Special Grace Ceremony at the Dallas Family Church, Texas

Over 350 people participated in the Special Grace Ceremony hosted in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, June 24. The newly opened Dallas Family Church building was packed with participants sitting and standing. District Pastors and the local Dallas Family Church community took part in the Special Grace Holy Wine Ceremony, and District Pastors were bequeathed the special Cheon Il Guk Holy Items on behalf of their districts, through FFWPU North America Continental Chairman, Dr. Ki Hoon Kim. During the Holy Items ceremony, the community shared a moment of sincere prayer.

“You’d have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re awake,” Dallas Family Church Pastor, Rev. John Jackson, said about the event. “I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not. I was blown away by the ceremony, and I was so moved by the support from all over the country. When the National Ministry Team and the District Pastors came down from all over the country, I felt overwhelmed by all the support. There was an overwhelmingly loving feeling.”

“As we were receiving the Holy Wine,” Rev. Jackson added, “it was incredible, because it was sealed with True Mother’s prayer, which we watched on the screen during the ceremony. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. There was a point in her prayer where she referred to all of us as true children. It was really amazing. We felt that we are not just adopted children of True Parents; we are their sons and daughters, too. It filled me with so much love and gratitude for True Parents.”

“I want to thank True Parents for this precious gift of special grace and the Holy Items, which were given to me and my family to start completely anew,” said Kazuo Takami, pastor of the Honolulu Family Church. “I’ve learned that the moment of receiving the grace is very important, but the process and preparation are important as well. We watched True Mother’s benediction, and her tearful prayer touched my heart. I felt I was filled with the forgiving and encouraging spirit of Heavenly Parent and True

“Today we celebrated both the receiving of the new Holy Items in America as District Pastors and the opening of the new church in Dallas, Texas,” said Gary Chidester, District Pastor of FFWPU USA District 5. “I experienced the grace and strength of True Mother’s prayer. I felt that what True Parents went through, we could benefit from substantially. The inheriting of the grace at this time and the Holy Items gave me a sense of new beginning and cleansing. The opening of the new church in Dallas, Texas gave a great feeling of unity. It was a sharing of the communities in my district and all across the nation. By contributing together it was really like the saying, ‘a victory for one is a victory for all’.”

“I can understand deeply that True Parents’ victory is absolute,” said Hiroshi Inose, Cheon Il Guk IW and Kodan National Director. “Now I have the confidence to accomplish my responsibility. The ceremony was directly guided by Heavenly Parents and True Parents. Thank you, True Mother, for giving us such a meaningful ceremony.”