Announcing Introductory Training for Matching Advisors at Barrytown

To: District, State and Church Pastors, Blessed Central Families From: National Blessing and Family Ministry Re: Announcement: Introductory training for matching advisors Friday and Saturday, October 25 – 26, 2013, UTS Conference Center, Barrytown, NY Date: October 4, 2013

A Great Opportunity to Support Blessed Families and Unification Members - Get Trained as a Matching Advisor! October 25 – 26, 2013 in Barrytown, NY

We’d like to recommend a wonderful way to serve and support our community and ensure the future of True Parents’ tradition of Blessed marriage, for those who feel called. The National Blessing and Family Ministry has developed a comprehensive system of Blessing education, matching handbooks, Parents’ Matching Convocations and web support to help candidates and their parents establish a healthy partner- selection process. A similar process has been designed to assist Unificationists who joined the church as adults in their search for a partner and preparation for the Marriage Blessing. Essential to this system is a group of trained and experienced Matching Advisors (MAs) to assist 1st and 2nd Generation candidates, their families and those who support them.

A training and certification for prospective matching advisors will be held Friday and Saturday, October 25 – 26, 2013, together with the Parents Matching Convocation (PMC) being held at the UTS Conference Center in Barrytown, NY October 25 – 27. The MA Training will be held Friday from 8:30 AM – 5:45 PM, with additional sessions integrated with the PMC Friday evening and Saturday until 6:00 PM. The training will be conducted by Rev. Phillip Schanker, Mrs. Debby Gullery and Leighton and Crescentia DeGoede of the Blessing and Family Ministry in the USA, and other Senior Matching Advisors. The training is free for qualified participants. Lunch and snacks are included on Friday. Accommodations and food for Friday night and Saturday are the responsibility of each participant. Participants are encouraged to remain for the Saturday evening and Sunday session of the PMC, which ends at 2:00 PM.

Interested First or Second Generation Blessed members should Email matching@ unification.org with your contact phone and Email information, to receive a short qualifying questionnaire, or to answer any questions you may have. The ideal MA should feel called to this ministry, be trustworthy, a good listener, a patient communicator, and happily Blessed in marriage. He or she should also have a few hours per week of availability to devote to this ministry on an on-going basis. Advisors will be trained to help candidates and parents develop a clear plan for the matching process, assist them in finding potential candidates, and support them through the process as needed. The BFM will provide the handbook, interview forms and support materials, and will train and certify matching advisors, according to the international guidelines.

Church leaders and pastors are not automatically qualified as MAs based upon their position alone. Each advisor should be trained, become familiar with the guidelines and process, and be certified by the National Blessed Family Ministry. They will work in cooperation with a network of advisors, utilizing Parents Matching Convocations, an international matching website, the “Matchbook” website and the new Online Matching System (OMS) for First Generation, in support of candidates and families.

Advisors work according to their own schedule and availability, and should freely develop their “gift” for this ministry. But they should work according to the international guidelines, and connect to their local or district pastor and Family Ministry. MAs do not make “absolute matches,” but support parents and candidates in the process. Advisors can choose to work with one or more of the following categories of candidates:

 ALL Blessed Children  Ambassadors for Peace, Clergy, Associated Members  Blessed children 24 years and older  Treasures of Heaven [Special Needs Candidates]  First Generation Unificationists

 Getting Back on Track  First Generation 40 years and older  International Matchings  Jacob Generation Candidates  All of the above

We look forward to working with those who are called to support candidates and their parents in the matching and Blessing process. Thank you in advance for your investment and support. May God be with you and your family.

God Bless You All!

Dr. Michael Balcomb President

Crescentia DeGoede Blessing and Family Ministry