True Father’s Life Course Taught in Chicago

As a finale to the local commemoration of the second anniversary of True Father’s Seonghwa (Ascension), the Chicago Family Church hosted a special one-day workshop on Saturday, October 4, 2014, about True Father’s life course titled "The Life and Philosophy of Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon and America." Fifty-eight elder and younger Unificationists, as well as clergy contacts who were eager to learn about the life of True Father, gathered at the Chicago Family Church Remington Center.  One group had driven over five hours from Detroit, Michigan.

Special lecturer Dr. Tyler Hendricks, president of Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) in the 2000s and the president of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) USA in the 1990s, approached True Father’s life course based on three major phenomena: "Sacrifice," "Persecution" and "Crucifixion." Instead of relating a chronological series of events, Dr. Hendricks gave an overview of True Parents’ life course based on these three areas, and especially emphasized events related to the Unification Church in the United States.

Though the workshop went all day, the lectures and discussions were so engaging that the time seemed to fly by. Many participants expressed their gratitude and approval of the event. One participant commented, "The quality of Dr. Hendricks’ seminar was of a very high level, based on his experiences with True Parents and success in leadership, family and pastoring roles. He gave so much through this one-day program."

Even the younger participants were moved by the presentations. One college student said, "I personally am really grateful for this seminar and the contents that were addressed. It has been a while since I heard about True Parents’ life course during Generation Peace Academy (GPA), and listening to it again reminded me how I had built my relationship with True Parents then and how much more I could understand now.”

The final session focused on the participants themselves, encouraging them to think how they should live their lives from that day onward. Organizers hope that there can be more events like this for the congregation and for the greater community.