Columbus Welcomes FFWPU USA President

It was a fruitful weekend for the Columbus Family Church from September 24 to 25, as they welcomed FFWPU USA President Rev. Buessing and sponsored a Universal Peace Federation (UPF) and Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) conference. Below is a first-hand account from Rev. Marquis Van De Mark, who recently became pastor of the community. 

The weekend could not have been more exciting in Columbus. The excitement could have been because of the Ohio State Buckeyes, but more likely because of a grand scale UPF and WFWP  conference and then Rev. Buessing’s visit on Sunday. Although the community is familiar with change, both in the form of pastoral transitions as well as a name change (formerly Unifcation Church of Columbus), but being in the presence of Rev. Buessing, recently appointed FFWPU USA President, was still refreshing and surprising.

The day before the local UPF chapter had hosted their annual conference for the International Day of Peace with 100 guests in attendance and 21 newly recognized Ambassadors for Peace. UPF Director Ricardo DeSenna encouraged everyone to be “doers” and to start making real impact soon. Fazil Khan, an attorney of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community explained the Principles of Respect as “the belief that everyone has something of value. We just get tempted to think that we can choose who to respect.” Everyone felt the atmosphere in the room to be buzzing with energy after representatives from the city, local NGOs and faith leaders had shared their passion for change and peace. The next step will be to create a Peace Council. 

In the evening after the conference, young Unificationists had the opportunity to meet with Rev. Buessing in an intimate setting over pizza and to share their views on the church as well as some questions and answers. 

The following day, the Ohio Family Church welcomed Rev and Mrs. Marjorie Buessing to their local church. Rev Buessing gave a report on the recent events in Korea as well as True Mother’s dedication to the Family Federation history museum, “where guests will enter as friends and leave as members.” Rev Buessing then shared about God’s heart longing for his children and our ability to connect with the invisible God. It was wonderful to welcome the President and introduce ourselves as the Columbus community to him, as well as getting to know him on a personal level. 

Contributed by Rev. Marquis Van De Mark