The Words of the Cromwell Family
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The Words of the Cromwell Family |
January 31, 2009 marked an amazing moment in the history of our True Parents’ ministry. It was the 90th birthday of True Father and the 67th birthday of True Mother. It was a day of liberation for God, a day offered to True Parents, a day of joy, hope and excitement.
First, world leaders attending the World Summit on Peace 2009 recognized Father during the closing session held on January 31 at 1:30 PM. The summit was an international leadership conference organized by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), starting on January 29 and held in the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center. Rev. Kwak spoke to participants about applying Father’s teachings of living for the sake of others and true love to every individual, family and organization. Jose de Venecia, former Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Philippines, recognized Father’s role in encouraging the United Nations to include an inter-religious council, something that the Philippines along with other nations proposed and had approved. Finally, Hyun Jin Nim spoke to participants about the vision of One Family Under God and how it is the key to solving the world’s problems.
World leaders who attended the UPF conference were invited to two more events: the Coronation for the Authority and Liberation of God, the King of Kings, followed by a Blessing ceremony titled, “Celebration of Love and Life: Inter-religious Cross Cultural Marriage Blessing Ceremony”.
The first, a coronation ceremony, was a huge event spiritually. It began at 4:00 in the Hammerstein Ballroom in the Manhattan Center with a showing of congratulatory letters for Father on his 90th birthday sent by former heads of state and members of parliament including Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan, George Bush senior, and former prime minister Han from Korea. Next, there was an awesome video presentation highlighting Father’s entire life, including short segments on Mother supporting Father throughout his life, In Jin Nim leading the effort to protest Father’s imprisonment in Danbury, Hyo Jin Nim’s speech at the Berlin Wall and short video shots of Hyun Jin Nim, Kook Jin Nim and Hyung Jin Nim speaking. The video was truly heartfelt, not over-the-top and sufficient to give justice to Father’s life.
After the video presentation, Hyung Jin Nim, the current president of FFWPU International, came forward to read the Determination to Practice Liberation, a text with sections of three of Father’s prayers. (The full text is included after this article.) The content was extremely deep and highly fitting for the event. It reminded me of Father’s sincere dedication to his mission and his understanding of God’s heart. Hyung Jin Nim’s reading was flawless, and made even greater by the fact that he read it in English.
After Hyung Jin Nim’s reading, 12 pairs of national representatives came forward to offer their nations to God symbolically by offering their national flags to God’s throne. This symbolized all the nations of the world being offered to God. Next, 12 pairs of representatives of Korean clans offered crowns to God, which similarly represented all the clans of the world recognizing God as their king. Finally, representatives of 8 religions offered holy items of their religions to God, symbolizing all the religions of the world putting themselves in God’s hands. Next, 70 attendant Blessed Couples entered to pave the way for True Parents’ entrance. Finally, True Parents made their grand entrance together with Hyung Jin Nim’s couple and two grandchildren. Once they reached the front, True Parents conferred Holy Books of True Parents’ Life Course, 700-page photo albums of True Parents’ life, one each to Hyung Jin Nim and his wife Yeon Ah Nim. Then True Parents offered a special prayer for Hyung Jin Nim’s couple. In this ceremony, Hyung Jin Nim and Yeon Ah Nim represented all of humanity in front of God.
Next, royal seals and the royal scepter were offered to True Parents by Shin Cheol Nim (who is Heung Jin Nim and Hoon Sook Nim’s son,) Rev. Sun Jo Hwang, president of UPF Korea, and Rev. Jeong Ok Yu, Chairman of the Pacific Rim Providence.
Next, Bishop Jesse Edwards, Dr. Dong Moon Joo and Archbishop George Augustus Stallings, Jr. presented a plaque of Universal Acclamation to True Parents (text included after this article) as representatives of Boon Bong Wangs, Ambassadors for Peace and Blessed Families around the world.
Next, Dr. Julio Maria Sanguinetti, the former president of Uruguay, offered congratulatory address. It was inspiring to see a secular leader acknowledging Father. Then, Dr. Joseph Lowery, Chairman Emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who gave the benediction at President Obama’s inauguration, gave the second congratulatory address. This was followed with the song This is a Place by David Eaton and David D’Or performed by David D’Or and ___. Finally, it was time for Father’s speech (Father’s speech is available here) <www.familyfed.org/news/index.php?id=20andpage=1>. His speech was a reminder of his inexhaustible spirit and his internal fire to clench this world from Satan’s grasp and return it to God.
Father was extremely humble, thanking and apologizing, yet he was also strong with full spiritual authority and power. He emphasized the need for True Parents but also explained that it’s not really about True Parents; it’s about God. His extreme humility mixed with his supreme spiritual authority and power was the highlight of the night. Spiritually, he must have been separating Satan from the audience and expanding God’s authority and liberation as the title of the event implies.
After Father’s speech was over, he and Mother gave Peace UN flags and Holy Books of True Parents’ Life Course to representatives of 12 nations. Then True Father offered a benediction, followed by three cheers of Og-mansei led by Dr. Pyung Hwa Kim.
At 8:00 PM in the Hammerstein, the Inter-religious Cross Cultural Marriage Blessing Ceremony was held. If the coronation ceremony was like a huge battle between good and evil, with good coming out victorious in the end, it seemed as if the Blessing Ceremony was held totally within God’s authority.
Inspirational talks before the ceremony, In Jin Nim’s powerful welcoming remarks, Pastor Mark Abernathy’s faithful invocation, Hyung Jin Nim’s speech to the participants in which he said that he would also be rededicating his marriage on this occasion and Blessing prayers from the world’s religions prepared the stage for True Parents quite effectively.
True Parents entered looking at ease yet in control, peaceful yet dignified. Immediately, couples went on stage to participate as representatives in the Holy Water Ceremony. It was reported that many couples who went on stage to receive the holy water directly from True Parents were in tears once they returned to their seats.
After the Holy Water Ceremony was the Affirmation of Vows, in which the participants answered in a loud unified voice, “YES!!” to each question. Then, Father blessed the couples based on their affirmations. Next, three representative couples went on stage to receive rings from True Parents while the rest of the couples gave each other rings. Then, Father read the Proclamation of the Blessing and True Parents were presented with flowers and gifts.
Next, a special reunion presentation, the New Hope Singers, who had performed for True Parents at the Washington Monument Rally in 1976, performed three songs. Then, Pastor T.L. Barrett, Jr. gave a moving testimony about his dedication to True Parents. This was followed by couples offering a bow to the officiators and guests. Then True Parents led the congregation in three cheers of Ogmansei. Finally, True Parents took a commemorative photo with the entire audience, concluding the event.
Thank you and God Bless you and your family.
Written by Tossa Cromwell, FFWPU USA national HQ staff
Beloved Father, thank You for Your grace as You have protected me while I continued to fight ever since I was a child for fear that Heaven might suffer the indignity of being slighted.
Regardless of how good things are here on earth, there is no standard more precious than to be connected to Your original heart. Our longing for that connection should therefore be unbounded. We should realize that people who are connected to Your true love are without regret even if they have lost everything in this world. Now we must find our way to the original hometown, the ideal world in which Your love is at the center of our lives. While we are on the earth, we should prepare for the day that we are born as liberated children with free authority in our third life.
Just as a baby must be healthy in the womb to be healthy in life, one's life on earth must be spiritually sound so that one's life in the heavenly world can be sound. In order to stand in a position to receive help from both heaven and earth and to be moving in step with the dynamic fortune of the entire universe, we have to be ready to face death, because the present world is a contradictory world under the dominion of evil. We must be aware that it would be absolutely wrong to allow our descendants to have to carry our burden in our place. (Sun Myung Moon, October 17, 1971)
Beloved Father, when we realize that You have been ceaselessly working until now to pioneer a spring-type environment, we are infinitely grateful to You and infinitely glad; yet we should become sons and daughters who can still lament the fact that we have still been unable to give our entire life and love to You. In order for us to greet the new spring, we should secure a bond with You through which we can invest our life fully and become totally absorbed in that relationship.
In that way, we can greet spring for the first time and come into bloom. We should not become pitiful spiritual beings that go to the next world without having ever welcomed springtime during our earthly life. Just as a flower must go through summer and autumn in order to produce a fruit, we also must go through such a process to bear our own fruit.
For a life to be invested and come to fruition, it must go through the summer season and absorb life elements through the root, trunk and branches until it has the full life force needed to begin a second life. We should become Your sons and daughters who can ask ourselves the question, Is there a life force within our mind and heart that is ready to burst into life in the next world after our bodies have died?
We know that the internal life force must not be invaded by the environment no matter how much time passes and how strong the storm may be. It must follow a course of consistent development so that it becomes a seed that can be planted again as the source of a second life when spring arrives.
In the same way, even if we are not externally powerful, if we are beings with an intense, infinite life force within us -- people with an internal value that can be planted again in the infinite world of the spirit as the fruit of our life in this world -- then we realize that no matter how miserable we may seem, we are not really miserable. I sincerely wish and desire that You will permit us to know that, even as our outer form gradually deteriorates, we are guaranteed to become more serious about investing in the internal value within. (Sun Myung Moon, June 14, 1970)
Father, we need to be aware that no one lacking the desire to humbly bow before You can have any connection with You in the eternal spirit world. Please permit us to feel Your deep heart as we open the door to our own mind and heart. Please let us hear Your voice, which is calling to us from within our own hearts, in order that we may find our lost selves. Please allow us to become people who can bow our heads as we feel the history of hardships and toil through which You have invested in order to restore each of us. (Sun Myung Moon, September 14, 1958)
As saviors, messiahs, returning lords and True Parents, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon have devoted their entire lives to the realization of the ideal world which God has desired ever since the Creation.
Rev. and Mrs. Moon have consistently gone the way of restoration through indemnity throughout their lives, shedding blood, sweat and tears in order to liberate God and save humankind. Finally in 2001, conditions were completed that allowed God's kingship to be restored back to Him. Now the authority of absolute sexual ethics, true love, true life and true lineage within the realm of the cosmic sabbath for the parents of heaven and earth has been established.
True Parents have liberated God, the King of Kings through totally indemnifying and resolving resentment of the history of evil and sin which resulted from the fall of the first human ancestors. Now, all can regain the value God intended for humanity at the time of Creation.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon have taught the path of peace based on the principles of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values throughout their lives in order to bring an end to the history of conflict, war and alienation. They have broken down the walls dividing peoples, religions, ideologies and cultures and have dedicated their lives to the realization of the ideal of creating one family under God. Now 185 nations and 286 clans have acknowledged them as the king and queen of peace.
In this 90th year of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's providential course, he is opening a new era in which humanity can become one community of love and peace, through the appointment of Boon Bong Wangs as representatives of the Parent UN to each nation. We offer our congratulations that the 'Coronation Ceremony for the Authority of the Liberation of God, the King of Kings' can be held at this time and thus offer this plaque to venerate God as the true parent of humanity, the king of peace and king of kings.
Presented by the Cain and Abel Boon Bong Wangs of the world Presented by the Ambassadors for Peace of the world Presented by all Blessed Families in the spiritual and physical worlds