Founding Nations Under God

This week in history, September 27-October 3:

• True Parents introduce “My Pledge” (October 1, 1962)
• True Father kicks off the 21-city “Day of Hope” speaking tour at Carnegie Hall (October 1, 1973)
• True Father launches Ocean Church (October 1, 1980)
• HSA-UWC Japan is founded (October 2, 1959)
• Korea celebrates national foundation day (October 3, 2333 B.C.)
• True Parents proclaim Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World (October 3, 1988)
• Inaugural assembly is held for the Interreligious and International Peace Council (October 3, 2003)

October 1, 1962

True Parents Introduce “My Pledge”

Following the Holy Blessing of 36 Couples in 1961, True Parents introduced an abbreviated version of what became “My Pledge” on October 1, 1962. “My Pledge” consisted of five statements which affirmed Unification faith and commitments. It was a staple of Unification devotional life, regularly recited on Sunday mornings, the first day of the month, and Holy Days from its introduction until 1994 when it was superseded by “Family Pledge.”

October 1, 1973

True Father Kicks Off the 21-City “Day of Hope” Speaking Tour at Carnegie Hall

True Father conducted four “Day of Hope” speaking tours in the United States between 1972 and 1974. The initial 7-city tour served to unite Unificationists of the several groups created by missionaries during the 1960s. The second 21-city tour began the process of catapulting the Unification Church into the public limelight. More than 400 Unificationists, including missionaries from Europe and Japan, came to New York City to publicize True Father’s talks, which began at Carnegie Hall on October 1, 1973, with “Christianity in Crisis: New Hope.” In addition to mass leafleting, the event was advertised in newspaper and magazine ads, on bus and commuter train posters, and in professionally made radio announcements.

The results were remarkable. In New York, the event attracted widespread media coverage. The New York Daily News carried a large photo and article on a Day of Hope rally on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street. Time, Newsweek and Christianity Today all carried stories on the campaign. A generally positive Associated Press feature story appeared in 79 newspapers throughout the United States. Two hundred and fifty prominent New Yorkers attended the inaugural “Day of Hope” banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Telegrams of congratulations were read from the New York City mayor and several U.S. congressmen. Afterward, two 40-member International One World Crusade (IOWC) advance teams prepared for each of the remaining cities on the tour.

October 1, 1980

True Father Launches Ocean Church

In late summer of 1980 True Father sponsored the first World Tuna Tournament in the fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to stimulate interest among Americans, particularly young people, in the ocean. Then, on October 1, 1980, he established Ocean Church. He chose 24 Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) graduates and 60 Unificationists in supporting roles to pioneer 24 port cities on the East, West and Gulf coasts. He directed them to build a foundation of sixty Unificationists, at which point they were to order ten 28-foot “Good Go” fiberglass boats from the Unification Church-owned fleet and one large stern trawler. He advised the Ocean Church pioneers to “visit the Coast Guard chief, police chief and mayor,” telling them that “your sole concern is to revive the fishing industry in America.” True Father told them that their boats “will be your churches.” Unificationists, he said, “will have a regular spiritual life” and “catch more fish than anyone else in the area, even more than people who have been fishing for many years.”

October 2, 1959

HSA-UWC Japan Is Founded

Missionary Sang-ik “Papa-san” Choi (fourth from left) on his way back to Japan following his first visit to Korea in seven years.

Missionary Choi and participants during the first special workshop held in Japan in 1963.

Sang-ik “Papa-san” Choi, known to Japanese Unificationists as Mr. Nishikawa, planted the seeds for the Unification Church in Japan from 1958 to 1964. Because Korea and Japan did not have diplomatic relations, he was arrested upon arrival in June 1958. Escaping confinement, he made his way to Tokyo where, after six months of struggle, he got a job as a salesman for a watch shop in the Shinjuku section. During the morning he worked. In the afternoon he witnessed. Once a week he rented the second floor of the shop to preach. On Sunday, October 2, 1959, he conducted the first Sunday service. The Unification Church of Japan commemorates this as its founding day.

October 3, 2333 B.C.

Korea Celebrates National Foundation Day

October 3rd is a public holiday in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) as it celebrates its National Foundation Day. This national holiday, also known as “Tangun Day” and Gaecheon-jeol, commemorates the legendary founding of the Korean nation, the spiritual homeland of the Unification movement, or the creation of ancient Korea in 2333 B.C. by Tangun whereby the first Korean state was established. The Tangun legend not only reflects Korean ideals, but helped develop the pride of a people with a long history and an ancient culture. Through the centuries, Koreans have preserved this legend, which became a source of spiritual comfort in times of crisis.

October 3, 1988

True Parents Proclaim Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World

True Parents proclaimed the Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World on October 3, 1988, immediately following the completion of the Seoul Olympic Games. True Father explained that the realization of an ideal world must be achieved through external and internal unification. According to True Father, the key to external unification was the unity between democracy and communism, symbolically realized through the 1988 Seoul Olympics. To achieve the internal unification, True Parents declared the Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World. True Father envisioned the end of all national divisions and boundaries, saying that one day humankind should no longer need visas. In 2007, True Parents changed the name of the day from the “Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World” to the “Foundation Day for the Nation of Cosmic Unity,” which also is called the “Foundation Day for the Unified Nation of Heaven and Earth.” This indicated that the providence had advanced beyond the world to the cosmic level and that humankind could become “citizens of heaven.”

October 3, 2003

Inaugural Assembly Held for Interreligious and International Peace Council

The Interreligious and International Peace Council (IIPC) was created to “improve existing methods and practices for addressing critical global problems by being the leader in the moral or spiritual conscience in leadership governance.” Three hundred four delegates, including 52 guests from the United Nations – representing 149 nations – attended the 4-day Inaugural Assembly in New York City with the theme “Global Governance for a New Realm of Peace.” True Father appropriately spoke on the topic “The New Elimination of Boundaries and World Peace.”

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 September 27 to October 3.