Il Shim literally means One Heart. Il Shim education is personal-growth education united with the heart of God. Our church first emphasizes the heart of God in our education. We lost that heart at the Fall. Our blessing is really clear in that it centers on True Parents, true lineage and true Life. Without connecting the blood lineage to God, it doesn’t have value. The broad way of Il Shim is how to unite with the heart of God. The parent-child relationship is blood. It is not a social relationship. This is eternal. With that relationship we develop elder sonship, ownership, etc. Without that clear point we cannot properly establish other things. Through Principle, we can see how parents should be. The parent-child relationship is a vertical line." This was the guidance given to us by our regional director, Rev. Hun Suk Lee, as we began preparations for the first Il Shim program in Seattle in two years.

Taking into mind his guidance, we developed a clear study program based upon the parent-child, one-on-one education system. Utilizing the study topics developed by Brian Sabourin and Kathy Winings, we developed a six-week program including individual study, group study, group fasting and service projects.

The program opened with an orientation on Sunday, February 5th, during which each participant received his "Il Shim Packet" of study materials, reflection forms, calendar and all information necessary to successfully complete the program.

Throughout each week, parent and child studied together. We offered the option of each parent-child group coming together each Friday evening for group study, small group study in homes, or family-only study. During these Friday sessions hoon dok was read, with a lively discussion of the previous week’s study topic. Most families opted to join the larger community at the Seattle Family Church, where we broke into smaller groups according to age.

On Saturday, March 4th, each youth participant, as well as at least one of his parents, did a one-day fast. We came together during the day and studied Father’s speech entitled "Myself" given January 13, 1980, in Tarrytown. The day concluded with a service project followed by sports.

On Saturday, March 11th, we held the concluding ceremony of this six-week educational program. The concluding ceremony was beautiful, each of the 66 participants attending with a reverent heart. Rev. Lee gave an incredible presentation on The Change of Blood Lineage, detailing the remarkable path of restoration that history has followed to bring us to this point.

A beautiful song entitled "True Love"’ was offered by one of our 2075 couples, Brian and Chieko Granstrom. Parents presented True Love Waits rings to their children, with three representative families at the front.

Rev. and Mrs. Lee presented a beautiful certificate to each participant. This certificate, which included the Il Shim pledge, had been signed by Rev. Lee. Upon receiving it, each participant and their parent also signed it in affirmation.

A congratulatory address was given by Pastor Gerhard Wiesinger, in which he exhorted them to take off and fly while at the same time making sure their roots were solidly grounded.

"Together we’ll build a world that’s new, that’s fit for kings and fit for queens. We’ll raise them up to rule the land…" Thus Rev. Anglin reminded the youth of their value as the ever-hoped- for true children of God. She concluded her talk with a quote from Spiderman as she reminded them, "With great power comes great responsibility." She encouraged them to do great things with the promise that the first generation will always be behind them to support and empower them in their great task of life.

Each family had truly invested during this time, and the young people so seriously sought to understand the content of the materials and what it meant in their daily lives. It was deeply moving to sit in on their study groups as they expressed their understanding and asked questions to deepen their understanding.

This was six weeks that bound the community together more strongly, as all were focused on a common purpose with a common heart. At the concluding ceremony, two standing ovations were offered: one to the Regional Directors, Rev. and Mrs. Lee, and another to the coordinator of the program, Rev. Anglin. It was truly a sincere and heartfelt expression of gratitude from the community.

The conclusion of a beautiful day was a delicious banquet that had been prepared by our Kodan Blessed Wives.

We express our gratitude to Rev. and Mrs. Lee, who gave so much support, guidance and love to our community as we pursued this education course and as we celebrated our youths’ graduation. As Rev. Lee said in his concluding remarks, "This is only the beginning". 

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