PEACE STARTS WITH ME（2021.06.05、米国）

映像の言語は英語です。
18分からはノエル・ジョーンズ牧師が韓鶴子総裁を紹介した後に、韓総裁のメッセージがあります。

True Mother spoke at the Peace Starts With Me event in USA on June fifth, 2021.

Beloved ladies and gentlemen, and leaders from every sector of society joining from around the world. Today, you stand at a turning point where your resolve is needed for the sake of the world’s citizens.

The first human ancestors left their Creator, God, and thus began the history of war and conflict that continues to this day. Today, moreover, humanity is waging a war against an unexpected virus.

For thousands of years, humankind has yearned for freedom and peace; yet this dream has not been realized for even a single day. The Creator had no choice but to act according to His principles of creation. God could not abandon humankind and, therefore, initiated the history of the providence of salvation. However, it took six thousand long providential years until a victorious individual, absolutely united with the Creator, could emerge in the midst of fallen humanity, and that time is now.

Two thousand years ago, Heaven chose a victorious son who could fulfill the ideal of creation. Yet Jesus Christ was not recognized. The foundation laid for Jesus Christ to fulfill his responsibility was taken from him.

Ultimately, Christ walked the path of the cross, prophesying that “I will come again.” Christianity began eagerly waiting for Christ to come again. For a long time, Christians have been waiting for Christ’s return. However, the essence of Jesus and the identity of God, the Creator, remains elusive.

Over time, human-centered thought led to the creation of countless denominations With so many different denominations, where would the returning Christ come? Please understand that the desire of God, the Creator, was to dwell as our Heavenly Parent with the first ancestors who were to have reached spiritual maturity on earth. In other words, God’s wish was to build the kingdom of heaven on earth together with human beings. However, our first ancestors, tasked with becoming victorious in cooperation with God, could not fulfill God’s Will.

During the 2,000-year history of Christianity, Heaven has worked to establish without fail, the foundation for the realization of God’s Principle of Creation. Hence, since Jesus prophesied that he would come again to host the ‘Marriage Supper of the Lamb,’ the Christian cultural realm must find the only begotten Daughter who will stand as the bride of the returning Christ.

Knowing that the providence could no longer wait, and in order to lay the foundation for the returning Messiah, Heaven granted the founding of a new nation that could unite nations divided from each other. That nation is today’s United States of America. The founding fathers built America as a democratic nation. They prioritized building a place of worship and built schools to educate future leaders. Constructing their homes was not the priority. However, given the environment, realizing their dream was not easy and America now has 400 years of history.

Throughout those 400 years, many unexpected events happened. During World War II, America played a central role in the victory of the Allied Forces. However, the role of Korea in God’s providence and plan remained a mystery. Had God’s unfolding plan been known and had Heaven’s voice been heard, the Korean Peninsula would today not be divided into North and South. In other words, God blessed America but that nation could not fulfill its mandate. Nevertheless, God has continued to bless the United States.

After World War II, America faced serious challenges: breakdown of the family, drug problems, and a loss of direction for the youth. Aware of Heaven’s Will, the True Parents came to America in 1971 to revive and re-awaken this nation to its central mission of embracing humanity and leading it back to Heaven. True Parents prayed in desperation, imploring God not to turn his back on America.

Around that time, many young Americans, inspired by True Parents’ teachings, went out to the world as missionaries. Many are still active today in their mission nations.

Today, I would like to warn America. God blessed America and America must therefore fulfill its responsibility. America cannot repeat the mistake of going against Heaven’s will. The Puritan fathers understood the importance of the family in serving God. However, what is the reality of today’s families in America? How is it possible that teenagers in schools and communities — even elementary school students — are being killed in school shootings? America’s politicians need to provide answers. In the Bible, it says “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks….” Is it necessary for citizens of America, the world’s superpower, to own and carry guns? Should we simply observe a situation where innocent lives are being taken for no reason? I believe the time has come for America, especially for the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) — America’s Christian ministers — to take a stand for peace.

Many things happened during the 40 years of True Parents’ ministry in America. When my husband was unjustly accused, religious leaders formed a “common suffering” fellowship in support of religious freedom. In particular, former United States Senator Orrin Hatch is supporting religious freedom and True Parents’ work even since he retired from office. I understand that he even filed a petition to former President Trump stating that the investigation of Rev. Moon in the United States was flawed.

Thanks to the support of righteous people, I am encouraged in my work to reawaken America to the spirit of its founding fathers and embrace heavenly values. The path to resolving the critical challenges facing today’s world lies in understanding God’s wish to be the Parent of Humanity. In other words, humanity should attend our Creator as our Heavenly Parent. To do so, I strongly encourage everyone to embrace the True Families Movement. Through this movement, humanity can receive True Parents’ Marriage Blessing and be born again as Heavenly Parent’s children. This the key to America’s revival and the revival of the world.

I invite all ACLC clergy, and everyone related on the path of God’s will, to become substantial messiahs to their extended families and tribes. Please fully invest yourselves so that all citizens of America can become Blessed Families.

To support this effort, the New Yorker Hotel, located in New York, the economic capital of the world, will be completely renovated. It will become a center for peace [“peace palace”], an educational landmark where leaders from around the world will gather and be inspired to dedicate themselves to practicing true love and the cause of the true family values movement.

My husband and I also invested in Washington D.C., the modern-day capital of the world. At a time, when the threat of communism was real, True Parents invested significant sums of money and founded The Washington Times. The Washington Times became a reference for American presidents, including President Reagan. The aim of the Times has been to inform American leaders on how to defend America and, as a nation blessed by God, how America can live for the sake of the world. This is why I wish to strengthen the presence of The Washington Times in the heart of D.C. so that the paper can forge stronger ties with American leadership; but also for the Times to become a landmark that visiting foreign dignitaries will want to visit and gain understanding and inspiration.

This is not just for the sake of America. America is uniquely placed to become a beacon of hope for all people, who are like orphans who do not know their parent. To do so, and to make a fresh start, leaving behind four hundred years of suffering and atonement, I wish to usher in a new springtime of God’s providence. The buildings I mentioned will become symbolic seeds of true love sowed for the sake of America and the world.

In so doing, we will bring forward the realization of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, one family of humanity under the Heavenly Parent. This will see the realization of humanity’s hopes and Heavenly Parent’s dream while True Parents are alive on this earth. Already, such an environment is being created in Korea. The Cheon Il Sanctum will be a unique place for us to attend our Heavenly Parent, the first such place in six thousand [biblical] years.

Let us go forward together towards the day Heavenly Parent’s special abode is dedicated. May all citizens of the world join in this initiative with joyful hearts of gratitude. I would like to conclude today’s message by calling on America, a nation blessed and raised by Heavenly Parent for the past 400 years, to fulfill its mission as the providential “eldest son” nation. It is my earnest hope and prayer that America’s leaders from all sectors together with the American people will seize this God-given opportunity.

Thank you.