Welcome to America, True Mother!

After much anticipation, the American Unification family finally welcomes True Mother back to the United States this weekend after her European tour, to celebrate and reconnect with her, hear her message and unite with the heart of True Parents. On Saturday, May 23, 2015, an intimate gathering of over 200 people joined True Mother and members of her family at East Garden for Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture reading), which also functioned as a Victory Celebration for True Mother’s 2015 European tour.

The gathering began with the singing of “Shining Fatherland,” after which everyone welcomed True Mother. Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, continental chair of FFWPU North America, who acted as emcee for the event, guided the group in singing “Happy Victory!” to True Parents.

True Mother, just having arrived the previous evening after her long journey in Europe, themed her message around the history of Christianity in Europe. Before she spoke, a video by iPeaceTV was shown of her recent visit to Vienna, Austria, to celebrate together with approximately 2,500 European Unificationists the 50 years of the Unification movement in Europe as well as True Mother’s private visit to the Swiss Alps, where she offered sincere prayer for Europe and the world.

Crescentia DeGoede, director of the National Blessing and Family Ministry (BFM), read from the Cham Bumo Gyeong, the third of the Holy Scriptures, which has just finished being translated into English and will be published in time for the third anniversary of True Father’s Seonghwa. The reading described God’s purpose for creation and the providence of restoring humankind by bringing Jesus and the True Parents as a model to learn from.

Unificationist Matthew Hill then performed one of True Mother’s favorite songs, “Danny Boy,” so beautifully that she and the audience asked for an encore. “I cry when I hear ‘Oh Danny Boy,’” said True Mother. “It is about humanity and God’s heart for His children, and whenever I hear it my heart really feels it. He made a beautiful selection.” Matt then sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

Next, participants of the Generation Peace Academy—who spent the year studying True Parents’ teachings, and finally had the chance to greet True Mother in person—sang for her in Korean, to which the whole assembly joined in.

Following these musical offerings, True Mother gave a heartfelt and profound message, in which she described the history of Christianity in Europe, and urged us to build something even greater that will last through the ages.

True Mother began by describing God’s sorrow when His dreams for the world could not be realized after Adam and Eve failed to follow His commands. In order to save humankind God sent Jesus; however, the people did not accept him and he was crucified.

True Mother described the outcomes of the Christian cultural sphere, from the Roman Empire to the European religious wars and division into multiple denominations. Though the people tried to attend heaven and lead lives of faith, the beautiful cathedrals they built ultimately were only an outer shell, void of content, she said. “What is the essence of faith?” True Mother asked. She went on to explain that the history of Christianity reminded her a lot of our American movement. Now, she said, we need to think clearly of what kind of future we want to create, the eternal impact we want to make on our descendants, and the foundation we want to lay for the coming generations. She urged us to live not only for ourselves and our own families, but to educate the people of the world, to build something even greater, more constant and more long-term than anything ever created before, and to lead future generations to love True Parents.

In a moment of uninhibited emotion, True Mother implored the American Unificationist families to understand her heart and her viewpoint as the True Parents, to be able to respond 20 or 30 times over for every single insight that True Parents give, and to inspire others, awaken ourselves, and move forward.

Let us move forward with new determination in America, and take True Mother’s message to heart. On Sunday, May 24, 2015, our Springtime with True Parents will continue with the True Father 1,000-Day Memorial Celebration and Sunday Service with True Mother at the Manhattan Center in New York City. Watch the live broadcast at the link below.

Watch the live broadcast