When Dae Mo Nim came to the U.S. for her first four-city tour in April of this year, the event sparked genuine repentance, renewal and a heightened interest in the spiritual world among Unificationists all across the country. Brothers and sisters became even more keenly aware of the reality of the spirit world. We became simultaneously conscious of our ancestors' contributions (and limitations) as well as our own destiny to enter the eternal hereafter. While the April crusade focused on "liberation" of ancestors, Dae Mo Nim promised to return to conduct the Blessing of these same ancestors, while also liberating several generations of older ancestors. And so, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, DC and New York City geared up for Dae Mo Nim's second U.S. tour scheduled for late August and early September.

New York's event was held on September 5 in the beautiful Manhattan Center. Out of necessity both of the Center's huge ballrooms were reserved for this event. During the early afternoon of that Sunday in September, long, winding lines began to form outside the Manhattan Center. When the doors opened, the Hammerstein Ballroom, including the balconies and boxes, was soon filled with Blessed couples in white flowing holy robes. It was truly an apocalyptic scene! Meanwhile, the overflow ballroom upstairs was likewise filled to capacity for the live video feed.

The first ceremony was the Blessing of ancestors. Dae Mo Nim and the co-officiators, Dr. and Mrs. Chang Shik Yang, entered in grand style down the center aisle, flanked on either side by attendants. They ascended to the stage while the emcee, Rev. Michael Jenkins ably guided all of the participants through the particulars of the ceremony. A moving and poignant moment was when the ancestors were invited in. Perhaps we expected to see an army of ancestors marching in for the Blessing. In fact, some spiritually attuned brothers and sisters did indeed observe such a phenomenon. The Blessed couples who were present (in the flesh!) lifted the cups of Holy Wine into the air for the ancestors to partake of. This was followed by the sprinkling of Holy Water. Then, the Blessing vows were read. The Blessed couples shouted out a resounding "yes" affirming (in place of their ancestors) each of the four vows. After the prayer of Blessing, the co-officiators and Dae Mo Nim left the hall.

After a brief intermission, we settled down for the liberation ceremony for generations eight through fourteen. The format was basically identical to the April ceremony. In contrast to the more quiet and serene Blessing ceremony, the liberating ceremony was a time for enthusiastic singing and clapping.

Many brothers and sisters testified as to the substantial reality of the experience that day. It seems that there were certain recurring themes in the testimonies. Many said that when they saw their grandparents, they appeared young - in their twenties or thirties. This certain fits with True Parents' words on this subject. During her recent speaking tour, Mother stated that as a truly loving couple matures in age physically, their spirits actually become younger and more beautiful. Amen! Another common theme was seeing one's ancestors lined up and waiting to receive the Holy Wine. On a more practical level, a significant number of couples testified that their marriage had improved since the April liberation ceremony. Presumably, the ancestors on both sides were getting along a little better!

A number of prominent New York and New Jersey clergy attended the event. In particular, a pastor from Brooklyn was full of praise, adding that he would like to see this type of ceremony happening all over the world. He commended Rev. Moon for his courage in pursuing these kinds of revolutionary spiritual moments in the face of opposition. Later that night, True Parents received great inspiration from Dr. Yang's report about the event. Father added that not only our direct ancestors, but also many patriots and historical figures benefited from this phenomenon. Thank you True Parents and thank you Dae Mo Nim.

Heartfelt thanks are due to the many brothers and sisters who volunteered to help organize the New York event including: Rev. and Mrs. Dong Woo Kim, Terry Walton, Elio Roman, Rev. Hiro, Abdel Mesbah, Larry Haft, Mrs. Choi, Michelle Yoo, Mrs. Ferrabolli, Mark Nilson, Rob Kitchens, Chris Perkins, Gary Veith, Mrs. Hendricks, David Eaton, Steve Honey, Louise Honey, Peter van Geldern, Keiko Sakai, Jonathan Gullery, Adruma Victoria, Magnus Larsson, Jorg Heller and Kanae Sueishi.

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