European Matching Convocation

7th – 9th October 2016, Bad Camberg, Germany

Dear Blessed Families,

We would like to invite all parents who have children of matching age, or who are approaching matching age, to attend an upcoming European Parents Matching Convocation. Parents of Blessed Children and Parents of Jacob Children are welcome to attend. (Please note: there will be a separate Matching and Blessing Preparation Workshop specifically for Second Generation and Jacob Children who are at least 24 years old, and their parents, scheduled for 8-11 December this year. This October convocation is only for parents.)

At this weekend you will receive practical information as well as valuable internal guidance; this will be helpful whether you are preparing to match your children in the future or are already in the process of doing so. Those working as matching supporters will be available to talk with you and help you make a matching plan for your child.

The European Parents Matching Convocation will take place at: Seminarhaus Neumühle, (near Bad Camberg), Germany. From Friday, 7th to Sunday, 9th October 2016.

The purpose of the convocation is to support parents in the task of matching their children. True Parents have passed this responsibility over to parents in blessed families, and as the era of Cheon Il Guk matching (True Parents’ Matching) has now passed, it is our task to take this precious work forward based on all the extraordinary work True Parents have done in this area until now. Although the responsibility for matching lies specifically with parents, the support we can give is part of our community-level responsibility and the sharing of our experiences, and even our difficulties, is all part of setting a tradition that will be carried on into the future.

The Convocation will include education and guidance on issues relating to the matching and Blessing, including the “Treasures of Heaven” ministry for blessed children with special needs. There will be time set aside to meet and share with other Blessed Families, an aspect that people find so valuable.

Display of Candidates’ Profiles

The Convocation setting also provides an opportunity to display photographs and information about your child if he/she is a matching candidate, and to see the pictures and personal details about other matching candidates from all over Europe, and even from other parts of the world. This may directly help the process of finding a suitable partner for your child.

It is recommended that you register early. There are limited spaces available and these will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please consider whether you would like to display your child’s profile at the convocation. If you would like to do so, please inform us by email at pmc@ esgd.org (deadline: 30 September). Note that we will only display profiles of candidates who have explicitly expressed their wish to have them displayed. Profiles will not be displayed by us unless you specifically inform us that you would like us to do so. Please note that it is possible to display the profile of your child even though you do not attend the Convocation in person.

To ensure that your profile is displayed you have several options:

1. If your child is already registered on the International Matching website www,bcmatching,org make sure the profile is updated and inform us that you want to display his/her profile. We can then print your profile from the website and display it. (If you are not registered, you can use this opportunity to register your child on the website. This not only allows you to use the website, but also means that you only have to update your profile, and it can then be displayed at any future convocation, in Europe or elsewhere, just by notifying us.)

2. If you submitted a Blessing Application, we can also use copies of your Blessing Application (Pictures, Application form and Family Introduction form) to display the profile.

3. If neither of the above applies, you can still hand in your own materials: pictures, letters or other information for display. Contact information and basic data (name, date of birth, etc.) should be included. We enclose a profile form that you can use to fill in this information and send to us at pmc@ esgd.org

Furthermore, it is particularly helpful if the candidate can fill out the attached questionnaire below and send it to us.

Please send all information to us at least one week before the date of the event (30 September), so that we have to time to collate and prepare copies.

Parents Matching Convocation – Key information (Summary)

Invited are: All Parents of present or future Second Generation and Jacob Children matching candidates.

Dates: Friday, 7th October – Sunday, 9th October 2016

Arrival: by 18:00 on 7th October 2016 Departure: after 14:00 on 9th October 2016

Place: “Seminarhaus Neumühle”, near Bad Camberg, Germany. Homepage: www,seminarhaus- neumuehle,de/ Tel: +49-6434-7376

Cost: 2-Bed Bedroom with Shower/WC: 230 Euro per couple. (may be in local hotel/apartment) 5 to 8 Bedroom (Bunk Beds) with Shower/WC: 110 Euro per person (210 per couple)

Workshop directors: David Hanna, Jane Toresen, Patrick Hanna

Registration is online at docs,google,com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2XsS8M50El-Hu8W8TEnjMGX_0fNu-8kn- uIZuUaaTF3LNlg/viewform

Registration deadline is 24 September. If you have any problem registering online please send email to Margaret Staudinger at marga.staudinger@ gmail.com

Good to bring: House shoes, notebook, name-cards for contacting, (no sleeping bag necessary).

Basic travel information: You will receive detailed information about the local travel to Camberg and pick-ups from the local train station after the registration.

Please feel free to contact us about any questions or issues related to the Matching Convocations. Below you will find contact information of other BFED members whom you may wish to contact:

Hans Karlsson: (deals with matters concerning Jacob children) Jane Toresen: (Parents Matching Support Coordinator) Lisa Janssen: (Treasures of Heaven Ministry) Margaret Staudinger: (BFED Secretary)

We wish you God’s guidance and blessing in the matching process and hope that opportunities such as this, together with other tools we are making effort to provide, will help you in this important area of parents’ responsibility.

Yours sincerely,

David Hanna Patrick Hanna Director, BFED European 2nd Generation Blessing Dept.

E-Mail: blessing@ esgd.org HP: www,bfdeu,org

Additional Questions - to be completed by the candidate whose profile is on display Please use this page to indicate (to those viewing your profile) any particular, additional points you would like them to be made aware of.

All questions are voluntary; it is fine to leave any of them blank.

Name:______________________________ Date of Birth:___________ Male / Female

1. Are there any particular issues to consider regarding the nationality of the person who might be considered as a match for you, or the region they are from?

2. Do you have any strong concerns about age difference between you and your possible match?

Could be up to ___ years older than me / up to ___ years younger than me

3. When do you envisage starting married life?

After ____ years / Within ____ years

Your reason for this? ____________________________________________

4. If you were matched with a person from a different region, would you be willing to move to that region, to live there?

Yes / No Your reason? _________________________________________

5. If the OTHER party has any of the following situations, would you be able to accept them? a. is seeking re-blessing (Yes/No) b. has previously started marriage life (Yes/No) c. has been through a Forgiveness Ceremony (Yes/No) d. has some degree of mental or physical disability (Yes/No)

6. Please underline YOUR own status regarding the Blessing a. not blessed previously / blessed previously b. didn’t start marriage life / started marriage life c. attended Blessing Workshop / didn’t attend Blessing Workshop yet d. did Blessing interview / didn’t do Blessing interview yet

7. Please mention any other circumstances or requirements that should be taken into consideration.

Profile for 2nd gen. matching candidates 1) FAMILY INFORMATION:

father mother Parents name Parents nationality Parent’s occupation Parent’s blessing Parent’s address

Parent’s contact info /email address

Candidates first surname M/F date of birth height weight blood (Christian) name dd/mm/yy type

How many older/younger brothers and sisters do you have?

2) PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CANDIDATE:

Highest level of school/college /university attended Current activity

Church activity, past and present

Foreign language abilities

Qualifications (ODP ws, Blessing Prep.ws, 7 day fast etc…)

3) BLESSING SITUATION:

Is this your first Blessing? If not, who broke the previous Blessing? Did you start married life with this person?

4) ABOUT YOUR FUTURE PARTNER:

Would you be willing to consider: - Someone with a physical handicap? - Someone who has been previously Blessed? - Someone who went through a forgiveness ceremony?

5) PERSONAL SITUATION AND HOPES FOR THE FUTURE:

What I am doing now:

My life plan about 3 years from now:

My personality and character:

The kind of family life I want in the future (eg. number of kids, where I want to live, finances ,life of faith, church involvement, husband/ wife role, future dreams, etc… )

Message to the parents of my future spouse:

6) PLEASE ATTACH 3 PHOTOS OF THE CANDIDATE: 1) Bust shot. 2) Full length. 3) With family. (If possible, we would like you to place the photos in this form rather than as separate attachments.)

7) ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. Are there any particular issues to consider regarding the nationality of the person who might be considered as a match for you, or the region they are from?

2. Do you have any strong concerns about Could be up to _____ years older than me / age difference between you and your up to _____ years younger than me. possible match?

3. When do you envisage starting married After _____ years / within _____ years. life?

- your reason for this?

4. If you were matched with a person from a Yes / No different region, would you be willing to move to that region, to live there?

- your reason ?