Couples. Simultaneous ceremonies were held in locations around the world. The Blessing culminated the eighth World Culture and Sports Festival (WCSF) which was convened under the theme “Toward a World Culture of Peace of a New Dimension.”

February 17, 2010

True Parents Officiate the 1.4 Cosmic Blessing Ceremony

True Parents officiated the “1.4 Cosmic Blessing Ceremony” at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX), located in Ilsan, South Korea, on February 17, 2010, or the fourth day of the first month of the Heavenly Calendar. Referred to publicly as the Interreligious Cross-Cultural Holy Wedding Ceremony, it was broadcast via the Internet to 192 nations. Including the 7,000 couples present at the event in Korea, a total of 43,000 brides and bridegrooms participated worldwide. Special congratulatory prayers were given by leaders representing the world’s major religions, including Catholicism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Islam, Shintoism and Hinduism.

February 17, 2013

Cosmic Blessing Ceremony

True Parents initiated cosmic-level Blessings in 2009 following the 50^th anniversary of their Holy Wedding (Korean count). Couples previously had received the Holy Marriage Blessing on the church and worldwide levels. True Father explained that this was the third and final cosmic-level Blessing in which previously blessed and newly blessed couples would participate. True Parents conducted subsequent cosmic-level Blessings in 2010 and 2012. The Cosmic Blessing Ceremony officiated by True Mother on February 17, 2013, five days prior to Foundation Day, was significant as it was the first such ceremony conducted since the ascension of True Father. At least 3,500 couples gathered for the Marriage Blessing at the Cheongshim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, Korea, and 12,000 altogether by video link to dozens of countries. In her prayer for the couples, True Mother said, “You have lit a beacon of hope for fallen humanity through the great Blessing ceremonies, which first commenced with the Blessing of 36 couples in 1960 and has now been held 53 times until today.”

February 18, 1976

Senator Robert Dole Convenes Anti-Unification Movement Investigation

On February 18, 1976, anti-Unification Movement organizations sponsored “A Day of Affirmation and Protest” in Washington, D.C., which included a two-hour presentation of grievances against the movement to U.S. Senator Robert Dole (R-Kansas) and representatives of seven U.S. government agencies. The “Dole hearing” provided critics of the Unification Movement with a well-publicized, credible forum in which to air their grievances before important national-level figures. More troubling was the fact that Unification Movement representatives were excluded from the proceedings. Senator Dole refused to meet with HSA-UWC President Neil Salonen, and Unificationists could only maintain a vigil of protest at the back of the meeting room. Whereas the Day of Hope tours of the early to mid-1970s were conducted within a climate of receptivity, the Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument rallies of 1976 unfolded within a climate of increasing negativity and even persecution.

February 20, 2013

Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation Inaugurated

The Wonmo Pyeongae (Eternal Parent’s Love) Foundation was officially inaugurated as a non-profit foundation on February 20, 2013 (Korea time) at the Cheon Jeong Gung in Gapyeong, Korea, before an audience of approximately 1,000 people. True Father originally proposed the idea for the foundation in 2011. The Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation has five main functions: 1) scholarships for Unificationist undergraduate students and high-school pupils; 2) educational support programs and contests; 3) the Sunhak Peace Prize to commemorate True Parents’ contributions to world peace; 4) social contribution awards to candidates or organizations that have served in areas such as counseling, serving multicultural families, and service for the handicapped; and 5) scientific research on peace theory and support of symposia. During her Founder’s Speech, True Mother said, “Dr. Sun Myung Moon devoted his lifetime to build a global family, and his desire is embodied through the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation.” As its first project, the foundation during its inauguration ceremony awarded four billion won ($3.7 million) in scholarships to 745 selected individuals and organizations.

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of February 14–20.