Leaders Link up in London! »

By Teresa Hays

The European leaders meeting held at Livingston house on the 2nd-3rd November, hailed people from far and wide to take part in what has become an  important event, a chance for Reverend Song to pass on providential updates and news and a chance for our movement to digest and work together on a European level.

Being an average, student aged person in London, I had no connection to such a meeting, it was something maybe you heard was going on but in mine and probably many cases the reaction was indifference, how does this meeting effect me in any way? What will come out of it which is different from what is currently going on? What is the value of these meetings? Is it constructive?

I had several questions in my head and wanting to know what other people thought, I set out to find some answers. I asked Franklin Fortune his opinion and I was very moved by his honest and sincere point of view. He spoke very openly about his heart towards Rev. Song, explaining that sometimes its hard to completely understand the providential reasons for why we must do things here in Europe. In particular he spoke about cheon song conditions, how after some time each condition seems more like a routine then anything else, more like “heavenly tax”.

Something he realized at the meeting, was that the cheon song conditions are more of a chance for us to contribute to True Parents’ providence and goals. As Rev. Song is not always available, he cannot provide everything on behalf of Europe, subsequently the cheon song conditions gives us as members the opportunity to take sincere ownership over the progress in Europe, he went on by saying “the choice is ours”.

As I took some time to sit in the meeting, listening to all the many reports about countries and projects going on, it became clear that indeed there was a lot of talking, too much for my own attention span. But more then this I could begin to see the value in creating relationships and partnerships with each other.

This point struck me, wanting to get more answers I interviewed Tim Miller. Mr Miller had been working very closely with Rev. Song and was coordinating the meetings over the two days. He emphasized the importance of communication, communication between nations as well as vertical communication and understanding between Europe and our international movement. I also spoke to Simon Cooper about this point who admitted that working together on such a large scale isn’t an easy task as Europe has such rich and diverse cultures, but nonetheless growing in our connection to each other and Rev. and Mrs Song is important.

I ended my visit in reflection and came to the conclusion that most of the people attending came out of it feeling re-motivated with new direction and determination. In short I think the meetings were constructive in the way that it gave leaders the chance to re-connect with each other, a good and insightful visit. Watch the video: