Sun Myung Moon in Los Angeles -- A Lot of Prayer, and Many Joyful Rewards

An around-the-clock prayer vigil lasting more than a week in Los Angeles ended with the purchase of what some call “West Gardens”-a new $200,000 Unification Church residence and training center and California residence for Reverend and Mrs. Moon. The sale was arranged just three weeks prior to the conclusion of Reverend Moon’s Day of Hope tour January 27-29 in Los Angeles.

The creaky wooden steps leading outside to the little prayer room in the Van Nuys center could be heard all hours of the night as two members rotated in a prayer vigil each hour for the success of the campaign. The vigil was never broken, despite bitter cold, rain, and a manpower shortage due to the intensity of the campaign. Some members prayed five hours in one day to keep the flow of prayer constant.

Downtown Los Angeles rally calls attention to Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s message

It seemed the entire campaign was like that- a lot of prayer and many joyful rewards.

The glittering Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel was the site for the last banquet of Rev. Moon’s 1973 tour. Over 160 guests representing all areas of society attended. It was a great success for Helen Ireland of the Alhambra Center and Lynn Nishio from Berkeley who did the legwork.

Members from Los Angeles, Alhambra, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix greeted guests individually during a pleasant reception before dinner. Many of the people commented as they entered the reception line how thrilled they were to meet the man who issued the famous Watergate Statement.

“What impressed me most about this entire affair,” said Mark Rodriguez, representative for the county assessor, “is the young people I met here tonight-especially the young ladies. You can tell by looking at their faces that these people are not about to let the world decay any further.”

Everyone sings, including Steve Deddens, Los Angeles Unification Church director.

Mr. Rodriguez presented a proclamation on behalf of the county assessor welcoming Reverend Moon to Los Angeles. Two more proclamations, one from the county and one from the city, praised his many accomplishments throughout the world and wished him success on his tour. A portion of the proclamation from Mayor Thomas Bradley reads:

WHEREAS, visiting in our midst is one whose life, message and challenge is dedicated to all citizens who possess these ideals, and in general, to all men of every political, social and religious persuasion, that being the Reverend Sun Myung Moon,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Thomas Bradley, Mayor of the Great City of Los Angeles, California, do hereby proclaim January 26, 1974, as a “DAY OF HOPE AND UNIFICATION” in Los Angeles, in recognition of the above, and to urge all citizens to cordially welcome Reverend Moon to our city.

Several unexpected delights made the evening even more memorable.

After speaking about the homogeneity of the people in California, Reverend Moon asked the audience if they would like to hear about California’s mission in God’s providence to link Eastern and Western cultures. The answer came with resounding applause and Reverend Moon spoke for almost a half hour on how California is particularly instrumental as the tie between the more spiritual culture of the East and the more materialistic culture of the West.

After several songs from the International New Hope Singers, guests listened as Mr. Bo Hi Pak announced the world premiere of the new Little Angels film taken just days previously at the United Nations for a huge UNICEF benefit. Mr. Pak announced that it was the first time a performance group had been allowed to present a program in the General Assembly.

An attentive crowd of several hundred heard Reverend Moon speak on “God’s Hope for Man” the next evening in the Pacific Ballroom of the Los ·Angeles Hilton. Though the turnout was not as good as hoped

for, most people were outspokenly glad they had heard Reverend Moon and eagerly bought copies of the Divine Principle and New Hope: Twelve Talks by Sun Myung Moon.

A mother of one of the Arizona members (also Jewish) said she wanted to hear Reverend Moon before joining the church. Evidently she was impressed, as she is now helping out with preparations for the Day of Hope banquet in Tempe, March 29. She was among three other parents to drive over from Arizona especially for the talks. Despite one person’s standing up and warning about unjustly interpreting the Bible, Reverend Moon spoke with great power to an audience of people who had even greater interest after the incident. On the third night you could almost hear the heartbeats thumping in the room as Reverend Moon paused at one point to emphasize an idea before astounding them with another.

Some people gasped and even shed tears at the powerful way he revealed God’s heart. Then, at points when Reverend Moon changed to English or explained an idea by telling a joke, everyone chuckled. It was a night to remember. Meanwhile a mad scramble was ensuing in the kitchen at “West Gardens” to prepare a Korean brunch for the 200 participants in the Day of Hope campaign in Los Angeles, of which 70 were from Mr. and Mrs. Reiner Vincenz’s International One W odd Crusade team. The occasion marked Reverend and Mrs. Moon’s birthday.

Mr. Neil Salonen cuts birthday cake at the joyous party

Scores of individually prepared dishes, involving many kinds of fish and pastry, were served to the point members felt as if they’d had enough for a month. From Rev. Moon’s table came fruit, candy, and nuts as well as hefty pieces of the birthday cake which Mr. Salonen cut.

While members ate on the cool grass behind the house overlooking Pasadena, Reverend Moon and his wife ate inside with Mr. Martin Porter (Italy), Mr. and Mrs. Reiner Vincenz (France), Mrs. Doris Orme (England), Mr. Osami Kuboki (Japan), Mr. David Kim and his son, Mr. and Mrs. Sang Ik Choi, Mr. and Mrs. Bo Hi Pak, and Mrs. Won Pok Choi.

Louis Lowenstein, an accomplished cellist from the Arizona center who has studied under Piatagorsky, provided special music for the dinner.

The five hours preceding the dinner were filled by a talk given by Rev. Moon and solos sung by the national leaders present at the celebration.

In addition to Rev. and Mrs. Moon singing separately and then together, a special treat came when Kook- Jin and Hyun-Jin, youngest of Reverend Moon’s children, sang two songs.