Memorial Service in Scotland for Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon

After Sunday morning service at South Queensferry, we moved to the Edinburgh office at 1 St Colme Street in the afternoon to hold a memorial service for Father Moon. Heidrun Williamson, who had attended Father Moon’s songhwa (ascension) ceremony in Korea, opened with prayer. Two ambassadors for peace gave testimonies of Father Moon. Rev Brian Cooper, retired Baptist minister and lifelong worker in the cause of peace, said he could relate with Father Moon’s vision of world peace and with his ecumenical approach. He could recognise Father Moon’s spirituality and deep relationship with God, and his ability to translate ideas into reality. Of all the past great Christians he would compare him most with John Wesley, who travelled far and wide and created so many organisations in the 18th century. Rev Cooper has attended several conferences of the Universal Peace Federation and has been impressed by their remarkable content and sincere atmosphere. He could see that, though the UPF movement is small, its influence is enormous. We must continue the momentum. Manar Farahat, Egyptian lady journalist resident in Glasgow, who attended a 7-Day Divine Principle workshop in Greece last year, spoke next of Father Moon. “I totally trust in him. My heart glows brightly when I think of him. A loving heart can bring peace to the world. When I look to the sky I see beautiful sunrays piercing the clouds, and I hear his whisper.” She remembers the fine Welsh hymn Calon Lan, meaning “pure heart”, along with the Arabic words Al Donya Helwa,

“Life is Sweet”, so typical of Father Moon’s mind and teaching. He also taught her to love the poor. He gave so much rice, so much help to people everywhere. Now he watches over all of us, his children. We then watched a 10-minute video about Father Moon’s life, made for his songhwa ceremony. We followed him through quiet moments of prayer and the thunder of public rallies, through sweet moments and trial by torture, through laughter and tears, through songs and sadness. The words were read apparently by Kwon Jin Moon, one of his children. Elizabeth Marshall, Unification Church member, then gave her testimony. She spent ten years in hospital with polio as a child and, owing to family troubles, was placed in a Catholic convent school. There she learned to live a life of devotion, but at the age of eighteen she rebelled and left the school. Fortunately she met and married a brave strong man, much older than herself, a former mineworker and Second World War naval seaman. When she was expecting her second son, a kind young woman came to the door offering help and new religious ideas. This was her first contact with the Unification Church. Curiously it was difficult for Elizabeth and her husband to come and receive the blessing in 1995, but they made it. The difference in age between them was 23 years, as great as that between Father and Mother Moon. Together Elizabeth and her husband went on to visit scores of churches and temples, and speak with hundreds and thousands of people of all different faiths about the new truth. Now her husband has passed away, but she feels that he still works with her in spirit. Chantal Robertson then read a few extracts from Mother Moon’s message to us on her husband’s passing. Through Adam and Eve’s fall, we have inherited a world of conflict, anguish and hostility. Jesus came in Adam’s place to reverse the effects of the fall and bring about God’s intended world of goodness. However, he was betrayed and killed. True Father (as we call Father Moon) came two thousand years later to fulfil Jesus’ mission. Naturally Satan, who engineered the fall, would oppose his every step. Father Moon followed the Messiah’s course of rejection and torture from 1920, the time of his birth, until 1960, his holy marriage blessing with Mother Moon (True Mother). From 1960 until 2000, he followed the course of True Parent, in the face of persecution and mockery. From 2000 he has followed the course of Peace King. Through the marriage blessing and songhwa ceremony we can all receive rebirth, resurrection and eternal life, bringing God’s heaven on earth and in spirit world. Hamish Robertson, event organiser and MC, closed with prayer and words of encouragement to receive the marriage blessing and participate in the events of Foundation Day, the completion blessing of True Parents, 22nd February 2013. Several songs were sung during the service: the Blessing of Glory, by Father Moon himself; I’ll Never Leave You Anymore, a Scottish melody with new words, one of Father Moon’s favourites; also ’Tis a Gift to be Simple, ’tis a Gift to be Free; and Ommaya, a Korean song about mother and sister that Father Moon and Mother Moon loved to sing together; and finally This is My Song (Finlandia), “a song pf peace for lands afar and mine”. The service was followed by refreshments and animated conversation.