Pentecost: A Force for the Greater Good

Robin Graham
January 26, 2013

I have written previously about the (providential) front line that each and every UTS alumna and alumnus stands upon, wherever they live, work and play. This week I would like to add some flesh to that concept. With acknowledgement to the US Navy for their advertising pitch, the world needs a body of men and women (allied with technology) to act as "a force for the greater good". Can that force, will that force, be drawn from among the UTS alumni?

There is a growing sense that the wider Unification Movement needs people who embody both maturity and practical wisdom to step forward if there is to be any shift and development in a real sense. There are huge issues of governance and ownership both in organizations and in society. Who makes decisions? Where is the accountability? What is the plan? How do people know they are on the right track?

I was pleased to read that True Mother (Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon) has called on membership of the Unification movement to look beyond 2013 toward 2020. That is, finally, refreshing, though 2020 will also need to be a stepping stone and not an apocalypse. I was in despair that folks might not be able to see past Foundation Day 2013. Of course that makes no sense in reality because we are all, I assume, making plans for the future, however unclear they may be.

I have four children. They all plan to live long lives, build families, and have careers well beyond 2013. A daughter and son-in-law bought a house in May 2012. My son prepares for his next four years as a Captain and team leader in the US Army. Over the recent holidays he was engaged to be married and plans to receive the Unification "Blessing" in February. My third child graduated college last year with a BA in Music and a BCom in Business. She is in job search mode. My fourth is a sophomore in university. My wife and I have made our commitments and goals for 2013 but those goals extend well into the next several years. None in my family have put their lives on hold waiting for "Foundation Day" 2013. Yet that may have been the horizon for many in the Unification Movement. However, a lack of long term thinking is not unique to the Unification Movement. The news is full of people who are living from day to day, week to week, and pay check to pay check.

Back in mid-2011 I came up with a project called COMMUNITY 2020 which called on fellow activists and thought leaders to engage in the practical process of exploring vision, mission, purpose, strategy, and prioritization for the longer term, focusing on the wellbeing of the nation's people and society- partnering together to create a force for the greater good. The essential element would be the internal qualities of virtue: transformation that is kindled inside our hearts and minds and which is translated into practice. Many people throughout society are doing this already on personal, family, local, regional and even national levels.

The UTS alumni, more than most, have inherited a sense of purpose, a calling. Unlike other alumni groups the UTS Alumni Association actively seeks to build connections which extend beyond its own alumni- building partnerships with friends, with professors, academics, with fellow travelers- UTS alumni being a catalyst for change and development.

The UTS Alumni Association is planning "Pentecost 2013" gatherings. The East Coast will be the weekend of March 22-24 at UTS Manhattan 4 West 43rd St. New York, NY. The West Coast will be the weekend of April 5-7 in the Bay Area, at a location TBA.