Cheon Il Guk Leaders Assembly Focuses on National Restoration
The 2017 Cheon Il Guk Leaders’ Assembly began on February 5 at the Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center, with over 500 Unification leaders from around the world in attendance.
Apple Heaven USA and UPA collaborated to provide praise and worship music at the start of the event.
FFWPU International President Sun Jin Moon’s keynote address set the tone for the first day of the assembly, which was marked by honest and hopeful regional presentations on the circumstances of Unification communities.
In her address, Sun Jin Moon spoke on a wide range of topics centered on the theme of cultivating hearts of filial piety, hearts to support True Parents and lift off the burdens that they are currently carrying. In keeping with the theme of the ongoing 23rd ICUS, she also described the importance of taking care of the environment, and how much this cause means to True Mother.
“At the outset of 2017, on January 3, True Mother spoke at length about the importance of national restoration, and of the importance of creating the proper environment that will make restoration possible. She spoke with such determination, such clarity of vision and she emphasized several key points which I will touch on today.
She called on us:
- To achieve oneness and to develop a filial heart centered on True Mother on earth and True Father in heaven
- To proclaim the glorious truth of True Parents, and
- To create an environment for growth and harmony
These are essential pre-requisites for National Restoration.”
Sun Jin Moon’s address validated many common concerns and her insights encouraged everyone to embrace what it means to be a leader, specifically to meet the needs we see in the world rather than to wait for someone else to step up.
“The red rooster does not remain quiet or withdrawn, right? It wakes the world to a glorious new day, proclaiming True Parents are here!”
In an act of genuine humility during her speech, Sun Jin Moon offered her business cards to the audience, inviting them to deposit their business cards in a box to foster connections between herself and the international Unification leadership.
Presentations were then given by regional directors and presidents of FFWPU in Greater China, Asia (including the four strategic nations of Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, and Thailand), Oceania, the Middle East, and Europe, with more areas to be represented tomorrow. They discussed significant regional events, progress of the strategic nations located in each region, and the process of discovery being undergone in each region to address its unique needs both in the Unification community and the nations as a whole.
As Jack Corley, Regional President of FFWPU Europe and the day’s final presenter shared, although each region is dealing with very unique circumstances, it was also clear that there was a common hope among the presenters for the future and that, whatever our challenges, local, regional, international, as a movement, confidence in True Parents’ value and vision remains strong. The honesty and humility of many of the presenters, as well as a common desire to support True Parents, shone through.
Concurrent to this event, the Wonmo Pyeongae Scholarship Award Ceremony took place, presided by True Mother and attended by hundreds of students. Our very own Angelica Moraes from CARP Las Vegas and Apple Heaven USA received a scholarship. Stay tuned for more information this week on familyfed.org.