Celebrating 41 Years of Ocean Church

On October 1, 1980 the late Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon officially began Ocean Church, a movement founded upon and guided by a philosophy and vision that humanity is the natural stewards of the ocean and all of Creation.

“The vision of Ocean Church is to go to major ports and begin training young people with fishing and the ocean,” said Rev. Moon in Gloucester, Mass., at the time. “We call it Ocean Church because our plan is not just for fishing, but to create a network of people with a vision for the ocean.”

This vision quickly expanded nationwide and abroad, followed by the 1981 inception of the National Ocean Challenge Program (NOCP) for young people. 

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On this 41st anniversary of Ocean Church, let’s revisit a passage from Rev. Moon’s 2009 autobiography, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, which shares about mastering the sea and the great opportunities of the oceanic era.

Excerpt:

History has shown that the country that controls the seas will become a world leader. Consider Britain… a small island nation in the Atlantic, came to possess colonies on all the continents and oceans and built an empire… Korea, and most of the rest of the East, has taken a different approach. The Eastern world does not discard the spirit in the pursuit of the material… As a totally materialistic civilization brings degradation, the opportunity presents itself to learn from the more spiritually-oriented East…

The era of a Pacific civilization is opening, bringing together Western science and Eastern spirituality… The only philosophy that can prevent wars between religions and open a path to a peaceful world is one that proclaims that humanity is one, transcendent of race, nationality, and religion. To protect itself from the dangers of war, Korea must plant a philosophy of oneness in the world…

The Pacific era is at hand. Anyone who cannot rule the ocean cannot become a leader in the Pacific age… ​​ The true alternative energy source is the ocean. Energy from the hydrogen in the sea represents the future of humanity. Two-thirds of the earth’s surface is water. This means that two-thirds of the raw materials that humanity needs for the future are contained in the ocean…

The oceanic era will not begin without human effort. We must first go out into the oceans. We must go out on boats and fight the waves. Without such courage we cannot prepare ourselves for the oceanic age. The country that conquers the oceans will become a dominant power in the world and find the world eager to study its culture and language. Korea must become the champion steward of the Pacific Ocean. It must understand the will of the Creator and manage His resources well.

You can learn more about Rev. Moon’s life in his autobiography available here.