Final IPEC Seminar of 2016 Ushers in New Year and Insights
Seven young Unificationists (and eight young-at-heart Unificationists) gathered at the International Peace Education Center (IPEC) on December 28 for the last 7-Day Divine Principle Seminar of 2016. Among the participants were a District Pastor as well as one of the national Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP) leaders.
The seven-day workshop provided a great arena for intergenerational study and discussion. Said Teresa Rischl, National Program Director of CARP America, “[It was] a beautiful experience to receive from my elders who were also participants alongside me.” Gordon Winters, another Unificationist in attendance, emphasizes that the IPEC workshops are ideal for young people who feel disconnected from their faith. “When I learned Divine Principle as a young teen I did not understand it.” Winters went on to stress how important it is for people to grasp the concepts of Divine Principle so that they do not dismiss it prematurely. “An unclear understanding of the Divine Principle…can make it easy to disconnect from beliefs,” he said.
Several of the older Unificationists who attended the workshop had what can best be described as an “a-ha” moment during Rev. Andrew Compton’s discussion about miracles. They admitted that after True Father’s ascension in 2012, they had been waiting in vain for a sign from God about how to move forward. Many realized that this was the wrong attitude. “If God intervenes, it is not good,” said Kimiko DiLorenzo, who attended the December workshop. “We need to keep going without giving up.” As Rev. Compton explained during his lectures and as Mark Lincoln, another attendee, understood it, “I am now glad that God has not intervened in some super-natural way. It is a sign that he continues to trust in us.”
Learn more about the history of God’s miracles and the theology of the Unification movement by attending the next IPEC Divine Principle Seminar. Registrations are available here.