The Words of the Marsh Family
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The Words of the Marsh Family |
Recently there was excellent cooperation between the brothers and sisters of STF, other second generation young people, Central London church, UPF Secretariat and Ambassadors for Peace, who came together to hold a Blessing Seminar, Ceremony and Entertainment.
Eleven couples were blessed amid a very beautiful atmosphere, even though in some cases only one of the couple could attend. While there were elements to improve for future occasions, it was an important stage in the development of a working system to educate and bless our contacts and Ambassadors for Peace.
One of the joys of having an STF* team present is that they mingled with the wedding guests, brides and grooms, and sang to them to create the nice atmosphere. Chris and Catherine Moloney also sang at both the beginning and the end of the program … in fact the singing caught on, and by the end of the Marriage Blessing Ambassadors for Peace too were singing and dancing.
After interfaith prayers from Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and Islamic faiths, Bharat Koria, an Ambassador for Peace, spoke to the audience to say that Father Moon is the source of True Love that makes the Blessing possible. The majority of couples were re-dedicating their marriages to each other, but one couple exchanged rings in what was their wedding ceremony.
The Moloneys sing for everyone Simon Cooper and Robin Marsh gave a seminar on marriage values and the purpose of the Marriage Blessing, and Margaret Ali filled in any gaps in the event and introduced the interfaith prayers. Mr. Marsh was even able to talk about the Marriage Blessing on the radio show of one person who, at the last moment, was unable to attend and wanted other people to understand what it was all about.
The Hayashis -- a well-respected elder Japanese couple were the officiators for the Holy Blessing ceremony. Our thanks must also go to Naomi Sato and Ann Kobayashi for preparing the refreshments, and to Joyce Suda who took care of receiving the guests, grooms and brides.
*STF: Teams of young volunteers, usually on a gap-year.