Let us revive ourselves by reaching out to our tribes and community

Dear Rev. Zoehrer, national leader of Austria, Leaders of communities and providential organizations, Beloved blessed families and many 2nd generation,

Good morning! Guten Morgen!

Dr. Moon and I are truly delighted to meet all of you again this morning here in Vienna. We always miss all of you so much. Even though we have been based at the Vienna center, we cannot meet all of you so often since our schedule has taken us traveling all around Europe.

Balkan European Leaders Conference We came back from Albania last Thursday evening, after participating in Tirana last weekend in the European Leaders Conference for Balkan Peace, an initiative co-sponsored by UPF and WFWP. This ELC was very successful. 120 prominent leaders from the world of politics, academia, religion and NGOs as well as youth representatives from 8 countries- Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Greece, and Austria- participated. Dr. Moisiu, the former president of Albania and Dr. Sejdiu, the former president of Kosovo not only delivered speeches in the opening session, but also eagerly participated in all sessions. I was very moved by their enthusiasm.

They especially expressed deep appreciation and gratitude to True Parents for developing this kind of peace initiative in the Balkan Region.

This time I again realised that there have been very deep historical conflicts among peoples, religions and nations in the Balkan region. They need to dialogue with open hearts and strive for reconciliation to solve these historical matters. But I think that it is only UPF, representing True Parents heart, that can make them sit together and share common values and work on solutions through education for peace. All participants expressed their gratitude to our True Parents for creating such an opportunity in this region.

Dear brothers and sisters! Last September before we came back to Europe, True Mother called us one morning to Cheon Jeong Gung. We had an extraordinary and precious time with True Mother personally. She shared many important matters with us. At that meeting, she said: “I will always remember the European Providence and blessed families and members in my prayers. Since my visit to Europe for ‘the 50th Anniversary of the Unification Movement in Europe’ last May, I am very happy that I can feel the hearts of all European Blessed Families and members and their absolute faith in Heavenly Parent and True Parents more closely. Please both of you, Special Emissaries, as my representatives, convey my love and encouragement to all European members. And also deliver my heart and message to all European leaders and members.”

Dear brothers and sisters! It is our great honor to convey our beloved True Mother’s deep love and her special message to all of you this morning.

True Mother’s Message First, True Mother hopes that all European members remember the words she spoke at the Vienna event and are trying to revive our movement with a new spirit 50 years after the mission started. 2

She once again recognized and appreciated all elder members’ sacrifices and devotions during the last 50 years. At the same time, she emphasized that Europe could not stop at this level. Europe has to elevate the movement to a new dimension with a new determination by all brothers and sisters.

Last May in Vienna True Mother’s very first words were: “I have come to Europe with the same joy I would feel if I were to visit a son or daughter who has married and moved away. Likewise I have come with the heart and love of a mother who is visiting the homes of her beloved sons and daughters.”

True Mother also said:“Just as olive trees that have taken root in a desert have overcome all kind of unfavorable conditions to bear fruit in abundance, the Unification Movement in Europe which has put down unwavering roots in European soil should make another jump for the next fifty years and hundred years to come.”

True Mother said that Europe was the hub of world history centered on Christianity and emphasized that the history of Europe has ultimately been the providential history to prepare for and receive the ‘Lord of the Second Advent’.

And she stressed once again to us that it is the mission of the European members to reveal the solemn truth, the manifestation of our ‘True Parents on earth as the Messiah, the Lord of the Second Advent’.

Unfortunately the Christian cultural realm of this age has yet to realize this truth. She declared that our movement has to lead a new cultural revolution that can transform the Christian cultural realm. And she encouraged us with the words that we, the blessed families, need to become the ‘lighthouses’ that can lead this new cultural revolution.

I am sure that in Vienna True Mother ushered Europe to new era after its first 50 years of mission. Now we have to create a new spiritual atmosphere in our movement and develop a new strategy in each nation and each community.

What is the new spiritual atmosphere that we need? It is our strong conviction that we have met the True Parents who came to the earth as the Second Coming of the Messiah. Moreover, through them, we have received eternal life spiritually. Additionally, we fervently desire and proudly aspire to physically live in ‘Cheon Il Guk’, the Heavenly Kingdom which has already been declared by True Parents.

Sunhak Peace Prize Secondly, True Mother said that one of the most significant events during the 3rd Seungwha Memorial Ceremony was the inaugural award ceremony of the Sunhak Peace Prize. She said that the Sunhak Peace Prize is the most important manifestation of True Parent’s providential legacy. All European members have to do their utmost to promote this Sunhak Peace Prize so that it becomes as prominent and well known as the Nobel Prize. She emphasized very strongly that we have to make this Sunhak Peace Prize ‘the brand of True Parent’s Peace Movement’ as a testimony to their lives.

As you saw in Peace TV, this year two eminent figures shared the first Sunhak Peace Prize: Dr. Gupta, an Indian scientist and Dr. Anote Tong, the president of Kiribati, a Pacific island nation.

Dr. Gupta, a seventy-six-year-old biologist said, “There can be no peace without food security. You cannot talk peace to a hungry man.” He developed an inexpensive and simple method of fish farming which can feed the farmer and yield enough surplus to sell. Now this method is being implemented in Laos, Vietnam and other countries.

President Tong is the leader of an island nation that seems certain to be swallowed by rising sea levels. He has become a fierce spokesman against greenhouse gases and the impending danger of climate change.

After the awards ceremony the world media accepted the selection of these laureates without questioning the committee’s decision. They said that their achievements are well matched with the vision of True Father. 4

True Mother hopes that in Europe the leaders will try to mobilize many prominent professors and VIPs to promote the Sunhak Peace Prize.

If we organize such conferences or events, True Mother will send President Hong Il Shik, as a representative of the Sunhak Peace Prize Foundation, to support us. I thought that it would be very good to develop our European UPF activities in connection with the Sunhak Peace Prize.

The Providential Four Position Foundation in True Family Thirdly, True Mother explained with tears about the internal challenges and difficulties that the True Family is facing at this time. However, she strongly emphasized that the ‘Providential Four Position Foundation’ in the True Family was completed with two sons of filial piety, Hyojin and Heungjin as Cain and Abel. She said firmly that she does not need any other sons and daughters who are doing non- principled activities and have a non-filial attitude towards True Parents or who are acting contrary to Heavenly Parents’ Providence. These days we Unification Church members are confused and suffering very much because we are internally challenged by things which are not right when seen from the point of view of the Divine Principle. The Divine Principle teaches us that the completion of the Messiah’s mission is to become the ‘True Parents’- the original position that Adam and Eve were supposed to fulfill. Even Jesus, who came to the earth as the Second Adam could not fulfill this mission.

Through the Holy Wedding in 1960, True Father and True Mother became the ‘True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind’ and fulfilled their mission to restore the original position of Adam and Eve which the Heavenly Parent originally created. That is the reason why we, the blessed families received ‘eternal life’ through the Blessing given by our beloved True Parents. Through this, our linage was changed to God’s lineage and we could give birth to a second generation without original sin.

As you all know, True Mother is not just one woman among many. She was prepared through the faithful foundation of three generations as the begotten daughter of God for the coming 5

Messiah. True Father declared that True Mother has same authority as True Parents. Even though now True Father is in the spiritual world, True Mother is working with him on earth with True Parents’ authority. If we know the Divine Principle, there is no room to deny this truth. Even True Children cannot surpass True Parents or replace their authority.

Dear brothers and sisters! Basically our faith centres on True Parents. There is only one set of True Parents in history for all eternity. True Mother said, “You blessed families, do not look at the right side or the left side, following non-principled words. Only look straight ahead, thus following the mainstream of the Providence of True Parents.” True Mother firmly asked us to clearly educate all European families about these things.

Dr. Moon and I were very surprised that she showed such a strong determination. Now we can understand very clearly True Mother’s heart about this matter.

I hope all of you Vienna community members also clearly understand True Mother’s heart, and unite completely with our beloved True Mother. Now let us show our love and determination to unite with our beloved True Mother with a big applause.

True Mother’s new instructions Beloved brothers and sisters! It would not be an exaggeration to say that the conclusion given by True Mother at the closing ceremony of the Cheon Il Guk Leaders General Assembly after the 3rd Seungwha Ceremony was mainly focused on giving new responsibilities to European leaders in order to strengthen activities in Europe.

The main point of her instructions given on that day was to dispatch vice-president Rev. Ahn to Germany again especially to guide activities in that country, and to instruct Dr. Moon and me to focus more on France and Albania while continuing to work as Special Emissaries to Europe, and also to give our Continental Director, Rev. Jack Corley the additional responsibility of guiding activities in the UK. 6

She said it was her special instruction to strengthen the European movement for the eventual restoration of nations in the European continent.

At the joint meeting of Special Emissaries and Continental Directors on the 3rd of September at CJG, True Mother asked each Continental Director to make detailed presentations on the objectives they have set to achieve the goal of ‘Vision 2020’.

Every Continental Director reported that the focus would be on two or three nations in each continent in order to achieve tangible results on the basis of the strategy of choice and concentration.

But after that, True Mother particularly spoke of the history of Europe centered on the Christian culture, and thereby emphasized the importance of the ‘restoration of Providential Nations’, especially the United Kingdom, Germany and France. For this reason she gave the European leaders the additional missions already mentioned.

After receiving our missions, I could not help but feel sorry about True Mother’s deep concern about Europe, and I was so moved to see her issuing such thoughtful instructions for the future of Europe.

Dear beloved brothers and sisters! At this moment Dr. Moon and I would like to express our deep appreciation and love to all the leaders and members of the Vienna Church. Last July we settled down in the Vienna Center and made it our home base for our Special Emissary activities. However, we have received a new mission to focus more on France and Albania. Therefore we thought that it is better to move our base to France, and as from January of next year we will stay in Paris. We thank all of you once again for your kind support and care. We are very proud of our life so far as Viennese. We will miss this.

By the way, during our stay in Vienna, so many good things happened. First, the most wonderful thing was that True Mother visited Vienna for the ‘Celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the Unification Movement in Europe’ in May.

Second, Austria was designated by True Mother as the 6th providential nation in Europe on December 4th, 2014. Third, our movement was officially recognized as a Religious Confessional Community by the government of Austria on June 15, 2015. Fourth, True Parents recognized and praised the Mission Butterfly project and elevated it to a historical achievement by which True Parents liberated Eastern Communist countries by ending the Cold War. Maybe in the next Foundation Day celebrations we can see a musical performance based on the story of Mission Butterfly. It has been our great honor and happiness to be with all of you in these historical times. Thank you very much.

Based on this direction, I would like to speak to you about some of my thoughts in accordance with our experiences in Europe in the last one- and-a- half years.

We need a new strategy to create a new Europe The essence of our role as community church members is be a ‘lighthouse of salvation’ through the heavenly words, the truth which we have. We should rekindle the beacon of salvation to the world. Therefore, the work of teaching the Divine Principle is the most basic of our witnessing activities.

True Father taught us “to live for the sake of others”. If we were to receive eternal life and salvation through the truth and Blessing, yet we do not make efforts to save the rest of the world, we would not be practicing his most important teaching. I think church and community leaders should focus more on their pastoral work. Our leaders should not only play the role of managers, but also have pastoral duties. Our members need more spiritual healing and guidance, because they still face so many difficulties in addition to dealing with all the struggles of the past.

Moreover, most of the members of our second generation are not attracted by the living environment of our church, where they could be protected. This environment of true love should be a centripetal force and pull them in. But instead they are pulled out by the

centrifugal force of strong, secular values. We have to build our community realm with a true love that is stronger than the attraction of outside secular life.

We have to strengthen the activities of the second generation and youth, and prepare for the next age True Parents are carrying out the transition to the age of the second generation. It is very likely that in five or ten years from now, many of the current leaders will retire and new leaders will take their place. To be ready for such a time, we need to start now to prepare for the transition to the next generation.

I heard that Rev. Zoehrer and all community leaders, including representatives of the second generation organized the ‘Austrian Committee for Transition’ (ACT) to establish procedures for this transition in Austria. I was overwhelmed to know that many members of the second generation are participating actively in this discussion and feel a sincere responsibility for the future of our movement and the country. I hope the Austrian leaders in their respective areas will create a beautiful role model in this transition procedure.

True Mother’s deep concern for the Cranes Club To further develop the pure hearts of our European second generation, we need to strengthen the organization and encourage the activities of the Cranes Club. And wherever in the world our adult second generation may go to work in their professional fields, we should encourage them to serve True Parents vertically and to uphold the values of the Divine Principle horizontally, so that they can achieve great things in the world and interact with one another within the realm of the True Parents’ heart. Through this, they shall become the bricks in constructing our Cheon Il Guk and in fulfilling their duties as citizens of Cheon Il Guk.

Home Church Movement When Dr. Moon and I were touring Europe during the last one- and- a -half years, we came to think that the model region for practicing the Home Church Movement, so much emphasized by True Father, was none other than Europe.

The members in Europe are dispersed, and in reality it is difficult for them to work centering on a single church or community center. The way to overcome this challenge is to actively promote Home Church activities.

Through this, each home can become the source of heavenly words and heavenly blessing (love). Additionally, the community leaders should connect these Home Churches and encourage them to network to generate a synergistic effect.

Tribal Messiahship Activity As you know, the key phrase in our movement these days is “Tribal Messiah activity”. The concept of tribe in Europe is different from that in Korea or Asia. Therefore, if we carried out our work with the conviction that we will become our Hometown Messiahs through our Home Church, we would be respected in our community and we could transform it through True Father’s words and the values of the Divine Principle. That can be our Tribal Messiah activities. You will have to find your own way of carrying out Tribal Messiah activities.

In December of last year, I studied the annual performance report of the Vienna community for 2014. Out of so many members, only a very few families reported their tribal messiah activities. I was surprised by this. But later I found out that a lot more individuals and families had carried out activities in their own way, but that they had neglected to make reports. That is why there is no synergistic effect.

I believe this is a weak point of the European movement. What does it mean to report to the Church? It means to report to God. If you do not report to God, He cannot bless you or work through you.

Cheon Il Guk Citizens Through the Providence of our Heavenly Parents, we have become citizens of Cheon Il Guk as declared by True Parents.

The construction of Cheon Il Guk is the duty and God-given mission of all Cheon Il Guk citizens. Cheon Il Guk is not a nation that others can build for us. No hands other than our own can realize its substantiation. We have to substantiate Cheon Il Guk from within myself as an individual, within our families, our communities and our nation. True Mother expects us to devote ourselves with utmost effort, and to translate our resolution into action for the victory of Vision 2020.

My dear leaders and beloved brothers and sisters! Cheon Il Guk will be opened in proportion to the efforts we make. I hope that all the Austrian communities move and work together as one, with the great objective of realising True Mother’s hope. As you know, she has high expectations for Europe. With this sense of mission we have to open and expand Cheon Il Guk with our own hands.

Dear beloved leaders! This era in which True Mother stands alone at the forefront of the Providence is a most critical and historical one. As you know, at the time of Jesus there were 12 apostles. We call them the direct disciples. They were all persecuted and martyred, but their dignity and authority were so high because they worked directly together with the living Jesus Christ. Even though Saint Paul achieved great success in pioneering the early Christian Church and wrote 13 books of the New Testament, he felt a kind of limitation because he did not have any experience of directly working together with Jesus. That means he was not a direct disciple under Jesus.

Now we are all direct disciples under True Parents. At this time, even though True Father has ascended to Heaven, True Mother is now with us on earth. This is our great blessing.

If we sleep and stay behind, we can’t be the direct disciples and the development of our movement will slow down. We have to reach out to the people of our tribes so they can be saved.

Sometimes we think that outside people have constructed strong walls- the wall of prejudice, the wall of misunderstanding, and the wall of persecution. But if we think more internally, sometimes we build our own walls- the wall no self-confidence, the wall of fear of opposition and the wall of inferiority complex. I think if we break our own walls first, we can break through the other walls which society has created against us. Most of the walls from the outside may turn out to be an illusion.

As conclusion, let us revive ourselves by reaching out to find our tribes and to dedicate our victory of Vision 2020 to our True Parents and our Heavenly Parents.

Thank you very much.