This week in history, November 6-12:

A ceremony marking the foundation of the Inter-Denominational Christian Association was held on November 7, 1966, at A-seo-won, in Jung district of Seoul. This was the result of the Christianity-based interdenominational activities that had been held since 1965. True Father said, “If a hundred members become people central to creating harmony, they can be remembered by Heaven. To bring about harmony, interdenominational activities must be carried out to a degree where one would even fall into debt for it.” When first established, it was launched under the name the Christian Inter-Denominational Movement Headquarters but was renamed the Inter-Denominational Christian Association eight years later in October 1974. (Materials provided by the FFWPU History Compilation Committee)

November 7, 1999 Dedication Ceremony for Cheonseong Wanglim Palace

On March 10, 1997, there was a groundbreaking ceremony at Chung Pyung Lake in Korea for what was to become a major sanctuary that could hold up to 10,000 workshop participants at a time. In design, it was understood to be a replica of a palace in heaven, a reality that was attested to in calligraphy provided for the occasion by True Father, which read, “The Heavenly Palace that came down from Heaven.” Essentially, a small mountain was leveled to construct a magnificent marble structure overlooking Chung Pyung Lake. Named Cheonseong Wanglim Palace, the edifice was dedicated on November 7, 1999.

November 8, 1987 UTS Students Hold Prayer Walk for Religious Freedom in the Soviet Union

The “Soul of Russia,” a Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) student-based prayer and educational group concerned with ending religious persecution in communist countries, held a prayer walk with more than 250 participants at UTS on November 8, 1987. Titled a “Restorational Prayer Walk for Religious Freedom in the Soviet Union,” the candlelight walk was timed to follow the 70th anniversary of the

Bolshevik Revolution. The turnout generated extensive media coverage, including front-page photos in local newspapers.

November 9, 1989 East Germany Opens the Berlin Wall

The Unification movement dedicated itself to “Victory over Communism” for many years. In 1985, True Father sponsored a major conference in Geneva, Switzerland, titled The Fall of the Soviet Empire. At that time, few thought this was a realistic possibility. However, four years later, on November 9, 1989, East Germany officially announced freedom of travel and border guards opened the gates which had restricted travel since 1961. This major symbol of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain subsequently was demolished and the Soviet Union itself collapsed less than two years later.

November 10, 1981 True Father Proposes International Highway

In “The Creation of a New World,” the Founder’s Address at the 10th International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences (ICUS), held in Seoul, Korea, from November 9 to 13, 1981, True Father proposed the construction of a “Great Asian Highway” that eventually would link the world. This, he said, “would be a great international highway around which freedom is guaranteed.” He also envisioned the highway as a spur for economic development and cultural integration.

His call resulted in the establishment of the Japan- Korea Tunnel Research Institute and the International Highway Construction Corporation, which conducted extensive private research and public relations activities during the 1980s and

1990s. In 2005 at the Inaugural Convocation of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), True Father renewed his call for an International Highway System, focusing on “a passage for transit across the Bering Strait.”

November 10, 2011 David S.C. Kim’s Seonghwa Ceremony

David S.C. Kim working with the One World Crusade.

David S.C. Kim, one of the five founding members of the Unification Church in 1954, the second missionary to the United States in 1959, and the founding president of Unification Theological Seminary (1975-1994), passed away on November 8, 2011, at age 96. On his passing, True Father stated that he had “entered the Garden of Heaven as a representative of filial piety and loyalty.”

November 11, 2007 True Mother Begins Twelve-City Speaking Tour of the United States

True Mother began a U.S. 12-city speaking tour titled Providential View of the Pacific Rim Era in Light of God’s Will on November 11, 2007. She began the tour in Los Angeles and concluded it in New York on November 21.

Wherever she spoke, many people came. Throughout the tour, True Father offered conditions on Geomun Island, Yeosu, Korea, and encouraged True Mother by telephone. (Materials provided by the FFWPU History Compilation Committee.)

November 12, 1965 Mr. Sang Ik “Papa-san” Choi Arrives in San Francisco

Mr. Sang Ik “Papa-san” Choi, the first successful Unification Church missionary to Japan, began his mission in the United States on November 12, 1965. He was the fourth Korean missionary to pioneer the United States, following Miss Young Oon Kim, Mr. David S.C. Kim and Col. Bo Hi Pak. Mr. Choi was joined by Daikon Ohnuki and Soo Lim (later known as “Onni” Durst). They, along with Mrs. Choi, the Chois’ infant son and three members from the church in Japan, developed what later became the International Re-Education Foundation in San Francisco. Mr. Choi adapted “Principles of Education” and a social True Father with Mr. Sang Ik “Papa-san” Choi movement rather than church profile to reach prior to his departure as a missionary the secular Bay Area audience and hippie youth. The original community of eight doubled itself with eight new American members by the end of 1967. A pattern of doubling membership annually continued until 1971.

November 12, 2004 Dedication Ceremony for the Cheongshim Youth Center

The Cheongshim Youth Center in Chung Pyung, Gyeonggi Province, was dedicated on November 12, 2004. Around a thousand Chung Pyung Heaven and Earth Training Center workshop participants came for the ceremonial dedication. True Parents planted a commemorative tree and cut a ribbon. True Father wrote a calligraphic message, “Cheon-ji Gae-byeok Cheon-jin-gyeok-dong Man-hwa-seong-chui.” The Cheongshim Youth Center began to play a key role in the education of Unificationist-born young people under the vision “Challenge to Achieve Dreams and Hopes.” (Materials provided by the FFWPU History Compilation Committee.)