Over a 100-day period from May 12 to August 19, 20 Unificationists from the Family Church of Connecticut took part in a community-wide, 100-day Hoon Dok Hwe devotional commitment where they read the Divine Principle Lecture Manual for one hour 100 times.

During the 100 days, about a dozen Unificationists met regularly on Saturday mornings at 8:00 a.m. on the University of Bridgeport campus to read the Divine Principle together and engage in meaningful discussions. At this time there was also a development in Blessing activity where two community Blessings were held with approximately 120 couples received the Blessing.

On this foundation, Pastors Abe and Mika Deshotel decided to pledge to a second 100-day devotional commitment, this time to fulfill the blessing of 430 couples. On September 1 a Tribal Messiah potluck dinner was held to kickoff this second 100-day commitment. Approximately 20 members gathered for this event which featured Eva Mackin, a local Unificationist who shared her testimony of having recently completed her 430 Heavenly Tribal Messiahship while in Thailand.

The potluck was the perfect opportunity to devise a strategy for not only blessing couples but educating them as well. A pilot program was initiated to invite previously Blessed couples as well as prospective couples as a way of sharing the culture of the Marriage Blessing to substantiate the commitment they have already made.

Stay tuned for updates as the pilot program unfolds and the 100-day Blessing commitment continues.

“Through reading the Divine Principle Lecture Manual for an hour I was able to get a refresher on the Divine Principle. Reading the whole Divine Principle takes a long time, but by reading the lecture manual we can cover the whole book in less than an hour. By reading about the providence of restoration, I got a sense of how long God has been working to restore humankind. It’s like reading about God’s hidden story behind the scenes of history.” –Chiyun Nojiri, 34

“I began this commitment on May 12 and completed it on August 18. I had a few “Ah-Ha” moments, usually after having group discussions and listening to others’ input.” –Clopha Deshotel, 64

“I completed this commitment in 92 days, and I really enjoyed the readings most of the time. I was reminded of True Parents’ accomplishments and received renewed inspiration to study Korean to better understand the Korean culture of our True Parents. After I started this commitment, I strongly felt that I needed to use a drastic method to accomplish my Tribal Messiahship mission, which became the reason why I went to Thailand.” –Eva Mackin

“It is important that we put the inspiration we receive from the group discussions into action and do something about accomplishing God’s will, Vision 2020. Every time I study the Divine I feel how important and precious of a position we are in to serve True Parents directly.” –Keiko Breland, 70

“As I read the Divine Principle again and again, I noticed that I haven’t understood certain sections clearly and deeply enough. After these 100 days, I will spend time reading the Exposition of the Divine Principle in hopes to answer the questions which I raised during the condition. I thought my understanding of the Divine Principle was deep enough, but I realized by doing this condition that it was not so.” –Michiko Kim, 50

“My daily routine was to read about 30 or 40 pages in the morning. After returning from work in the evening I would read the remainder. I would not allow myself to watch TV or waste time on the Internet until I completed the book. Saturday was different because I joined the discussion group and read the entire book in the morning. During the 100 days I felt strong spiritually and had some deep dreams. True Father was in one and Adam and Eve appeared in another; but I could not recall much when I woke up. I am glad I accomplished this 100-day reading condition. Now I am planning to start reading the Bible from Genesis 1.” –Jon Wason, 50

“I keep thinking about what it means to be living in the “Last Days” and what is our responsibility at this specific time. I realize that the Merit of the Age enables people to receive the blessing and change of blood lineage without going the same restoration course we all did. In fact our course helped build the Merit of the Age foundation for them. We need to open our minds and accept this.”—Nora Spurgin, 79

“As pastor, the reason I wanted to put this condition into place was to give myself and my community the chance to connect more deeply with the living word. After returning from FAMICON at IPEC this past March, I felt very strongly that a life of attendance in one respect can be as simple as practicing a life of Hoon Dok Hwe- connecting to God’s word every day. This condition was meant for our community as a way of clearing up any personal or family problems, as well as for our Tribal Messiahs to utilize as a great foundation to kickstart Blessing members in their 430 tribes. I felt an immense gratitude for having the opportunity to be living at the time I am now, and to do my best to support True Parents and God’s Providence.” –Mika Deshotel, 33