Poland

November 2, 2006

On November 2, 2006 the UPF chapter in Poland had the opportunity to promote the vision and words of True Father by hosting five American Clergy Leadership Conference pastors in several cities in Poland.

Pastor Andre Wayne Jackson came to Warsaw to participate in the main national event. The conference was scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm. The venue was the famous Nowy Swiat Cafe located on Warsaw’s prestigious Nowy Swiat Street (New World Street). The cafe is well known, as two IIFWP exhibitions were held there prior to visits from the True Family in October 2005 and July this year.

The start of the evening program was delayed as more and more people arrived and additional seats had to added to accommodate the audience of 110 people. The conference started with a short introduction by the emcee Grzegorz Galacki. He presented the history of the World Tours and then invited Mr. Wùodzimierz Prokopiuk, Pastor of the Unified Polish Brothers and a 76-year-old Ambassador for Peace, to give the invocation prayer.

A presentation on UPF’s principles was given by Mr. Krzysztof Gago, the president of UPF Poland. Then everyone listened to an inspiring poem by Mrs. Iwona Czarnecka-Budziszewska, Ambassador for Peace.

After the holy wine ceremony and burning ceremony, there was a welcome for special guest speaker Rev. Jackson. He testified about his work and his love and support for Jesus and Father Moon. The way he read the True Father’s speech was a very special and lively experience. Generally European people are more restrained in showing their emotions and have a more reserved attitude to God’s word, but these American clergy are very different. People were moved by the vivid expression of heart and spirit. This made the simultaneous translation of the speech into Polish a big challenge.

After the speech, the blessing ceremony led by Mr. and Mrs. Krzyszytof and Harujo Gago was followed by poems read by Mrs. Iwona Czarnecka-Budiszewska.

The final comments were given by Grzegorz Galacki, who invited everybody to participate in MEPI activities and the UPF Symposia to be held in the Netherlands, and Mr. Krzystof Gago, who expressed his appreciation to the participants for attending the conference.

After the conference finished, many people spent time conversing with the guest speaker and other UPF staff.