Educational Australian City Tour
Sydney, Australia
Dr. Tyler Hendricks, professor at the Unification Theological Seminary, arrived in Sydney, Australia on March 19, 2016 to begin a one-week educational tour that took him to local communities in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and New Zealand. The purpose of his visit was to first share about True Parents and True Mother’s role after the ascension of True Father. Secondly, it was to address issues related to our responsibilities as blessed central families.
Sydney, Australia
Dr. Hendricks was invited to speak to the local youth group, and shared vivid stories of True Father and True Mother’s life. The stories brought True Parents to life for the students. They were enthralled by his testimonies of joining the Unification movement, his public mission, Marriage Blessing, life at the seminary, and the many encounters with True Parents.
Sydney, Australia
On Sunday, March 20, he presented during the Sunday Service on the theme “The New Cultural Revolution: The Age of the Wife as Father Built It.” At the end of his talk, he conducted a question and answer session. He emphasized God’s plan for our lives and spoke of True Mother’s role in fulfilling God’s providence after the ascension of True Father.
One local woman commented, “I felt it was like clear water running from a well as Dr. Hendricks talked. I feel it was very necessary to hear him speak.” In the afternoon, Dr Hendricks had the chance to speak to several Blessed couples in private meetings well into the afternoon. They were able to seek clarification and have meaningful discussions with Dr. Hendricks.
Sydney, Australia
The final gathering, on March 21st, was another question and answer session. Dr. Hendricks was able to give answers to a wide variety of questions. Many centered around True Mother, and Dr. Hendricks shared openly and with great detail. One youth leader wrote in his reflection of the evening, “Through his stories of True Mother and the explanation of her work and life, I was able to better understand her position. It made me feel happy and confident about our True Mother.”
Sydney, Australia
The next day, the Queensland FFWPU community welcomed Dr. Hendricks and Rev. Soon Teck Lim for a brief visit to Brisbane.
Brisbane, Australia
He shared a similar talk with the Queensland community that he had shared with Sydney, and also took time to answer questions. One participant noted, “Dr. Hendricks brought a loving and non-judgmental attitude, perhaps in recognition that we are all brothers and sisters but have different experiences and motivations in our lives.”
Brisbane, Australia
Kim Raymond, co-State Representative in Queensland, expressed the following regarding Dr. Hendricks’s visit: “My overall feeling was that his greatest desire is for a unified family centering on Heavenly Parent and True Parents, working together with one heart for the establishment of Cheon Il Guk (the Heavenly Kingdom), not one divided by matters of authority or interpretations of ritual.”
The Queensland community offered their thanks for his coming and the insights that he shared.
Brisbane, Australia
Finally, Dr. Hendricks and Rev. Lim visited Melbourne for the final city of the Australian tour. They had two meetings with Dr. Hendricks in Melbourne, on the 23rd and 24th of March.
Melbourne, Australia
The fist evening session was on the theme, “Developing our community and Tribal Messiahship activities.” Dr Hendricks gave participants many practical ideas based on his research of church growth overall, as well as his experience in his church community in Red Hook, NY. He shared ideas for local Unificationists to think about in order to spread the word about their faith. In particular, he shared what he believes is the essence of outreach: The Marriage Blessing Ceremony. He talked about his radio ministry which testifies over the airwaves about the Blessing. Many were inspired by the presentation.
Melbourne, Australia
On the second night, he shared a slideshow presentation regarding True Mother’s role in completing the purpose of creation, and completing God’s heart of love. He spoke of how True Father could accomplish his mission with the support of True Mother. He also noted that the whole point of the Second Coming is to find God’s daughter. There was plenty of deep content for the participants to study further. Dr. Hendricks concluded by testifying that the role of Blessed couples and families is to “be generous of heart” with each other, and not to be critical.
Melbourne, Australia
Oceania was delighted to have Dr. Tyler Hendricks visit and feel that the timing of his tour was fortuitous. Australian Unificationists are deeply grateful for Rev. Yoo and Rev. Lim for hosting the visit, FFWPU International Headquarters for their support, and of course Dr. Hendricks for his heartfelt presentations.
Melbourne, Australia
Contributed by Kim Raymond, Rick Mclnerheney, and Soon Teck Lim