True Mother brought the message of "The Path of Life for All Humankind" to a packed ballroom at Seattle’s Westin Hotel on Tuesday, March 30, 1999. The crowd was estimated at over 1000, with nearly 800 attending in the ballroom and over 200 others at overflow locations. The audience, gathered from throughout the Northwest Region, included guests from Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska as well as international attendees from nearby British Columbia, Canada. Mother was introduced by the Honorable Gene Winchester, a retired member of the Idaho State Legislature and a colonel in the US Air Force. Rev. Leroy York, pastor of the Evening Star Church of God in Christ, provided the invocation.

The event coordinators, Dr. David Burgess and Rev. Michael Downey, put together a delightful program which emcee Rev. Michael Jenkins praised for its attention to detail and service to Mother and her accompanying entourage. The Interfaith and ethnic communities were well represented at the event due to the tireless efforts of community leaders such as Rev. David Malloch and Yukichi Tate. Bonnie Berry-Cooledge and her staff at the WFWPU also brought a notable contingent of local women leaders and community representatives.

The impressive list of attendees included:

From the Native American community: Chief John and Mrs. Janet Webster, from the Husat Tribe; chief Herb Fisher, Council Members Rick and Heidi Horejsi, from the Hoh Tribe;

From the Women’s Federation: Mr. (and Mrs.)Azziz Sadat, founder and director of Afghan Relief Northwest; (Mr. Norman and) Mrs. Georgie Kunkel, retired pioneer in the field of school counseling, author, recipient of WFWP WA. woman of the year 1998; Mrs. Bea Wilson, Family Support Network, Pres. of Central Seattle area Chamber of Commerce, Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims;

From the Inter-Faith community: Buddhist -- Duoc Su Temple (Vietnamese); Van Hanh Temple (Vietnamese); Wat Mixai Temple (Laotian); Vice President Sahak Khemararam Buddhist Assoc. (Cambodian); Golden Summit Sagely Monastery; Moslem -- Hisham Farajallah, Ismael Ahmed, Minister Milford Mohammed, Nation of Islam; Sikh -- Representative of Gurdwara Singh Sabha; Hindu -- Representative of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center; Christian -- Star Bethel Missionary Baptist Church; Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church; Evening Star Church of God in Christ; and House of Holiness Pentecostal Church. Other religious communities included members of "The Family", the Church of Scientology, and the Wesleyan Community Church

Ethnic groups sending representatives included: the Kurdish Community, Somali Self Help Organization, the Filipino Community Association, Vietnamese Community Organization, the Chinese Community, and the Ethiopian community.

Political, government and social groups were represented by Representatives of the Libertarian Party, Consul of the Nation of Seychelles, a representative from the Consulate of Mexico, Korean Community Ambassador Hun Son, Consulate General of Republic of Korea. Mr. Min, Hak Jun, Former President of Washington State Korean Association as well as two past presidents of Washington State Korean Association, the president of a Korean Senior Citizen Organization, and a Korean Monk.

In addition, proclamations, congratulatory letters, and welcome letters were presented on stage by members of HARP from Ron Sims, King County Executive; City of Seattle Mayor Paul Schell; Washington State Senator Paul Shin; and Mrs. Dorthy Gopher of the Ojibwa Tribal Nation.

In his introductory remarks, Dr. Tyler Hendricks commented on the significance of this diversity of the audience. He noted that religious leaders such as the Pope or the Dalai Lama have the power to draw large audiences, but the audiences are primarily of their own followers sharing the same ideology. Dr. Henricks pointed out the power of the message being given by the True Parents which can draw together so many different people. He noted that it is the power of the love of the family with a focus on the ideal of the True Family which can move all principled people in one direction.

Dr. Hendriks stressed the importance of all religious leaders needing to be able to speak with one voice. Because of the lack of unity among religious leaders, political leaders having religious beliefs have been reluctant to include religion in the political process. Dr. Hendricks noted that the evening’s message represents the "one voice" which needs to be raised throughout the land and around the world.

The evening program began with a sumptuous buffet in the anteroom entrance to the Grand Ballroom. The crowd was then ushered into the room by upbeat music by the Jal Feldman Swing Band, and the festive mood was further highlighted by the Sun Hak International Children's Choir under the direction of Mrs. Nancy Kubo. This choir is composed of second general Blessed children. They performed with Celine Dion last year, as previously reported in the Unification News.

The program concluded with the announcements of the winners of the local essay writing contest offered by FFWPU to middle school through high school students in the area. Students were given topics about family and values with a $1000 first prize in two age categories to be shared by the student and the sponsoring school or organization. Second and third place winners received $300 and $100 prizes. The high school winner was Bryan Ford of Federal Way. The middle school winner was Alexandra Giles of Seattle. Judges included Ms. Julie Pearson, a teacher in the Seattle School system; Clifford Donley, a retired vice-principal at Hazen High; Mary Donley, a retired teacher; Irene Sanders, Pastor's wife of Bethel Star Baptist Church; and Marget Chappel, a local evangelist and Sunday School teacher.

In his report after the event, Rev. Michael Jenkins made the following comments :"The Sun Hak Choir is well-trained to sing in harmony and balance. They are children between 8 and 12 years old. The audience was supportive and they listened well. Everything went very smoothly. The victory celebration was high-spirited, with a good deal of singing on both sides of the phone. The native Americans did a song with drums playing at the celebration, and the Sun Hak choir sang two songs, then sat up front to be close to True Mother. The victory room was packed with maybe 150 members and guests." Mother was pleased to hear the choir sing two Korean songs. She mentioned that it gave her more confidence that our American members can learn the Korean language.

Our Sponsoring Organizations:

Rev. Weon Keun Kim, Chairman of the FFWPU -- Northwest
Rev. Michael Downey -- Pres. FFWPU -- Washington
Mrs. Bonnie Coolidge -- Chairwoman -- WFWP -- Northwest Region
Rev. Michael Yakowitz -- Pres. FFWPU -- Montana
Mr. Matt Morrison -- Regional Director ACC
Mr. Tim Comey -- State Director ACC Idaho

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