Shalom and Peace be with you all!

In the book of Matthew it is written, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

When the Second Coming in the person of the True Parents is now here on earth, what do you do?

Follow the TP; join the messiah; live with them.

If you know the mission of the Second Coming and True Parents, then perhaps it is easy for you to give not only an answer but do what you have to fulfill on the time of the Second Coming.

As there are different kinds of people who hear about the Second Coming, we do not just think of the student's way of attending to the True Parents. There are teachers, professors, professionals, government workers, private employees who listen and know and believe about True Parents. Hence, there are different ways or various ways on how they will attend to the True Parents.

Twenty seven years ago, after we hear and believe that the True Parents are already on earth, the staff members convinced us to express our attendance to True Parents by becoming full-timers. That means staying inside the center, do the traditions that the True Parents are doing, do the witnessing and fundraising. Later we were tasked to do the lecturing from the introductory to the lower chapters until we learn to teach the Divine Principle up to the concluding chapter.

After a year, we were taught to pioneer another center. Go to a place with a bag of fundraising items, have your boat or bus ticket to that place where nobody knows you and look for a place to rent to be used as a local center. You have to manage and operate everything by your own. Your communication to your higher leader (Abel) is through postal communication or if you have a good fundraising result, make a long distance telephone call. In a month, you should witness anybody to be a full-timer to help you in the mission.

This was our practical way of attendance before to the Second Coming or True Parents. At this point in time, after 27 years, there are several leaders still doing pioneering works like the new center in Bacoor, Cavite, re-pioneering of some centers like Iligan Center and others.

At present, there are many members whose attendance is vague or inactive or undefined. It may depend on the situation of the members. If he is a teacher, he maybe affiliated to PTARP. If he is a student he maybe more inclined to WCARP, if he is an employee, he may just be a mere home-member of the FFWPU. If he is a VIP in their place, he maybe elevated to be awarded and be part of the Ambassadors for Peace. But these are affiliations. How about their attendance to the Second Coming, their attendance to the True Parents?

One PMC or Previously Married Couple who were blessed after they got married, was designated as Center leader as recommended by the outgoing center leader. The husband agreed to be a full-timer to take care of the center, its operation, the activities they have in their local center. That is one's attendance to the call of a mission centering on the True Parents. May his family not suffer a lot but support each other for the grace and glory of Thy names.

There are many students whose affiliation in the WCARP have learned more about the internal mission of doing witnessing and fundraising. They also join the Sunday services in their centers. That is their way of attendance too.

Today there are home-members like those in Malolos, Bulacan who organize a UPF Seminar in their Barangay, call a lecturer from the center and prepare the venue for their invited seminar participants. These are also their simple way of expressing their attendance to True Parents.

Aside from all these activities and initiatives of different people and members, they also were educated to offer their 10% tithes in the form of cash, time and/or services to help the Providence of Restoration centering on the True Parents.

Last week, there was an invitation all over the United States to attend to the Hoon Dok Hae and Victory Celebration with the True Parents after the 50 state speaking tour. Many western members came from all over the Unites States of America. True Parents were so happy in the event even after they left to Korea. This was a report of Rev. Mike Jenkins. Perhaps we also can call it as one way of attending to the True Parents, literally or more beyond than that.

Is this enough? Is this attendance at all?

In another side of the world to some non-blessed members and/or blessed couples, as they started their families, most are employed, went to the places of their spouses, left their centers, and just merely sent their 10% tithes to the right person. So long as they submit their tithes, they feel they have done their attendance to the True Parents. Yes, they have their families to take care off. They have their children to send to school. They have to have a house or apartment to rent for their shelter, and they have to earn a living. They just simply set aside the 10% of his salary and offer it to the area or center leaders if they don't have a church leader in their place.

In the Philippines and in several countries, there are several places where there are home members but have no centers or churches. It is up to the members to keep their faith that by going to their old churches and beliefs, like the Catholic Church, the Christian churches or whatever. It is up to them if they do the pledge service, the Hoon Dok Hae service, the Sunday service or whatever. If they have enough budget, they go to the next city or province and join the local center's service manned by a leader or young church leader or minister or sometimes by non-blessed members. And there are centers whose members' attendance is based on the "status" of these volunteer-leaders.

This also is the most way of life of members who left their countries after joining and work abroad like OFW's or those who joined their spouses in their respective country of origin. They have or don't have church to connect with; they may or may not visit the church of the country where they stay but for some reasons, they cannot keep their attendance nicely onto those churches. Some reasons are language, different church systems and culture; non or more or less emphasis on the Divine Principle messages by the church leaders and others. There are churches or church leaders who just focus on donations and projects, making the church members as more of a project sponsor and financial resources. The purpose and importance of their project is less explained and overshadowed by the figures needed to make their projects achieved.

Because of these various ways of church operations, attendance of the members are significantly affected.

Hyun Jin Nim has often times emphasized the core values he derived from the True Parents speeches. It is the practice and characterization of the core values in the daily life where attendance to the True Parents is exercised. Our way of thinking, decision-making, planning, implementing, doing projects, activities are aligned to the Will of God and True Parents once the core values based on the ideals from the Divine Principle is manifested.

First is the verticality. It is the verticality or vertical axial line from God to True Parents to True Family, to the leaders and elders down to the general membership. Where is attendance in verticality? Our attendance to True Parents is our way of following as objects to the designated and official representatives of the True Parents in our respective resident/mission area. True Parents embrace the whole world in this providential time, hence, their assigned leaders from the True Family, to the elders down to our local areas are our official vertical connection to the True Parents. This connects our attendance to them. We report to our leader, our leader reports to the higher leader as they also report to the True Parents and Heavenly Father.

Individually, if we maintain the verticality, we think of God, we plan with God, we project with God, we decide with God. Hence, we plan for ourselves, what to buy, what to eat with God. So, how can one think of impurity, of materialism, of selfishness if we always include God? We buy one for ourselves and buy one too for God. It means, we also buy something and give it to whom God wants it to use, and that is for others.

Next core value is the ownership of responsibilities, where one should connect to the original purpose, the vision, mission and goal set by the organization and own the responsibility of achieving the goal, fulfilling the mission and realizing the vision set.

In the Principle, the portion of responsibility is always in man as God has done His part. It is this ownership of responsibility that we should practice. It means, we own the mission to achieve the vision. We set a goal and objective in order to fulfill and contribute for the attainment of the total vision. In other words, we set plan on how to attain the vision, program the projects and activities that will connect everything to the attainment of the vision. All the activities, projects and programs should be manifesting a color, life and love seen in the vision of ideals.

Next is to live for the sake of others. We live not only for our self or family. We work to give a living not only for our family. We are a global family. We need to include others. The world must be for the good, for the ideals, for the vision of having a world of heart under God. So, we need to live for others, for the world. We need to project our life for others. Plan not only for our family but including others.

Next is the team work, where everyone is part of the mission and every one has a role to play. The one world under God absolutely carries even the place where everyone comes from. And as resident from that place, you have a role to play in that one world under God theme. Don't be passive but be aware of what the project is for and think on what is your role in there. It is not Mr. so-and-so's project. It is a project that will contribute for the attainment of the vision of ideals where you are part of it. Hence, you have a role to play. It is a team work. Don't be a bench-warmer.

Another core value is to dream big. This is a challenge. To Filipinos and all other members, they just say, "this is enough for me. To be blessed, to have a living and give or don't give a donation every month, that is all good enough." This is far from the essence of true attendance. The vision is global, cosmic and not only you and your family. The vision is one world under God. Hence, we need to go to a global dimension. We should not only think of our own family, our own children enrolled going to school, having a family day in a week, passing an envelope of tithes in a month. This is only a small dream in a family dimension. We all need to dream big to the community level, to the regional level, to the national level to the international level and global level.

There are so many technologies now to reach out with. The cyberspace is one that will easily connect you beyond family level. Interact with the community and have a good evaluation of what the community needs for the attainment of the vision. In that way, you can see that there are so many things that can be done in the community. Discuss it with the community and create a team. Own the project, make it vertical that it is God's project, that it has purity and will work or serve others.

To dream big is to challenge our limited objectives and goals. If we can work for 8 hours a day for the company, how about working 8 hours for God? If we make savings for the education of our children, how about saving to help others and for the sake of others? Give time for others, services for others, money for others, concern, commitment, awareness and include others, members or non-members as part of others.

Wrapping up, our attendance to the Second Advent is to live with a vision, mission and goal. Our daily routine should manifest the core values that wherever we are, whatever is our job, we always uphold our attendance with the True Parents.

As most of us are blessed central families, we are blessed as mature individuals, couples, families and community who can make a God's team, organize to a higher level, make a program that will help attain the vision, mission and goals. As blessed community, we are hoped by God to multiply the blessings to a higher level. God's Divine Principle is fundamental but complete for all of us to systematize and organize all these things as our way of attending them.

Let us attend to God and True Parents with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength.

God bless us all.