Swords to Plowshares, Guns to Trees
Around 20,000 people gathered on Dec. 15th, 2013 at the Cheongshim World Peace Center high in the icy mountains outside Seoul to appeal to God, our Heavenly Parent, for a seasonal spirit of peace and forgiveness to settle over the Korean peninsula, and over all of North East Asia at a time when tensions are running unusually high.
True Mother gives the main address at The World Leaders’ Convention for the Advancement of the Reunification of Korea and Peace in Northeast Asia, 2013, in the first Year of Cheon Il Guk” was held at the Cheongshim Peace World Center in Cheongpyeong, Korea on December 15, 2013. It followed True Parents’ vision of providential organizations uniting to quell the danger in Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula and was followed by a rally to move forward for the reunification of Korea and peace in Northeast Asia.
“We should remember and honor True Father’s philosophy of peace,” True Mother said during her short and moving address. “He always told us to love God; love people, and love our nation, and if we do that consistently, then all problems and conflicts can be quickly resolved.”
To be meaningful, that love has to be very substantial, and concrete, she said. It is not just a slogan or a platitude, but a voluntary commitment to live in a very different way, where the needs of others come first, even if those others are our ‘enemies’ or those with whom we have strong disagreements and difficulties.
Addressing the political and military tensions in the area, she gave a new twist to the timeless biblical image of beating ‘swords into plowshares’ found in Isaiah, Micah and Joel. “I challenge the nations of this region to spend even one third less on their military budgets,” she said, “and use that money instead for causes that benefit not only your own citizens, but all people in the region.” In particular, she urged China to invest in projects that would reduce the dust and pollution that have not only already ruined the quality of life in Beijing and other major Chinese cities, but now threaten the health of millions of Koreans living under the plume of pollution sweeping across from the mainland.
True Mother’s fiery speech wasn’t the only pyrotechnics during the Sunday morning rally that was also supported by the Korean National Unification Ministry. The program began with a unique and pulse-quickening drum performance with five youthful and super-energetic performers using flaming drumsticks to pound out a rhythm on a dozen giant drums while flaming phoenixes disported on the new ultra hi-res video screens behind them. The mesmerizing combination of noise and flames was a great way to open any house!
“The current state of tension in the skies, on the seas and on the land is far different from the bold vision of peace that Father and Mother Moon have been declaring here in Korea, and around the world throughout their lives and particularly in the last fifteen years,” said Ambassador Sam Zackem, former United States Ambassador to Bahrain in his remarks. “The most powerful teaching of Rev. Moon is that we must love our enemies and bring good fortune to them through dialogue and understanding.”
Zakhem moved many in the audience—and many more watching the rally from around the world—by taking the opportunity to apologize to True Mother for the unjust jailing of True Father in Danbury Prison in the United States back in 1984, now almost thirty years ago.
“Today I want to help set the record straight, and say clearly that the righteous leaders of America do not and never did agree with the way he was treated and we want to say so to Father and Mother Moon,” he said.
The former United States diplomat was one of five speakers who gave short reports about different aspects of True Parents’ peace work and peace organizations, including the Universal Peace Federation, the Women’s Federation for World Peace and others.
At a luncheon immediately following the rally, long time Ambassador for Peace and Georgia State Senator Donzella James congratulated Mother for her firm but loving words, and promised her the support of the women of the United States. “As we say in America, we’ve got your back,” she said. The colloquialism was actually a bit much for the Korean translators, who chose the more conservative “We’d like you to come back!” but that’s certainly true as well.
The United States delegation, led by Continental Director Dr. Ki Hoon Kim and President, Dr. Michael Balcomb may have been small, at just over thirty people, but it made a noticeable contribution throughout. The Women’s Federation was represented by Rev. Nancy Del-Rio Rosario from New York, Mrs. Katherine Duncan from Las Vegas, Lourdes dos Santos, Kim Dadachanji from Maryland, and National WFWP President Angelika Selle. The FFWPU delegates were pastors Kevin Thompson of California, Peter Ostrenko from Florida, David Roberts from Seattle, Justin Okamoto from WestRock and Hiroshi Inose from Kodan.
The biggest delegation of Americans, though, turned out to the eighteen bright young American students from Sun Moon University, who came up from Cheonan to spend the first weekend of their winter break to support the program. They impressed everyone with their happy spirits, and their notable progress with the Korean language.
The following day, the American group braved sub-zero temperatures to visit the Gyeongbokgung, ancient palace of Korea’s Yi Dynasty for over five hundred years. Although the original palace has burned down more than once, the Korean people have always rebuilt it quickly so that the memory of their ancestors and kings would not fade.
In his remarks at our closing dinner, Bishop Kim Hoon Kim said that as we enter yet another new year without the physical presence of our True Father, it is our holy task to work harder than before to make sure Father’s legacy will never fade. If we do that, then 2014 can be a year of breakthrough and blessing!