Canada -- Revival in Our Time

Alan Wilding
October 18, 1986

Over 30 ministers and several hundred congregants came to the October 18 revival.

In his speech given in Seoul on May 1, 1981, Father explained that when he named our movement he realized that the name "Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity" might be uncomfortable for traditional Christian ministers, especially since this unification was being initiated by a "marginal man" like Rev. Moon. Father said, however, that the term "Holy Spirit" in the name means that the power to unite Christianity cannot come from human ability but by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the mobilization of the spirit world. Furthermore, he said, "You can unite Christianity if you set aside the elements that cause disunity and preserve the core around which all Christians can unite

Dr. Paul Werner, the national leader of Canada, whose own background is firmly rooted in the evangelical tradition, has been carefully guiding the members here in how to mobilize the Holy Spirit and develop good, solid relationships with Christian ministers.

In our work with other ministers we first identified the approximately 1,200 clergy of Toronto, and then we systematically visited them and explained to them on a one-to-one basis about Father and our movement. We answered any questions that were on their minds. From this we found several hundred interested ministers. We have kept in close contact with them and continue to send them Unification Church literature every month.

Then we initiated a series of inter- denominational prayer meetings. After a modest start, the meetings grew to reach a considerable number of our positive ministers. After several such meetings, we organized a revival not only for clergy but also for their congregations. Our first revival in Toronto was held on March 15, 1986, and through it we became better known to many churches that had not had previous contact with us.

Following that, we began Principle seminars for clergy and continued our prayer meetings. As we visited members of the congregations who had come to know us from the revival, we became more accepted in those circles. On that basis, Dr. Werner suggested that we form a Unification Alliance with ministers to formalize what we had established so far. The Unification Alliance was founded on June 1, 1986.

This past summer many independent churches invited our members to speak, preach, and evangelize at their conventions. In one church, Unificationists were the main speakers in a convention that lasted for more than a week.

As summer came to an end, it seemed fitting that we hold a second revival. On October 18, 1986, over 30 ministers and several hundred congregants gathered under the theme "Revival in Our Time Moderated by the Rev. Robert Duffy, secretary- general of the Unification Alliance, the program included prayer, scripture reading, musical selections, and several speakers from different de- nominations. The main evangelist, Rev. Franco Famularo of the Unification Church of Toronto, spoke on "God's Will in Our Time Rev. Famularo emphasized that sin is the real cause of disunity and that Christians need to unite together in preparing for the Second Coming. His message was warmly received by the congregation and especially by the ministers.

This revival was another stepping- stone in the building of a broader base of friends in Toronto who we hope will join with us in our urgent task of building God's Kingdom on earth.