God’s First Hope

Boston Family Church community gather on the 56th True Parents’ Day early in the morning on Sunday, April 19, 2015 to hold morning Family Pledge Service (Core pledge of Unificationists).

Following their very long winter, the Boston Family Church greeted a beautiful spring day on Sunday, April 19, 2015, and celebrated True Parents’ Day, joined by President of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA, Dr. Michael Balcomb and his wife, Fumiko Balcomb. The community shared breakfast and lunch, as well as a special Sunday service that welcomed 130 people from Boston, Gloucester and Rhode Island.

“We had a great turnout to welcome Dr. and Mrs. Balcomb to Boston,” said Boston Family Church Pastor, Rev. Jim Edgerly. “Their presence and the message from Dr. Balcomb helped make it a very uplifting True Parent’s Day celebration for our community. Dr. Balcomb has a relaxed and cheerful presence that set a nice friendly tone for the day.”

There were beautiful flowers decorating the room on the occasion of True Parents’ Day, and the Beacon House Band performed lively music, appreciated by all ages present. “The Holy Day experience set a really nice atmosphere, and a lot of people stayed and lingered well into the afternoon,” described Rev. Edgerly. “Our community is very diverse in terms of age and marital status, which made for a very pleasant fellowship.”

Dr. Michael Balcomb, President of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA, delivered a True Parents’ Day message at the Boston Family Church.

Dr. Balcomb shared a message titled, “God’s First Hope,” about the significance of the Holy Marriage Blessing of True Parents, the event that was preceded by the dedication of True Parents’ Day in 1960. The message was well received, and included a touching testimony about an experience that Dr. Balcomb had with True Father, a story that resonated well with the community. His message brought the idea of True Parents’ Day to a personal level.

“Before I had children, I had no idea what it meant to be a parent,” Dr. Balcomb shared. “I had no idea of the trials and tribulations, the joys and the struggles that would come from parenthood. Neither did God, and this is important to understand. Even God, the Creator of the entire cosmos, couldn’t know what it means to be a father without having children. Each of us is so important to God, because we’re all unique. Therefore, in a sense, each one of us can awaken a certain part of God’s parental heart that nobody else can do.”

Read the full message

True Parents’ Day Sunday Service was attended by 130 Unificationists from Boston, Gloucester and Rhode Island.

“We had an enthusiastic response,” said Rev. Edgerly. “It gave our community a lot of confidence that the leadership of our movement is in touch with our local church and got to meet a lot of us personally.  We are working to strengthen our community through both developing our spiritual lives and increasing our numbers, and the presence of Dr. Balcomb certainly gave us increased confidence in our purpose and our connection to the larger international community centering on True Mother.” 

Community members enjoyed a wonderful lunch and lingered well into the afternoon enjoying each other’s company.