The Words of the Balcomb Family
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The Words of the Balcomb Family |
Seoul, Korea - Dr. Hyung Jin Moon, the youngest son of Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, was installed as the International Chairman of the Universal Peace Federation on November 18, 2009. He succeeds Rev. Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak, who served a four-year term following the inauguration of the Universal Peace Federation in New York City in 2005, and his elder brother Dr. Hyun Jin Moon who served as co-chair from 2007.
Present at the event were the 12 UPF regional chairs as well as several of the UPF regional secretaries general, including Mwalagho Kililo (Africa), Konstantin Krylov (Russia), Amala McLackland (Asia), and Carolyn Handschin (Europe). Taj Hamad, Michael Balcomb, and Tomiko Duggan represented the UPF international staff, and Dr. Thomas Walsh, UPF Secretary General, served as MC.
“First of all, I want to warmly thank my predecessors, Rev. Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak, and my brother, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, for their service to the Universal Peace Federation,” said Hyung Jin Moon in his inaugural address. “I will do my best to build upon that foundation, and today I want to invite all of you to join with me in the ongoing endeavor to build God’s peace kingdom. This is something we all must work on together.”
In his remarks, the incoming Chair focused on the challenges facing the UPF in its efforts to bring about peace among all the world’s religions and to create one family under God.
“There are many organizations working for peace,” he said, “so what is it that makes UPF different? How does our Founder say that peace will come about? It is only possible through a profound spiritual change for the entire human race.” He went on to remark that this spiritual change can take place only through the institution of the World Peace Blessing, which brings men and women of all races, creeds, and religions together in marriage that transcends all barriers.
Welcoming Dr. Moon’s call for spiritual change, Dr. Thomas Walsh said that this emphasis on the human condition was similar to the conclusions of the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, who wrote 40 years ago, “I see no hope for permanent world peace. We have tried, and failed miserably. Unless the world has a spiritual rebirth, civilization is doomed.”
“Unfortunately, for many years, the United Nations found no place for God or spiritual resources in its deliberations,” Walsh said. “But in the last decade and in particular since the UPF Founder’s August 2000 call for an inter-religious peace council at the UN, there has been a growing recognition of the need for religious resources to be brought to bear in the quest for peace.”
In his congratulatory remarks, Dr. Min Ha Kim, Chairman of the Ambassadors for Peace in Korea, expressed the hope that Dr. Moon would be able to lead the UPF to bring about the long-awaited goal of the reunification of Korea. “I have been active in this peace effort since 1991, when Rev. Sun Myung Moon met with Kim Il Sung in North Korea,” he said. “Let’s work together with our new chair to bring this effort to its conclusion."
Finally, Dr. Sun Jo Hwang, Chair of UPF-Korea, led the audience in traditional Korean cheers of “Mansei” for the ongoing success of the UPF.
CHAIRMAN
Dr. Hyung Jin Moon
SECRETARY GENERAL
Dr. Thomas G. Walsh
Chairman Emeritus
Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr.
Former Speaker, House of
Representatives, Philippines
Hon. Hamilton Green
Former Prime Minister, Guyana
Dr. Eva Latham
President, Human Rights Teaching International,
The Netherlands
Sir James R. Mancham
Founding President, Seychelles
Dr. Hamdi Mohammad Murad
Jordanian Interfaith Co-Existence
Research Center, Jordan
Rt. Hon. Bishop Abel T. Muzorewa
Former Prime Minister,
Zimbabwe
H.E. Stanislav Shushkevich
Former Chairman, Supreme Council,
Belarus
H.E. Johnson Toribiong
President, Palau
The Presiding Council is the governing body of the Universal Peace Federation. Members are elected for a period of two years. The Chairman of the UPF also serves as Chair of the Presiding Council.
The following comments made by Presiding Council members at recent conferences offer insights into the fundamental mission of the UPF.
Rev. Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak
Remember, to build an Abel-like UN, each of us must become an Abel-like person, that is, a person who lives for the sake of others. This is not a life of “business as usual.” Each day we have to face the challenge of not only trying to change others, but of changing ourselves. I can never see others clearly if I myself have clouded vision, impaired selfishness, prejudice, lust, ignorance, greed, jealousy, or resentment. It is only when I come to a place of peace internally that I can see the world and others clearly, truthfully.
Let two principles guide us: First, live unselfishly. Second, seek reconciliation, seek harmony, and seek cooperation. When do we begin? Now, UPF cannot succeed if we only have a message. We must embody the message. The world not only wants to hear something different, it wants to see, feel, observe, and come to trust something different. It is up to us. This is why we are called as Ambassadors for Peace. This is why Father and Mother Moon have taken up these speaking tours at the risk of their lives. For, in order for UPF to succeed, we must first become new people. We have to go beyond conventional dialectical, conflict-oriented thinking. We have to lead the world to an ethics of cooperation, reconciliation, and harmony.
Rev. Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak
Chairman,
Universal Peace Federation (2005-2009)
Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr.
I believe that God in his goodness, his infinite wisdom, and his mysterious way will someday renew all our minds and hearts and bring together Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Confucianists, and Buddhists. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are grandchildren of Abraham. We are all one human family. Peace can be achieved. I know it will be done. It is a question of time, humility, simplicity, and our willingness to reach out. It is a question of political will. If we are able to do this, then our planet will be a place of peace and happiness. We are beginning this process of getting together, working together, and uniting together among the leaders of civil society and religious groups. Eventually we will be united in the bosom of the great, grand planet earth. This is my mission for our country, for the world, and for our planet. Let us unite in this vision of peace.
Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr.
Former
Speaker, House of Representatives, Philippines
H.E. Hamilton Green
The major difficulties facing us are the nature of interstate relationships and the standards for behavior by individual nation states. There is also the critical issue of a standard moral code that all nations, rich and poor, big and small, should subscribe to and respect without equivocation. The role of religion and caring people in this process is vital. How else can we secure integrity of our world through global peace and security? We need to replace arrogance with humility, intolerance with tolerance, and anger with understanding and patience. Most of all, we need to respect other nations and allow them to pursue their affairs and efforts without the boundaries of their history and culture. The only instrument for good governance is the grand architect of the universe, the one God, the living God. We must provide leadership and guidance to our people by working and walking along God's narrow and straight path. Providence produces leaders from time to time, men with a vision, men who can be the catalyst for change. If we can persuade governments and businesses that embracing inclusiveness and righteousness are qualities that should characterize their administrations, we can rest assured that peace will overtake all places and every corner of the globe.
H.E. Hamilton Green
Former Prime
Minister, Guyana
Dr. Hamdi Mohammad Murad
We, sons of Abraham, suffer and struggle as politics has hijacked our religions. We need to educate families to the awareness that we are all one family; rearrange school curricula so that children are no longer trained to think badly of the other; and elicit the help of NGOs, the media and centers of research in a widespread effort of education for peace.
Dr. Hamdi Mohammad Murad
Jordanian
Interfaith Co-Existence Research Center, Jordan
H.E. Stanislaw Shushkevich
We can deepen our understanding of how to distill the best of globalization and at the same time to remove ourselves from its bad aspects, how to act in unison, how to avoid dividing society as a whole into "we" and "them," and how to usher in the process of subduing those roots of aggression within the human soul and steer clear of conflicts between all the various groups. In this new world, thanks to new technology, directly and without any help from governments, all kinds of criminality, narcotics, terrorism, pollution, disease, weapons, and also simply migrants are able to penetrate freely across any borders. With the support of governments and making use of the latest technologies, cannot mutual understanding pervade instead? Can we not carry out joint actions bringing health, prosperity and joy to all peoples? Our obligation is to enact this possibility as a concrete reality.
H.E. Stanislaw Shushkevich
Former
Chairman, Supreme Council, Belarus
Bishop Abel T. Muzorewa
As political leaders nurtured and groomed under our unique cultural chemistry, we must learn how to genuinely love one another despite our heterogeneous roots. We must truly practice the virtue of collective responsibility in the execution of our duties in both the government and the social institutions to which we belong. Above all, we must continue to practice our faith as a God-fearing nation.
Bishop Abel T. Muzorewa
Former
Prime Minister, Zimbabwe