Dr Shirley Stadelhofer has written the best testimonial book of life in the Unification Church since the wonderful "To Bigotry No Sanction" by Dr. Mose Durst. Dr Shirley as she was affectionately known by most people, poured the last days of her life into this book which is part testimonial of her 36 years as a follower of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and part explanation of the teachings of Rev Moon.

I met Dr. Shirley late in her life when she returned to her roots in Berkeley, California in the mid 90"s. She shared with me her stories of her life in the church, her difficulties with the matching and blessing and most especially her love for Christianity and the Christian Church with all of its traditions and trappings. She was also so frustrated that the image of Rev Moon, "the greatest of all Christians" was so tarnished and that he was treated so unfairly.

Hence the book, written to explain to a Christian audience the essentials of Rev. Moon's revelation in a way that she hoped would make sense to her own generation of Americans whom she desperately wanted to be ale to recognize the truth which she had encountered.

I felt that she was sent by heaven at that time to help me. We were actively pursuing Christians ministers, evangelists and people of great faith to go with us to Washington D.C. for a series of seminars on "True Family Values" She was so excited as she felt that this was a wonderful opportunity to introduce many to the teachings of Rev Moon in a forum which they could surely understand.

Her love for Christ and for Christians was a great inspiration for me personally and contributed to a deepening of my own faith and love of Christ. Her "spark of life", her infectious smile and sense of joy were uplifting for everyone who knew her and seemed to rub off on everyone. She could make the tensest situations into a moment of spontaneous laughter.

In her book "New Truth In The Last Days" Dr Shirley weaves her testimony around the explanations of the revelation. For example she uses her frustrations at not being able to make her blessing work out into a way of understanding the heart of Jesus who also was not able to marry and fulfill the central purpose of producing a heavenly lineage.

For me this was like "To Bigotry", a "couldn't put it down" kind of a book. So simple and beautiful, like Shirley herself. I felt that she was reading the book with me and that she was sharing that wonderful smile which lit up the room as I read her stories of her love for her children, of overcoming cancer through a positive mind, of teaching hundreds of schoolteachers in Russia and of the trials and difficulties of living a life of faith.

It may sound morbid to say but one of my best memories of recent years was to be able to conduct the Seung Hwa service of Dr. Shirley. Attended by her family and friends and her spiritual family, it was a holy experience of a holy lady. Her relatives shared of their love for her and then sang "I'll Fly Away" and I felt like heaven and earth were united as one in that moment.