On the Occasion of the 40th Anniversary of Washington Monument (1976)
Main Address
Sun Jun Moon, International President of FFWPU read the Speech on behalf of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon
Good Afternoon.
What a glorious day! God has truly blessed America!
I am deeply honored to be with you today and to be back home in the USA (there is no place like home) for the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument rally. What a magnificent venue. Thank you all for being here today.
It is especially meaningful to be here on these historic grounds where many great leaders have spoken and, in some cases, changed the course of history. We gather today to remember our True Father’s words and also to receive our True Mother’s message.
Most of all we are here to revive and realize our True Parents’ mission to build a world of True Love, unity, oneness and peace.
Our True Parents came to this great nation in 1971 with a mission to uplift this blessed country and raise her up to be a champion of God’s will and the unifier of all peoples around the globe. From here they hoped to expand a heavenly realm of true freedom, harmonious faith, and true love to achieve one universal family under god.
As we remember that historic day in 1976, our minds and hearts turn to True Father’s speech, entitled “America and God’s Will.” What a powerful message. I hope that everyone can study those words. Now, more than ever, America needs to understand God’s will.
Unfortunately, all the issues our True Father highlighted four decades ago still plague this nation and, sadly, each day as we read the news we learn of more violence, hatred, division, fear, and suffering. It is overwhelming, and it breaks our hearts to observe this nation losing its way.
In True Father’s speech he clearly outlines the steps that must be taken to revive this glorious nation. This speech is like a roadmap to guide us toward the restoration of this nation.
I truly pray that all of you will practice Hoon dok hwe with True Father’s message, and work together to bring his dreams to life.
Last month, we celebrated the amazing 4th anniversary of True Father’s ascension. There is nothing that would comfort him more than for each of us to live our lives according to the guidance he gave in his Washington Monument speech forty years ago.
Let’s tell True Father we love him and pledge to realize his dream of peace with a big applause. Aju!
True Mother wanted so much to be able to be with all of you today.
I know our True Father and True Mother are here with us in heart and spirit sending their love, prayers, and blessings.
I am deeply honored to be able to deliver our True Mother’s speech today and I sincerely hope you can open you hearts and minds to hear her precious words.
Before I begin I would also like to offer my deepest gratitude to all of our true filial brothers and sisters, who have been the loving spiritual pillars for this nation and mentors to our next generation of amazing future leaders and precious blessed children.
I also want to thank the hardworking organizers and volunteers who made today’s event possible.
I thank all of you for being here and for all the good work you do with tireless passion to keep our Heavenly Parent and True Parents dream alive here in this great country.
We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts and send our eternal love to you all! Kamsahamnida! Salanghamnida!
Now please give your full attention and heart to our True Mother’s precious message, which I will now read:
True Mother’s Address
Distinguished leaders, UPF Ambassadors for Peace, members of the American Clergy Leadership Conference; beloved blessed families and members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification!
Thank you for joining this very historic program in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument rally held in 1976 to help revive America on the occasion of America’s bicentennial.
The speech that my late husband, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, delivered forty years ago was entitled America and God’s Will. This message conveyed the essence of God’s Will for this nation, and highlighted the core teachings that have been the focus of our shared ministry for well over fifty years.
Today, just as on that memorable evening 40 years ago, we have gathered to ask the most important question: What is the Will of God, our Heavenly Parent, and True Parents for America?
Respected leaders!
My husband poured his entire heart and soul into the message he delivered, believing that the very destiny of this nation was at stake. God had called our couple to America to awaken this nation to its true mission and purpose, to be a beacon of hope and guidance for the world.
I remember that day, forty years ago, as if it were yesterday. The words Rev. Moon so passionately spoke are inscribed deep within my heart. They truly are the remedy that this nation needs in order to heal itself.
How many nights I have been praying for this nation and its people, crying out in hopes that America and the American people can embrace the vision that my husband shared on that day 40 years ago!
Unfortunately, many have not had “eyes to see, or ears to hear.” And yet, we never gave up. I was always with my husband, especially during the darkest times. We lived each and every moment of our lives in service to the Will of our Heavenly Parent.
Beloved leaders!
Tragically, our current world does not manifest God’s original, heavenly ideal. On the contrary, the individuals, families, societies, and nations of our world continue to experience division and conflict. Terrorism, gun violence, broken families, poverty, injustices and the severe degradation of our beautiful planet that is threatening human well-being make the headlines on a daily basis.
The gap between God’s original ideal and the world we live in is regretfully wide. As our Heavenly Parent, God’s heart is broken. As he witnesses the suffering of his sons and daughters His heart is burdened with grief and pain. As the vertical True Parents of humankind, Rev. Moon and I profoundly understand and share in God’s grieving heart.
Respected leaders!
God longs to restore humanity and to establish one universal family under God, creating a global culture of heart and true love, centering on True Parents. The providence of God is fulfilled only on the foundation of the fulfilment of our own portion of responsibility. If we, as God’s sons and daughters, respond to God’s Will and take action, history moves forward toward restoration and, ultimately, the fulfillment of God’s original will. However, if we fail to recognize or respond to God’s Will, God’s providence is blocked and prolonged.
This point must be fully understood and remembered by each one of you, and especially the religious leaders. For, it has been the primary mission and purpose of religion, led by prophets and men and women of faith, to lead the way in fulfilling God’s ideal. This was the mission of Jesus, and the essence of what he taught.
As we know, even though Jesus was the only begotten son and messiah, he faced fierce opposition and rejection. Ultimately, contrary to his original mission, he tearfully went the way of the cross, and the complete fulfillment of God’s Will was not achieved at that time. The fulfillment of the providence that God had so lovingly prepared over 4,000 biblical years, with blood, sweat and tears, had to be prolonged.
Nevertheless, as the original True Parent of humankind, God could not abandon his children. A new dispensation for the salvation of humanity began.
Now, please understand that God does not have a magic wand that simply transforms this world. God’s providence always demands indemnity and the fulfillment of the human portion of responsibility, which consists of our understanding and our dutiful response to his Will.
Respected leaders!
When looking at the history of the providence, we see that despite any setback or opposition, God’s providence continues! This is because God’s heart of true love for his beloved children is eternal and absolute. For this reason, even after Jesus’ ascension, Christianity spread throughout the world with Heaven’s blessing, laying the foundation for the completion of God’s providence. Indeed, just as with Rome at the time of Jesus, this nation of America was formed, protected and guided by Heaven so that God’s providence could advance toward that end.
Understanding God’s purpose for America, my husband and I came to this nation in 1971 with a clear mission. We came and invested our heart and soul to awaken this nation so that it could fulfill its mission and responsibility!
We could see that America was losing its way; its moral and spiritual foundation was in decline. We came here with a heart of desperation, prepared to give our lives. God had called us to America as a firefighter to put out the flames of suffering and corruption and a doctor to heal its wounds.
We gave up everything to focus on this mission. Our family faced relentless persecution and opposition. Our children paid a very high price. Yet, we were determined to risk our lives and everything we had for the sake of God’s Will, centered on the ideal of sacrificial true love.
Beloved leaders!
You have been witnesses to the life my husband and I have led. You have witnessed the kind of life we led to realize God’s Will. You have also witnessed the life we led in the midst of persecution to awaken this blessed land of America to its God-given mission and help it overcome the challenges it has faced. I believe that you know the truth, that you have “eyes to see and ears to hear” and know for whose sake and for what purpose we dedicated our lives.
Who can deny that America today is in great need of a spiritual awakening? The Yankee Stadium and Washington Monument rallies we convened in 1976, along with countless others over these four decades, were designed to awaken America to fulfill its providential responsibility.
It is one of my saddest memories to reflect on the fact that my husband was unjustly imprisoned in Danbury prison, as a result of prejudice and ignorance. The man who gave his life for this nation, faced humiliation and rejection. Seeing this miserable situation, God, our Heavenly Parent, wept.
Respected leaders!
God has abundantly blessed America, but not for its own sake alone. America was called to serve God’s providence as a true “elder son” nation that lives for the sake of other nations; America was called to help usher in a worldwide awakening that would open the way for a world culture of heart to emerge, “one family under God.”
On this auspicious day, I have an urgent message to convey to this blessed elder nation of America:
“America, I proclaim and call upon you today to arise once more! You must not fail in your responsibility to serve God’s providence!”
For the sake of all those patriots who died for this nation, for the sake of the Pilgrim Fathers who braved countless hardships in search of religious freedom, and for the sake of your ancestors, America must not fail to live up to its responsibility.
Beloved leaders! Ladies and Gentlemen!
We stand at a very serious time in this nation’s history. Indeed, we are at a very serious point in world history. To overcome this challenge and help realize God’s ideal, I call upon Christian leaders, and all religious leaders, to awaken and stand firm on behalf of God’s Will. We must join together, going beyond the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender, status, culture, belief and religion to form one family under God.
I call also upon the legislators of this nation to set aside partisanship, and to move toward collaboration for the public good of the nation and for the sake of the entire world. Public servants must be awakened in the same way that spiritual leaders must be awakened to a life of service, living for the sake of others. That is the essence of good governance.
Respected leaders!
Recently, on the foundation of the Universal Peace Federation, I launched the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace. UPF is currently carrying out a series of International Leadership Conferences to launch the parliamentarians’ association in the Asia Pacific Region, in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, culminating in December with a world level ILC in Washington DC. These ILC programs are igniting enthusiasm among parliamentarians, who are the representatives directly elected by the people, calling each one to transcend national interests and work together to realize a global community based on mutual dependence, mutual prosperity and universally shared values.
I hope that many members of congress can encourage and support this initiative, and work with parliamentarians from 194 nations in a spirit of harmony and cooperation to solve our serious global problems, such as climate change, the rise of violent extremism, and the growing divisions among various nationalities, ethnicities, religions, and so on. America should be the elder brother in unifying the peoples and nations of the world as one family under God.
Respected leaders!
Everything my husband and I have invested in this nation is for the sake of God’s Will.
God is looking to us at this time. God has not given up on this nation. However, God cannot wait forever. The world is moving 180 degrees away from God’s Will. God needs not only individuals but an entire nation to stand on His side, to be his agent of change and transformation, centered on True Love.
Therefore, let us pledge to work together for the sake of God’s providence, and for the sake of 7.3 billion people on this earth.
Will you do that? Can our Heavenly Parent trust your resolve and determination?
If your answer is “yes!” let us show our determination by giving a big round of applause to God and True Parents.
Beloved leaders!
We have gathered here today not just to honor the events of 40 years ago, but to bring that work to conclusion.
There is no time to delay. It is time for us to overcome any attachment to individualism. It is time for us to live and work to love, care, serve, and harmonize together as one family under God. If we unite centering on God and True Parents and work together, we can build a world of true love, true joy and true harmony. This is America’s mission! Let us build the Kingdom of God, right here in America, and let us spread true peace throughout the world.
God, our vertical True Parent, is here with us today. Also, my late husband and our True Father is surely present here today.
I would like to ask you once more to pray and reflect deeply about this message. Please search your heart so that you will come to know and follow the Will of God and True Father for this nation. Their hearts are aching, and hoping that each one of you will rise up to lead this nation in a new direction, that this nation may be “one nation under God”, a nation that liberates not only the suffering heart of humanity, but the very suffering heart of our Heavenly Parent, who has longed for the day when all his sons and daughters can be embraced as his true children.
Let us be the ones who fulfill God and True Parents’ Will at this crucial time in history.
May God bless you and your families; and forevermore, may God bless America.
___________________________________________________________________________________
The following is the English translation of an article originally published by Segye Ilbo or The Segye Times, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument Rally and commemorative events hosted in Washington, D.C. on the weekend of September 16-18, 2016. To read the article in the original Korean, please click here.
“America Must Go Beyond the Boundaries of Race and Religion and Fulfill Her Responsibility”: FFWPU Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the “Washington Monument Rally”
Forty years have passed since Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, founders of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), delivered a historical address on September 18, 1976 to 300,000 people at the Washington Monument Rally in order to awaken America to fulfill her mission of world unification. In his address entitled “America and God’s Will,” Rev. Moon asserted that America is a model of the unified world and must become the flag bearer of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This rally, held in commemoration of America’s Bicentennial, had a profound impact that rippled throughout American society.
On September 17, 2016 local time, FFWPU commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument Rally with an event held at the same location used 40 years ago to once again spread Rev. and Dr. Moon’s powerful message.
The crowd passionately renewed their determination to practice the teachings of Rev. and Dr. Moon, who had clearly taught the path that America must take 40 years ago. The celebration kicked off with the “Peace Road 2016,” a bike course bridging the five oceans and six continents of the world in the name of peace. The Peace Road 2016 event was followed by opening remarks by Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, FFWPU Continental Chairman in North America; a congratulatory messages; and a video highlighting the 1976 Washington Monument Rally.
FFWPU International President Sun Jin Moon reads the keynote address on behalf of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon at the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Washington Monument Rally on September 17, 2016, calling for America to go beyond the boundaries of race, religion, gender, position, and culture.
For the keynote address, FFWPU International President Sun Jin Moon delivered “True Mother’s Address at the 40th Anniversary of the Washington Monument Really” on behalf of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, receiving enthusiastic applause. Dr. Moon emphasized, “My husband poured his entire heart and soul into the message he delivered 40 years ago to awaken this nation to its true mission and purpose of becoming a leading nation of this world. God called our couple to America for this reason.” She continued, “On this auspicious day, I have an urgent message to convey to this blessed elder nation of America: ‘America, I proclaim and call upon you today to arise once more! You must not fail in your responsibility to serve God’s providence!’”
Dr. Moon urged the audience, “We stand at a very serious point in time in the history of this nation and the world. To overcome this challenge and help realize God’s ideal, I call upon Christian leaders and all religious leaders to awaken and stand firm on behalf of God’s Will. We must join together, going beyond the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender, status, culture, belief and religion to form one family under God. The world is moving 180 degrees away from God’s Will. God is looking to us at this time. God has not given up on this nation. However, God cannot wait forever.”
Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, FFWPU Continental Chairman in North America (center of the table) and other participants attend a banquet held at the Washington Times Arbor Ballroom on September 16, 2016, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon’s Washington Monument Rally address given on September 18, 1976.
Prior to this rally, 300 people, including political, economic, cultural, and religious leaders, gathered at the Washington Times Arbor Ballroom on September 16, 2016 for a banquet commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Washington Monument Rally address. At the banquet, Three Blessings Service Awards were presented to representatives of various organizations, including Cynthia Turner, Executive Director of Seraphim Global, for supporting victims of domestic violence and Kazi Mannan, owner of Mayur Kabob House Restaurant, for offering free meals for the homeless.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, emphasized, “True Mother expressed that if we unite as one, repent, and ask for God’s help, we will witness a revolution that will eliminate racism, family breakdown, conflict, and anger in the same way we witnessed the collapse of Communism. If we forgive, love, and unite, we will be able to experience a reborn America.”
On September 17, 2016, 4,000 people, including former congressmen; Tom McDevitt, Chairman of The Washington Times and UPF-USA; religious leaders representing Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and more gathered to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Washington Monument Rally.
