Early Years of Building the Philippine HSA-UWC Providence

The pioneering and first years of the UC Movement in the Philippines did not center on a directives from a leader but centered on studying and learning to teach the Divine Principle. Leaders can come and go in a moments notice, but the “truth” understood and practiced by the everyday member is eternal.

Making the lecture chart turned out to be quite an experience with the two of us “restoring” the division between the original missionaries who went from Korea to America. Since Nanette and I had joined on two different coasts of America, under two different Korean Missionaries and under two different ways of teaching the Divine Principle, we “intensely” discussed each chart, line by line for 40 days of what should be included until we produced a core education system based on Father Moon’s mentoring. Visit

www.DivinePrinciples.com to download the 3rd level of these grassroots teaching charts that was to birth a great Philippine Unification Movement. Our plan was to center the soon to be joining members around learning to teach and share the Divine Principle themselves with new contacts and with that - the differences of individuals and cultures would fade into the background. Of course this was not a new idea, but what Rev. Moon taught us through the training we had received in America with all the diverse nationalities and religious background working together on projects but centered on teaching the Divine Principle.

This focus on studying and sharing, “the word” rather than on each of our feelings and our relationships with each other caused the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through us and a multitude of people to quickly join our quest. All new members were expected to become experts at teaching the Divine Principle and we provided each new member a set of “educational folders” to study which consisted of all the materials Nanette and I had compiled, photocopied from 1968 onward that various Korean elders under Rev. Moon had taught and of course endless words of wisdom shared by True Father. We wanted each Filipino to have an understanding equal to someone who had already been in the movement for 10 years.

Each “guest” was treated with love and a special dignity, focused on their learning the Divine Principle from the perspective of their “already being a member” due to their preparation and calling by God before meeting us. That they met us to learn to teach and thus we provided them with a special depth of understanding, most often required them to practice teaching the lecture that “they had just heard” before moving on to hear the next lecture. This means the newly attending guests had to practice teaching Chapter One before they could hear Chapter Two, then practice teaching Chapter Two before they heard Chapter Three and so forth until when they reach the last Conclusion Chapter, they deeply understood and could teach the entire lecture series themselves. Our view was that “no-one” should have the title of staff or central lecturer, but “everyone” should be a core teacher.

In April 1981 we held our first 21 day workshop in Cebu after having conducted many 3 day and 7 day workshops from 1978 onward.

At this 21 day workshop I introduce my 2nd updated level of more advanced Divine Principle Lecture Charts to be used across the nation. Of course learning to teach the Divine Principle was central to the workshop. During these 21 days we covered at depth Divine Principle and touched on Unification Thought and Internal Guidance. Participants had to pass an exam and learn basic principles of leadership. Nanette, Ulrich, and I presented the lectures.

Towards the end of the workshop we had participants march to downtown Cebu to practice teaching to pedestrians. That day it was so hot sweat poured from our faces as we stretched for a few blocks blocking the sidewalk each lecturer surrounded by a multitude of people. I guess God felt sorry for us, because out of nowhere a man dressed formally in white, with a very pure face of great dignity with a bright countenance radiating came along carrying a bucket of water with a ladle and passed out water in cups to all of us. Then before we could thank him, he vanished. To this day I believe it might have been an angel because of the sudden of coming and going, while he spoke no words.