A Sunday in Cheon Il Guk

On Sunday, June 7, 2015, the New York district held its annual Sunday service at Camp Sunrise, where several hundred Unificationists gathered for an incredible day of worship, nature, swimming and a delicious barbecue lunch. It was a great day to be a part of our Heavenly Parent’s family and to get a taste of God’s Kingdom—Cheon Il Guk!

Under the shade of the camp pavilion, music and a message was shared with Justin Okamoto, Assistant Pastor of the WestRock Family Church, as emcee. Mari Curry and Miilhan Stephens, Vice Presidents of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA, gave the Sunday message. Their words and their spirits were so clear and connected with Heavenly Parent and True Parents that everyone was uplifted. Mari testified to the power of True Mother’s motherly heart—noting that True Mother’s first words in her messages are always, “How are you?” “How is your health?” and “I miss you!”. She also quoted True Father’s words on empowerment, stressing the importance of unity as the foundation for being truly empowered.

Miilhan shared a testimony of his early experiences with Jesus, and his more recent experience with True Mother. He called on the audience to believe that together we can make miracles happen, and to consider what steps they are ready to take in order to get there.

After the service, young Unificationists graduated from the Il Shim program—an educational session on purity and marriage values. Susan Bouachri and Yasu Yukawa led the graduation. It was an amazing moment to see 17 eighth grade youth standing with their parents and pledging to become true sons and daughters of God, men and women of true character and heart. They gave everyone good reason to believe and have confidence that the future is going to be great! The congratulations continued with the welcoming of four new people to the Unification community.

After the service, everyone enjoyed God’s creation, good food and one another’s company. Throughout the afternoon, spontaneous activities could be seen springing up around the campground, including soccer, Frisbee, volleyball, ballroom dancing, ping pong, swimming and boating. With summer right around the corner, Unificationists in New York are reminded what it is to live as one family under God.