A United Mind and Spirit
This week in history, February 3-9:
- Day of Hope Speaking Tour Begins at New York’s Lincoln Center (February 3, 1972)
- True Mother Revives ICUS (February 4, 2017)
- The Cheongshim International Hospital’s dedication ceremony takes place (February 5, 2003)
- The Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Parents of Heaven and Earth Opening the Gate of Cheon Il Guk is held (February 6, 2003)
- 1800 couples receive the Holy Marriage Blessing (February 8, 1975)
February 3, 1972
Day of Hope Speaking Tour Begins at New York’s Lincoln Center
True Parents began their Third World Tour on December 5, 1971, visiting 15 countries in 156 days, returning to Korea on May 8, 1972. The main purpose of the Third World Tour was to initiate the public declaration of True Parents’ teachings. During a training program for American Unificationists from December 31, 1971, to January 3, 1972, True Father made known his intention of holding “revival meetings” in seven major cities: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Berkeley. Both East and West Coast centers were to select members, 72 in all, who were to come to New York for a two-week training session. From there, they would travel from city to city to hold the revival meetings.
True Father rented the Alice Tully Hall in New York City’s Lincoln Center for three nights (February 3, 4 and 6, 1972) and charged the local center with making plans for the first of the seven revival meetings. By January 8, the New York center had chosen its theme, “The Day of Hope: The Day of the True Family,” and designed what would be the tour’s official poster. On January 14, the 72 pioneers arrived. For nearly three weeks, they hit the mid-winter streets of New York, selling revival tickets at $6.00 each ($18.00 for three nights) to hear an unknown evangelist. True Father’s topics were “One God, One World Religion,” “Ideal World for God and Man” and “The New Messiah and the Formula of God in History.”
The tour was a constant battle against anonymity and, in the Eastern cities, against the elements. In New York City bitter weather limited attendance to between 350 and 450 people for the three nights, even though many more tickets had been sold. In Washington, a blizzard not only hindered the turnout but stranded pioneers in Frederick, Maryland. Nonetheless, by Berkeley, each night was a full house. The initial 7-city Day of Hope Tour was followed by 21-, 32- and 8-city tours, culminating in True Father’s New York speech in 1974 when as many as thirty-five thousand ticket-holders were turned away from the already filled-to-capacity Madison Square Garden. Barely thirty-two months after his initial Lincoln Center speeches, True Father had become a household name in America.
February 4, 2017
True Mother Revives ICUS
Photo credit FFWPU-USA
First ICUS meeting in 1972. Photo credit FFWPU-USA Fourth ICUS meeting in 1975. Photo credit FFWPU-USA
True Father launched the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS) in 1972. For nearly 30 years, annual conferences in great world cities brought together eminent scientists, including Nobel laureates, in sessions focused on absolute values and cross-disciplinary unity. From 2000 to 2016, True Parents turned their attention to other pressing matters of world conflict and suffering. However, those years witnessed a steep rise in threats to humanity’s future from pollution and the destruction of the environment. In 2017, True Mother revived ICUS, calling upon scientists to address environmental concerns.
ICUS XXIII convened at the Lotte World Hotel in Seoul on February 4-5, 2017 under the theme “Earth’s Environmental Crisis and the Role of Science.” In her remarks to scientists, True Mother stated,
“When God created the cosmos he set up the principle of circulation, so it would last for eternity. However, because of the humankind’s mistakes, our beautiful earth is sick … If we would have followed the direction God established at the Creation—the principle of circulation—no pollution would have developed. In many ways scientific civilization caused much pollution. This is the reason I am reviving ICUS. We have to stop the threats that endanger human life and the survival of the planet.”
February 5, 2003
Dedication of Cheongshim International Hospital
Photo credit FFWPU-USA
True Mother speaking at the hospital dedication ceremony
A ceremony was held to offer Cheongshim International Hospital to Heaven on February 5, 2003. The construction began in September 2000 and was finished after two years and five months. True Parents bestowed on the hospital the motto “Perfection of unification with heavenly character is possible through united mind and spirit.” Through her congratulatory remarks, True Mother said, “The Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center and the Cheongshim International Hospital are the homeland for the hearts of Unification families around the world.” Located in a beautiful mountain landscape, Cheongshim International Hospital serves its patients with both Western and Oriental medicine and the most up-to-date equipment. (Courtesy of the History Compilation Committee)
February 6, 2003
Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Parents of Heaven and Earth Opening the Gate of Cheon Il Guk
Photo credit FFWPU-USA
The Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Parents of Heaven and Earth Opening the Gate of Cheon Il Guk
True Father proclaimed Cheon Il Guk (“the Nation of Cosmic Peace and Unity”) on November 15, 2001. This was the Unificationist equivalent of the Kingdom of Heaven and the culmination of his ministry. In 1993, he had announced the transition to the Completed Testament Era, which was understood to mark a shift in the order of salvation from the individual to the family. Cheon Il Guk advanced beyond the family to the creation of a heavenly nation. For the next twelve years, True Parents set numerous conditions for the establishment of Cheon Il Guk. One of the most important of these was the Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony for the Parents of Heaven and Earth Opening the Gate of Cheon Il Guk on February 6, 2003. Its centerpiece was the marriage of True Parents on the foundation of Cheon Il Guk. Their Blessing was to supersede church-level and national-level Blessings. It was followed by the “Coronation of the King of the Blessed Families” to substantiate the original Heavenly Kingship. Both ceremonies were conducted at Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center before more than 10,000 guests including 200 dignitaries from the World Summit on Leadership and Governance. Brazilian soccer legend Pele presented True Parents with a specially engraved plaque.
February 8, 1975
1,800 Couple Holy Marriage Blessing
Photo credit FFWPU-USA
True Parents bless 1800 couples in marriage.
True Parents blessed 1,800 couples (technically, 1801) in what the Guinness Book of World Records then recorded as the largest mass wedding in history on February 8, 1975. The ceremony, conducted in Seoul’s Jangchung Gymnasium, brought together couples from 25 nations, including 891 couples from Korea, 797 from Japan, 76 from the United States, 35 from European countries and two from the Republic of China. Over 10,000 guests witnessed the event, after which couples boarded ninety-four sightseeing buses for a parade through the streets of Seoul. True Parents blessed the 1,800 Couples 14 years after their Holy Marriage Blessing in 1960. It closed out the second 7-year or national-level course and opened the way to the Unification Church’s international work. Some 300 members from the 1,800 Couples went out to 123 nations as foreign missionaries, pioneering the worldwide providence. True Father noted that 1,800 represents three times six, equaling eighteen or “the complete subjugation of the satanic number 6.” The 1,800 Couples, he said, “represent all humankind.” Upon their Blessing, he declared, “we enter the age to embrace the world.” This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1,800 Couple Blessing.
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 3 – 9.