The 18th of April 2003 was a day to witness the happy sight of over 200 people from 13 different nations descending on the beautiful small town of Grävenswiesbach, Germany to begin the 8th Hee Won Workshop Blessing Workshop in Europe. This workshop, which had been long in the planning, was the result of extracting best practise as well as suggestions and proposals from the previous seven such workshops; it was the first one to invite both children and their parents, a point which proved to be the innovation which made it a resounding success.

This workshop, which ran under the motto "Passing on the Pride of the True Parents to the Second Generation", had obviously been carefully planned by the European Second Generation Blessing Department headed up by Geros Kunkel in co-operation with Emanuel and Limi Bauer, Orlande Bauer, T. Yakuwa and Stefan Kaiser for the STF Europe teams (recently renamed, formerly ETF), under the overall guidance of President Sa and his assistant Mr. Chang. The setting was a really nice youth hostel in Grävenswiesbach run by the proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. Baues, a very welcoming and caring couple who provided a clean and well-cared for environment, good food and a happy atmosphere.

About 88 parents and 111 young people were received in the 18th April by enthusiastic and helpful young receptionists, who were then allocated a room and handed a workshop booklet containing the Pledge, HDH materials, a previous lecture by Siegfried Klammsteiner on "Marriage Relationships", a report on the 7th Blessing Workshop (with just 35 participants), notes and speeches about the new matching procedure for second generation couples and a workshop schedule. We also found that we had been split up and well mixed together into 8 parents teams P1-8 and 8 children's teams C1-8. These were to be the basis for participation in discussion groups as well as the mealtimes in two shifts.

The programme began on the 18th with dinner at 18:30 and then an Orientation/Welcome from 20:00 to 22:00 with contributions from Geros Kunkel, Mr. Chang and Karl-Christian Hausmann, all under the guidance of the very capable MC, Mr. David Rennie, who with his wife Christa supports blessing candidates in the UK. The approximately 210 participants including workshop staff were too many for the one lecture room but this was solved by providing excellent video and sound transmission of the proceedings to an adjacent room.

Geros welcomed everyone, explaining that this was the first ever workshop where both children and their parents were invited, and that it was all about the children inheriting and the parents passing on what the True Parents have given us as well as about parents and children working together in mutual trust and love to find the match Heavenly Father foresees for the children. He also stressed this was not intended to be the place where matching actually went on or intensive matching discussions took place.

Mr. Chang, Assistant Continental Leader of Europe, told a story about a fireman who, much to the mother's delight, rescued a "child" from a terrible fire only to find that he had picked up a doll. The point he was making was that we should be extra aware and careful about what we are doing and to have an open mind and heart during the workshop to get the most out of, to organise ourselves and to become an owner of Cheong Il Guk.

Karl-Christian Hausmann, National Leader of Germany, spoke fascinatingly about how God worked in his life at the time of his Blessing, that we cannot fail if we really can bring God into the matching process and about how fortunate we are to know something about how our future spouse thinks because of our mutual background. He also spoke about how it is good to have know-how but even more important than that is to have know-why.

The 19th April sessions began with HDH readings on the Significance of the Blessing from HDH Series Volume 8 "The Way of the True Child". This was followed by breakfast in two shifts and then the first of Siegfried Klammsteiner's lectures at 09:00 on "Preparing Oneself for the Blessing, The Candidate's Perspective", which was a really practical discourse on

• making a solid foundation for God to work in the matching process
• the attitude of parents and the children working together
• our personal relationship with God
• our relationship as second generation children to our parents
• our ability to practice True Love

Eight groups of young people and the same number of groups of parents then paired of, on this occasion just parents together and just young people together, to discuss the contents of Siegfried's lecture and what it meant to them. Notes were taken by one person in each group and handed into the workshop office for analysis by Siegfried.

This brought the proceedings up to lunchtime at 12:30 and later a walk in nature or some sports, which left a great deal of time for people to speak with each other to catch up the last 20 years since they last met, or parents and children enjoying time together, or STF Europe members and other young people sharing and so on.

The second of Siegfried Klammsteiner's lectures at 15:30 on "God's Ideal for the Family, the 4 Great Realms of Heart, Building a God-centred Family" was again a really practical discourse on

• the nature of the Heart God placed in all human beings consisting of basic needs, values, attitudes, desire, principles, motivation, vision and above all love and how this could never open fully, historically.
• our deep desire to perfect True Love
• emotions and how they are a totally different aspect to man's nature to Heart; how to handle emotions, something which schools do not teach.
• the Culture of Heart
• falling in love - when and how best to allow it to happen
• how to develop family relationships

The groups of young people and of parents then paired of again for discussions, this time in each case one parents group together with one young persons group, making eight mixed groups in all, to discuss the contents of Siegfried's lecture and what it meant to them. Many points came out from both parents and the young people of the second generation. Openness and mutual understanding were nurtured in a really positive and safe atmosphere and it was this type of togetherness of the generations for the same higher purpose which became the hallmark of the great success of this workshop.

Dinner was at 18:30 followed at 20:00 by testimonies from parents and two second generation blessed couples, Geros and Astrid Kunkel and Emanuel and Limi Bauer. These couples also showed touching Powerpoint presentations about their respective blessing. Everyone was moved by the open and honest handling of the difficulties which were faced by the individuals involved but also by the victories which were won. Astrid was there later with her child, a representative of the Third Generation, showing her obvious delight at being a mother. The day finished with prayer at 22:00 and then we all retired.

Sunday the 20th April began with Pledge and more of the previous morning's HDH. There was again breakfast at 07:30 and then the third of Siegfried Klammsteiner's lectures at 09:00, titled "Raising Children to the Blessing, The Parent's Perspective" which covered topics such as

• the nature of parenthood
• it is not automatic that children will go in a good direction unless taught and trained
• the family as the school of love - creating a free and loving atmosphere, overcoming struggles and challenges quickly
• elements of growth, basic needs of the child
• teaching about Heart, emotions, intellect and will; schools only feed the intellect
• the nature of emotions and how to understand and handle them. Again how totally different Heart and emotions are.

Eight mixed parents and young persons groups again paired off for discussions and again many points came out from both parents and the young people of the second generation. Questions handled in this session included:

• what is most important to each parent in raising their children - what worked, what was most important, where did they feel supported and
• what is still missing, that how can we do even better for the 2nd Generation in such workshops; what do the 2nd Generation young people miss?

The discussions were again very fruitful and brought everyone together in deepening mutual understanding.

Lunch was at 12:30 again followed by time for a walk in nature or sports. 15:30 saw the first of two lectures given by Mr. Tim Miller about Change of Blood Lineage, the Meaning of the Blessing, an excellent lecture taken from True Parent's words and material from Mr. Sudo. This was followed shortly afterwards by a talk from Geros Kunkel on the application and matching procedures for second generation blessings.

Dinner was at 18:30 followed at 20:00 by an STF Europe presentation consisting of testimonies from STF Europe members and one from Mrs. Irma Körtvelyessy who takes a leading role in the STF Europe Parents Committee as well as her work as the church leader for Frankfurt. This was followed by entertainment given by some STF Europe teams including the singing of local songs from their mission country and two STF Europe songs. The day finished with prayer at 22:00 and we all retired.

Monday the 21st, (sadly) the last day of the workshop, began with a short HDH session, testimonies from two ETF members and another member of the STF Europe Parents Committee, myself, followed by Siegfried Klammsteiner who gave a short summary of some points which came up in the various group discussions. These included, but not exhaustively:

• how great it was to come together as the 1st and 2nd generations to take time to share and understand each other.
• the deep desire on the part of the 1st generation that the 2nd generation carry on where the 1st generation left off and how good STF Europe is proving to help achieve this.
• offering a uniform standard of education for all blessed children no matter where they are or what their circumstances.
• understanding God's Heart as expressed in the family, …….. and many other points.

The formal part of the workshop ended with Mr. Tim Miller concluding his very useful lecture series on Change of Blood Lineage and The Purpose of Marriage. The MC, Mr. David Rennie, rounded off the proceedings with thanks and little presents to all who had made a contribution, including the proprietors of the youth hostel Mr and Mrs. Baues He also announced that the proceedings of the workshop with pictures and audio will be made available on CD at €15 each in a few months time.

It remains to mention that the STF Europe Parent's Committee made up of parent representatives from Germany, Norway, France and the UK, Second Generation Department management members and the STF Europe IW Stefan Kaiser took a number of opportunities to meet and discuss a variety of important topics concerning the day to running of STF Europe teams, the "second year of STF", specific situations, suggestions for improvements, what to offer young people who do not want to go through STF Europe, etc.

The workshop was without a doubt a resounding success as testimonials from participants will surely confirm. The balance between lectures, which were excellent, and discussion/free time was struck well, the venue was great, the atmosphere high and the organisation excellent. The discussion groups were too big and were maybe mixed up too often rather than keeping to people who had already got to know each other in a previous session but there was little left to be desired other than that. This kind of workshop can be highly recommended and even some young people who were maybe a bit reserved about it at first came away totally positive, despite themselves. Perhaps we will have the pleasure of seeing you at the next one!

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