Some 60 husbands and wives celebrated their 13th anniversary of the 1982 Blessing in the Washington, D.C. Unification Church Cultural Hall on December 2, 1995. Couples brought one-dish delicacies to contribute to the banquet, and several shared their talents to bring joy to the occasion.

Guests of honor were 777 Couple representatives Hugh and Nora Spurgin, who spoke on the topic "Blessed Family Life in the Completed Testament Age." With wisdom and warmth, they shared observations on some of the challenges of the present time in our lives, as well as humorous comments on those to come.

The event was organized by the 8,000 Couple Blessed Family Association of the Washington, D.C. area. Bill & Donna Selig, Metro Chaircouple, Paul & Jutta Tobkin (recently moved from Virginia to Ohio), Mehrdad & Anna Mizani (Maryland), and Bob & Diane Abendroth (of Washington, D.C.). Whether Blessed in Madison Square Garden, on July 1, 1982, or in Chamshil Gymnasium in Seoul on October 14, 1982, the 8,000 couples number some 214 families in the Metro area.

At the seventh celebration of our blessing in 1989, then-President James Baughman explained the purpose of the Blessed Family Association. "The BFA is not a formal organization. It is more accurately defined as an informal gathering of brothers and sisters where we can support each other in an horizontal way. In other words, it is not the same as the [Unification] Church hierarchy. The Association is very important to understand because it doesn't matter what position one holds in the Church-president, state leader, fundraiser-we are all equal in this Association. We share similar concerns and the need to support one other."

At the same event, Hyo Jin Nim emphasized the vertical nature of the Blessing. "The Blessing is the beginning point of the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, when we go to the spirit world, we will not go there because of some record or external achievement, but because of our Blessing. The key will be our blood lineage with the True Parents. That will be the connection that we will have to Heavenly Father when we go to spirit world."

Entertaining the couples were Fran and Yoshihiro Ichijo who harmonized on "The Rose," followed by a solo from Fran on "I will always love you" with some dancing too. Mehrdad Mizani, and his sons, Mehran and Arman, sang some original compositions, including one written for the recent "Pure Love" rally. Alex Colvin sang with his daughter Lyn several Christmas songs and an original song. Patsy Casino shared "Through the eyes of love."

Although disappointed that Rev. Chong Jik Woo was prevented from attending due to illness, the couples were happy to hear from our elder Blessing representatives, and to reminisce about our expectations at the moment, 13 years ago, when we stood and declared our vows before God and the world. So, once again, the couples stood and repeated those vows, grateful for the love of our True Parents which allowed us to be grafted onto the heavenly lineage. Again, we sang "The Song of the Banquet," with hearts of deep gratitude to have participated in that banquet of love.

Finally, elections were held to choose new officers for the next term of office: 1996 to 1998. The new representatives are Francis & Wendy Buckingham (Metro Chaircouple), David & Stacy Urban (Washington, D.C.), Clark & Sylvia Eberly (Virginia), and Joe & Debbie Taylor (Maryland).

Congratulations to the new officers, and congratulations to all the 8,000 Blessed Couples, on the accomplishment of 13 years of Blessed marriage.

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