The Words of the Hunter Family
|
|
The Words of the Hunter Family |
In the middle of week long festivities commemorating True Father's ninetieth birthday, True Parents hosted a talent show contest at the Cheong Jeong Gung Peace Palace in Chung Pyung, South Korea, on February 18, 2010.
The "festival," despite the presence of over 350 Unification Church leaders and talent show contestants from all around the world, was an extremely intimate gathering of individuals representing the Unification Church's global family. Also in attendance were several members of the True Family: Ye Jin Nim, In Jin Nim and her family, Kook Jin Nim and his family, Sun Jin Nim and her husband, and Hyung Jin Nim and his family.
The festivities started at four o'clock in the afternoon on February 18, 2010. As is our tradition, we began by greeting True Parents with a round of applause as they entered the beautiful second floor hall, followed by a bow of respect and gratitude. Father was in a joyful mood as he entered and waved to those of us gathered to honor him on the day before his birthday. True Parents sat at the head table just below center-stage and were flanked by Hyung Jin Nim and Kook Jin Nim. Ye Jin Nim, In Jin Nim, Sun Jin Nim and several of True Parents' daughters-in-law served as the judges of the talent show and therefore sat at the judging table.
Prior to the beginning of the contestant performances, several members of the Peace Kingdom Corps honor guard performed a presentation of colors, which included the Unification Church's "12 Gates" flag. Ten contestant groups representing every continent came to the palace to perform for True Parents. Memorable performances were given by a Korean comedic acting group that represented the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), the Cheong Jeong Gung Peace Palace staff who sang songs to choreographed dance, and a Japanese dance troupe adorned in colorful costumes. Europe was well represented by four men from England that sang a medley of Beatles songs while dressed like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
Preston Shin Myung Moon (In Jin Nim's eldest son), Jaga Gavin, and Chris Stein represented the United States by performing a modified version of Lovin' Life Ministries' tithe rap. All of the performances were amazing and reflected lots of practice and preparation for the show, but the tithe rap stood out with its extremely powerful energy, its message of love and offering to True Parents, and its short length. While it was the shortest performance of the day, it was definitely the liveliest.
While the song performed in the tithe rap usually has a singular message about tithing, with In Jin Nim's guidance, Preston, Jaga and Chris took this opportunity to show True Parents how much America loves them. At the end of the song, the group is usually coaxing the audience into tithing with the repeated lyrics, "When we say '100,' you say '10.'" But this time they changed the lyrics to say, "When we say 'True Parents,' you say 'I love you.'" It was joyous to watch True Father smiling and waving his hands at the young men while they were leading the entire audience in shouts of love toward True Parents.
After all the groups had given their best performance, the judges retired to a room to tabulate the scores and report on the results. During the downtime, the audience was serenaded with several songs by a young Korean female pop singer, who though not a member of the Unification Church, treated True Parents with complete honor and respect, by calling them "True Parents."
When the results came in, monetary prizes were handed out to the top three groups that performed for True Parents. The United States fared well as we came in second place amidst fierce competition. Preston, Jaga and Chris received $12,000 on behalf of the Unification Church of America and Preston received an MVP prize for the most charismatic figure of the day. First place went to the Japanese dance troupe that dazzled us with choreographed dance, lots of colorful costumes, and an especially tremendous heart towards True Parents. The Japanese church received a $15,000 prize while third place and a $10,000 prize went to the Korean comedic acting group that represented UPF. All of the contestants were able to receive a small gift and take a special picture with True Parents and other members of the True Family.
At the closing of the festivities, True Parents were truly joyous. One Korean leader led the congregation in singing, Tongil, during which True Father stood up, turned to the crowd, and conducted us as we sang together three times. And as is our tradition, we said farewell to True Parents with three cheers of "eog mansei" and a bow of respect and gratitude for a truly joyous gathering of family.