The Words of the Tardy Family
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The Words of the Tardy Family |
The final stop on Rev. Hyung Jin Moon and Rev. In Jin Moon’s tour took place at Lovin’ Life Ministries in New York City on Sunday September 6. The Hammerstein in the Manhattan Center, a venue with over 2500 seats, was filled to the brim and overflowing into the Grand with members from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana.
The service started with music and entertainment performed by the Lovin’ Life Ministries Band and Choir, with songs such as “Long Black Train”, which had the audience on their feet and dancing, as well as the well-known hits “You Raise Me Up”, and “Dream On."
The message being expressed that day began with a short, but very moving, video of Rev. Hyung Jin Moon’s 21,000-bow condition, which was completed to lay an internal foundation for the building of the growth stage temple (Cheon Bok Gung) and for the increase of membership by 21,000. The condition concluded on August 7 with Hyung Jin Nim’s tearful prayer and special calligraphy at the Headquarters Church.
Lovin’ Life Ministries Senior Pastor Rev. In Jin Moon, who was the first to speak, introduced her younger brother and Unification Church International President, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, as having been "Anointed as the spiritual head of our movement", adding, "Once again True Parents have done us a great favor in making the transition from the first to the second generation a smooth one."
Pastor Moon noted that she and her brother had much in common, such as being alumni of Harvard Divinity School, raising five children, and starting their own ministries. She then shared that growing up he had realized he had a calling and became a great leader in "wanting to live one's life for the sake of the world with Integrity, Service, and Excellence." Pastor Moon added, “True Father has placed us all in good hands. He is well qualified to be our spiritual head."
With Rev. Hyung Jin Moon's message of the need for unity under True Parents, as well as the belief and pride in our own church, members were stunned and enthralled at what tomorrow would bring with the leadership of our International President.
Both first and second generation attendees shared their thoughts and reflections directly after hearing Rev. Hyung Jin Moon speak.
Male 1st Gen from NJ: What stood out for me the most was hearing that we are “out of the closet from a time of persecution”, and should be proud as Unificationists. Rev. Hyung Jin Moon is sharing this from the bottom of his heart and True Parent’s heart. I could really relate with this. He is lifting us up, bringing back the spirit.”
Female 2nd Gen from NY: “My main feeling from today’s service is a feeling of hope. Hyung Jin Nim has such a solid demeanor and felt like someone who you could stand together with.”
Male 1st Gen from NJ: “It’s amazing just to see Hyung Jin Nim and In Jin Nim together, recognizing their parents as the originators of everything we have today. That was amazing.”
Male 1st Gen from NJ: “Hyung Jin Nim’s couple is so beautiful. When you watch the interaction between Hyung Jin Nim and his wife it’s so natural and loving; it’s not an act or just something they should be doing. They truly love each other. I think that is really the essence of his ministry. He understands what true love is. It’s part of him; it’s part of his family. Based on this, when people watch and look at him, it’s an inspiration to all of our couples to see that true love and true heart.”
Male 2nd Gen from NY: “Hyung Jin Nim is really dedicated to achieving True Parents’ ideal and goal. But at the same time he is so easy to relate with and so humble, even though he is in such a high position. As In Jin Nim says, he is so “lovey”, and I think he is exactly what True Father wanted as the leader of this movement. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.”
Male 2nd Gen from NJ: “I feel a lot of confidence and hope for the future of our movement from hearing Hyung Jin Nim and In Jin Nim share; confidence in their love and their ability to pass on True Parents’ heart. There is so much hope from them to make sure that the heart of our movement is still alive and strong.”
Female 1st Gen from NJ: “My respect for Hyung Jin Nim is so deep because every week I listen to his sermons on the internet and hear his messages. My heart is sure that the future of our movement is in good hands.”
Male 2nd Gen from NY: “The message from our international president, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, was very clear to me about being proud of who we are. It is a different age now, where this is ok and necessary. We really need to do this for ourselves and for even other religious people, who are becoming frustrated that we are so “in the closet”, so I think it was a good message. What touched me the most personally was seeing the relationship between the True Family members today. That closeness between them is very catching for me.”
Male 2nd Gen from CT: “It felt that it was a very powerful point to recognize the role that we are meant to play as the people that can bring unity. We can play the social, political, economic, or any function of bringing people together. We need to be proud of what we are trying to do. At the same time, Hyung Jin Nim’s message of appreciating the type of love that we are meant to have, in which we need to see with our ‘spiritual eyes’, was extremely powerful.”
Male 1st Gen from NY: “Hyung Jin Nim’s message was very humble coming from someone who is the head of an international organization. As a pastor he was able to speak to every single person, no matter where they are at.”
Male 1st Gen from NJ: “Hyung Jin Nim shared honestly about his own struggle in faith. He spoke of the question regarding True Love, ‘Do we really have True Love?’ The purpose of the Unification church is to complete the work of Jesus, but in order to do that we need to have a love that is capable of doing that. He is very honest, because everybody has barriers in their faith. For the international head to be honest about his struggle, this invites us all to be very honest and authentic about who we are. This will bond us together. I felt very close to him; I have my own struggles in faith. There doesn’t have to be any distance between us in the UNIFICATION church. I love his honesty and being genuine.”
Written by Celine Tardy