Father Hatoum drove to Jerusalem from Nazareth to speak to us, as he does for every peace mission. "We do the peace," the Greek Melkite priest affirmed after the hoon dok hae reading. Towering above the podium in his black robe, he called out: "We push the peace." He told how Father appeared to him in his dream last year and woke him up saying, "These people come here to do the peace for you and you sleep?" Father Hatoum is not a man of mere words. For him, action is important. "Rev. Moon does the peace," he told us. "We are happy to see you come here. You push the spirit world. You push each of us to do this. We have changed here. We are very happy. We thank you."

Rev. Michael Jenkins then introduced Bishop Ki Hun Kim, who remarked that hoon dok hae is not just a family church tradition, but many pastors and religious leaders are joining in. "Without brothers and sisters, we cannot do so much for the sake of world peace," he continued. "Based on the foundation of the previous seven pilgrimages, we are able to go to more and more places." Bishop Kim expressed appreciation for the Dutch family for organizing a city tour for the Chicago delegation, which had a 12-hour layover in Amsterdam enroute to Jerusalem.

Rev. Song, the European continental leader, told how Father came to New Zealand on a speaking tour, when he was assigned as a leader there. Father had been speaking from 9:00 pm to 4:30 am to the members, took a break for pledge, and then spoke until 6:30 am, leaving for the airport and the next leg of his speaking tour without eating breakfast. To Rev. Song he commented, "If you live like this, nothing is impossible." Rev. Song reported that every time he thinks of Father he recalls his commitment to a life of chong song. "Sodom and Gomorrah perished not because of the people's corruption, but because God could not find five righteous people," Rev. Song concluded. "That number 5 is expanded to the 500 members of each continental delegation. So if each continent has 500 righteous people, they can be saved." He expressed appreciation to the Europeans and North Americans for fulfilling that number.

Karen Smith, who heads the UN office for the International and Interreligious Federation for World Peace, had recently arrived in the Holy Land. "The United Nations is something Father knew he was to be involved in since his early life," she said. Christianity, like the UN, was prepared to receive the Messiah on the global level. Father speaks of the UN and its providential role. However, it has not been able to comprehend Father and receive him."

She reviewed last year's campaign to distribute the messages from spirit world to the UN delegates. Many on the pilgrimage had participated in that effort. "It's not normal for groups to hold a world peace Blessing in a UN room," she observed, "just as it's not normal for members of a UN mission to receive spirit world messages." She paid tribute to the Japanese women who are building a foundation of heart through their years of sacrificial love and devotion to the representatives of the community of the world's nations. Mrs. Smith also explained that no other NGO has the capacity to mobilize people from 160 nations to come to Jerusalem to work for the cause of peace, and the world community is taking notice. "The real way to effect change is not through the UN officials but through influencing people in your own countries," she concluded. "Sometimes we all feel very small, but do not underestimate the collective power of your sacrifice and investment."

The final commentator of the morning was Dr. Frank Kaufmann, head of the interreligious work of the IIFWP. "The most important thing I have learned is the phenomenal genius of Father Moon," he told the assembly of religious leaders, ambassadors for peace, and Family Federation members. "Is there anyone here who does not originate from the MIddle East?" Quite a few people raised their hands, but Dr. Kaufmann described a Christian minister from Samoa who had come on the World Peace Pilgrimage from Oceania and continued: "Did one of the steps Jesus took have enough pain on it to reach Samoa? Who can say what the steps you tread today might contain? This dispensation of Father is spawning rebirth. We don't have a lot of time to spend in this holy place, but this is where God has dreamed, wept and hoped for us."

 Download entire page and pages related to it in ZIP format
Table of Contents
Information
Tparents Home