This Week in History, March 9–15

“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 March 9-15.

March 14, 1961

True Parents, the Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon (left), at the airport with Col. Bo Hi Pak (center) as he departs for the United States. Col. Pak’s father stands to his right.

• Col. Bo Hi Pak, the Third Unificationist Missionary in America, Arrives in the United States

Col. Bo Hi Pak came as a diplomat to the United States on March 14, 1961, serving as the assistant military attaché at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. In 1962, True Father conceived the idea of forming a Korean children’s dance troupe “as a means of promoting world peace and sharing the Korean culture throughout the world.” He asked Col. Pak to take responsibility for assembling the group. Col. Pak agreed and the group was christened the Little Angels. In America, Col. Pak witnessed and held Bible study sessions in his home. In early 1963, he incorporated the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC) in Arlington, Virginia. The following year, he published a translation of the Divine Principle entitled Outline of Study: The Divine Principles.

March 11 – November 8, 1994

Former U.S. President and First Lady, George and Barbara Bush at a WFWP conference.

• Sisterhood Ceremonies

True Father understood that women would play a leading role in fostering peace in the Completed Testament Age. Under the auspices of Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), more than 200,000 Korean and Japanese women came together to create sisterly ties on 38 separate occasions between March 11 and November 8, 1994. The sisterhood ceremonies in America between Japanese and American women had a significant impact due to the involvement of persons with exceedingly high public profiles, most notably, former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. They were deeply touched by their experience and later traveled with True Mother to speak in support of her work on a six-city speaking tour of Japan.

March 10, 1997

The Cheongseong Wanglim Gungjeon overlooks Cheongpyeong Lake.

• Groundbreaking Ceremony for the New Major Sanctuary in Cheongpyeong, Korea

On March 10, 1997, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at Cheongpyeong for what was to become a major sanctuary, intended to hold up to 10,000 workshop participants at a time. In design, it was understood to be a replica of a palace in heaven, attested to in calligraphy provided for the occasion by True Father which read, “The Heavenly Palace That Came Down from Heaven.” A small mountain was leveled to construct the magnificent marble structure overlooking Cheongpyeong Lake.