INTRODUCTION

While on the one hand, history often seems ordinary and routine, with days flowing by one after the other, there are turning points in history. Within any given life, for example, there can be significant, life-transforming moments. Sometimes these are called “rites of passage.” Many times a single moment in a person’s life can be of profound and lasting significance. For example, a seemingly chance meeting with another person can form the basis for tragedy or good fortune. The outcome depends not only on the circumstances and nature of the opportunity, but on our ability to see clearly, recognize what needs to be done, and take the right course of action.

I believe with absolute conviction that we stand at the most critical juncture ever to befall the human community. The entire world is truly standing on the threshold of an age of peace. The hope of all ages, for a unified world of peace, is about to be realized. The day of its arrival depends on us.
Rev Chung Hwan Kwak,
Chairman, Universal Peace Federation

Welcome!

Welcoming remarks at Jacob Javits Center, New York, at the beginning of the Peace Tour.

We’re so grateful and happy that you’ve come here today to share with us this profound and historical occasion. It is our sincere prayer and confident expectation that we will receive a special blessing from Heaven today, and that God in his mercy and love will bring all of us several steps closer to the kingdom of harmony and peace.

On September 12th, 2005, four years and a day after the tragedy of 9/11, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon founded the Universal Peace Federation with the vision and mission of bringing the entire human family into peace and harmony, beyond ethnicity, religion or nationality.

At the inaugural address delivered at the Lincoln Center in New York City, Rev. Moon outlined his vision for a world of peace and he spoke of bold reforms needed on every level from the individual to the whole world. He said the United Nations should be reformed, and form a council where the counsel of wise religious leaders can be heard. He urged the United States, Russia and the world’s leading nations to combine forces to build the Peace King Tunnel across the Bering Strait, creating a physical link between continents that will also bring all the world’s peoples together. Finally, he declared that all people should make a new commitment to create marriages and families of lasting peace. “Some may doubt that this can be fulfilled,” said Rev. Moon, “but where there is a will, there is always a way. Especially when it is the will of God!”

After the kickoff at the Lincoln Center, Rev. and Mrs. Moon immediately began a worldwide speaking tour to 120 countries, traveling over 80,000 miles as they visited a different country every day. They were welcomed by presidents, heads of state, leaders of religions, and by tens of thousands of ordinary men and women eager to hear their uplifting message of peace and hope.

When the tour concluded triumphantly in Korea late last year, no one could imagine that just a few months later God would call them to repeat and even expand the effort. But he did, and Rev. Moon and his family have willingly accepted God’s call. And so today we are all gathered to take another step in that important journey for peace. Once again, Rev. Moon’s family – led by his wife and greatest supporter, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, and ably assisted by their three eldest sons, Hyo Jin, Hyun Jin and Kook Jin – are urging us to change our lives and live in accordance with divine providence.

We are all to be partners in this divine work, not just a passive audience. We all have a part to play. During our gathering, you will hear several sermons, prayers and words of encouragement. But there will be something more, and it requires your active participation—the Blessing. The Blessing is a special grace from God to bring protection, power and incredible potential to your family. Today, it matters not whether you are married, single, or separated. God has a Blessing for all of us.

We hope that you find inspiration and edification in your experience today. God bless you and your families.
—Peace Tour Organizing Committee

Typical daily schedule during the World Peace Tour