Nominations for the 2010 Grace Miller trophy are now open! Please send your nominations as quickly as possible so that the most remarkable and exemplary young members of our FFWPU community in the UK can be recognised, honoured & encouraged for their good work and behaviour.

Who was Grace Miller?
Grace Miller was born in 1916 – four years before True Father. She committed her life to True Parents in 1972 at the age of 56 and later joined as a full-time member in 1974, having been witnessed to by David Miller, older brother of Tim Miller. She fundraised and witnessed, gave DP lectures and led workshops and centres over the next years.

Had our True Father been recognized after the Second World War she would have been among those who should have received him in the prime of her life.

She was among several key parents of members who accepted True Parents in the early 1970s and laid an important foundation of faith and substance. In her later years she lived in Livingstone House supporting workshops and was one of a group of senior sisters who maintained a daily prayer over many years for our members including 2nd generation.

What’s the significance of the trophy?
Tim Miller purchased the Trophy in 2000 after the seung hwa of his mother, Grace. It was purchased from money donated by those who attended the seung hwa. It was born of an inspiration that Grace Miller’s name and investment for the providence be remembered in a way that connects to the future and hence to the 2ndgeneration.

As a grandmother she had a deep heart, affection and concern for young people and a strong prayer that they could know True Parents in their youth in a way which had not been possible for her.

The trophy was to be awarded to a 2nd generation young person who had made an outstanding contribution to the Unification Community in UK (and the wider world) in the preceding year.

Who won the trophy in the past?
There have been 9 recipients of the trophy over the last 9 years, although nobody was awarded in 2009.

2001 – Matthew Huish

2002 – Miriam Zaccarelli

2003 – Michael Franklin

2004 – Francis Stacey

2005 – Maniyer & Parmy Olson

2006 – Matthew Jubb

2007 – Yoshiko Chellew

2008 – Haesul Fagcang

Nominations for 2010
If you would like to nominate a young person for this year’s award, please complete the nomination form. It doesn’t matter if the young person attends the same church community as you or not. Send your completed nomination forms by email or by post to 43 Lancaster Gate, London, W2 3NA. Applications must arrive before 5pm on Wednesday 18th August 2010.

Judging & Awarding the Nominations
All nominations will be judged by the trustees of the FFWPU, the trustees’ advisory board and the youth ministry directors. Their decision will be final and the recipient of the trophy will be informed by Sunday 22nd August.

The winner of the Grace Miller award will be publicly announced at the FFWPU Annual Gathering, taking place this year in Cleeve House, Seend, on Tuesday 24th August. The winning young person will have their name etched onto the Grace Miller Second Generation Trophy and they will receive a cash prize.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!

Download the cover letter here.

I was joined by Christa, Tokuwa and Maggie yesterday at the Albert Hall to watch one of the proms. Standing in the arena, we were entertained by a performance of Beethoven’s first and fifth symphonies and also Beethoven’s violin concerto. You can listen to the recordings on BBC iPlayer.

Both Maggie and I play the fiddle – although we’re both quite rusty – so we could really appreciate the virtuosity of the violin soloist. Check out the cadenza 48 minutes into the recording – I hope you’ll be able to see what I mean. While I never believe I’ll have the time or dedication to play the violin that well, it inspired me to give my violin a good cleaning and get back into playing it more frequently. Interestingly (at 1 hour and 15 minutes into the recording) the soloist plays a gigue by Bach that I tried (and failed) to perform in Livingstone House about a year ago – this is how it’s meant to be played!

I haven’t been to a classical music concert in ages, so last night was quite a refreshing experience. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the live performance of some of my favourite music. Despite being in the spirit world, Beethoven’s creativity and genius was able to move me along an emotional journey, through joy and sadness, fear and hope, fragility and strength. Thanks in part to the German orchestra and the American soloist performing last night, Beethoven’s legacy will continue to make people’s lives better with magical music.

I was blessed in marriage with Natasha six years ago today. Yesterday after Sunday service we went out for lunch at the Café Rouge opposite the Chislehurst pond. Natasha’s family took David & Olivia to their home, so we could enjoy our meal with only Bronwyn to keep us company. Thankfully she provided little distraction as she slept for most of the meal.

After the meal we went for a walk. We were remembering the details of the ceremony six years ago and the events surrounding it. We reflected on the progress we’ve made as a couple, which can be measured by the three children we’ve had so far. We also looked ahead, thinking about the direction our couple would like to take in the next few weeks/months/years.

When people try to woo each other or express their romantic affection for each other, the concept of eternity is often implied – “my love for you will last forever… my love will never die… I will love you for all eternity” – but inversely the idea of being stuck with someone for eternity is a commitment many fear to make. Six years seems like a long time from our perspective,

but in the grand scheme of things it’s not long at all. Those of you who’ve been enduring married bliss for 30+ years probably are thinking, “You’ve barely scratched the surface! Wait until this-or-that happens…” and you’re probably right. But right now, I like the idea of spending eternity with Natasha, learning all the complexities of each other and exploring the infinite ways of expressing greater love for each other.

To everyone else blessed at the 400 million couples 5th phase holy marriage event: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

We would like to invite you to the UK HARP 7 Day Divine Principle Workshop 2010. This workshop is designed to give an understanding of the core teachings of the Unification Church, focussing on the content held within the Exposition of the Divine Principle book.

This workshop is targeting those who are new to the Divine Principle, creating an experience in which their first Divine Principle workshop is one to remember, as well as for those who would like to explore that bit deeper into their understanding of their own faith.

Age: 12 to 18 years old.

Dates: Evening of the 25th of July to the Afternoon of the 31st of July

Cost: £110 per person (£100 for every other child from the same family after)

Application Deadline: Spaces are limited to 30, so early application is advised. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee you a place even if you apply within the deadline – but we will do our best.

Please apply by sending an email to ukharp@gmail.com – please include your name, date of birth, contact number, parents’ email address and your local church community.

If you want to inquire about helping out as staff, please send us an email and we will get back to you to discuss the possibilities.

After the application deadline we will send out a confirmation email to all the participants and in that we will detail things that you need to prepare, the code of conduct and any more information that will help you prepare for the Workshop.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The HARP committee

As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, the book that tells the story of True Father’s life in his own words, is now available in the UK! Many thousand autobiographies have arrived at 43LG. Different communities are picking up their orders. Father has asked us all to distribute over 400 copies per Blessed couple/family.

This is the time we can start to really share father’s heart with people in a powerful way. The Korean version reached the bestsellers list in Korea, and the new 2nd English translation is greatly improved and has included pictures too.

You can buy a box (containing 28 books) for £100 each, or individual books for £3.50.

We are suggesting if you wish to sell the books on to make a standard cost of £12. Of course you are free to sell them for less and of course to give them to people as a gift, but it is good for people to know that they are also being sold for a real price. We will provide price tag stickers for those who want them. We will be setting up an amazon.co.uk shop asap which will allow us to sell them online too.

Uncle David surveys the container

If you have creative and good ideas that you want to own and get support on for distributing Father’s book, then get in touch.

Arriving at Lancaster Gate shortly after 10am, I met Takao , Réamonn and Sung Jong waiting in the lobby area of Headquaters. We were anticipating the arrival of a lorry bearing the expected 11,000 copies of True Father’s autobiography. I mentioned to the lads that I had walked past a lorry, which I suspected could be the one for which we were waiting. After a brief conversation with the vehicle’s driver confirming this, he skillfully manoeuvered his articulated lorry into the spaces in front of 43 Lancaster Gate.

Then the hard work began, transferring more than 400 boxes (containing 28 books each) from the lorry container into the building. It took not much more than an hour to transfer the boxes from the shipping container to the inside of our church Headquarters.

Just as we were nearing the end, Uncle Bernard Chellew arrived to collect as many of the boxes as would fit inside the Chrysler Voyager he was driving. Later, Uncle Franklin Fortune and Uncle William Haines also dropped by to collect boxes of books. Each time a vehicle drove away with their load of books, I prayed for the rear suspensions not to be overwhelmed!

With perfect timing, just as the last item was removed from lorry, the absolute good spirit world blessed us with the emergence of a Westminster council waste collection vehicle. The refuse collectors were happy to throw our left-over pallets into their rubbish truck, which gobbled them up quite easily.

Matthew de Souza then emerged with some lucozade bottles and some maple and pecan pastries, rewards for the hard workers (prepared by Uncle David Franklin, I assumed).

Many thanks also goes to Irene, Abi, Kenko, and Matthew de Souza who all offered their help.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And here’s a (rather dull) film stitched together by Simon and myself:

I’m at the departure gate at In Cheon airport, waiting to begin my journey home after 2 nights in Korea. It’s pretty crazy to think that I invested a lot of time and effort just to be in Korea for a couple of days. I did this kind of visit only because True Parents invited us; otherwise I would have stayed at home.

I knew that coming to Cheong Pyeong, I had to be ready for anything and to expect the unexpected. This paid off, as the originally planned visit to the Cheon Bok Gung on Friday had been suddenly cancelled (according to the announcement just before the big event on Thursday morning) and True Father wanted all international visitors to participate on a 2-day Original Divine Principle workshop. It’s a good thing my flight home is tonight, after the workshop finished.

The workshop was intense. There was a lot of shim jung expressed, although not always logically conveyed. I caught myself thinking, “I don’t have to be here – I can do whatever I want, relaxing or resting somewhere else, instead of enduring the difficult environment of this workshop.” Nevertheless, I quickly rebuked such thoughts: “I’m here to attend True Parents. True Parents want me to receive this content. So I will invest to receive this content as sincerely as possible.”

As you can imagine, it wasn’t comfortable. I was sitting on my bottom almost all day, listening to English translation through my mobile phone radio. When my mobile battery died, I had to quickly find a socket to plug in my charger. It was especially hard staying focused (OK, I mean awake) when the climate was hot and humid, and especially yesterday when we had very little rest and had had a long, hard day. I had beef with some of the statements (e.g. “The argument between creation and evolution is finished!”) but nevertheless, I took things with a healthy pinch of salt and tried to digest as much as possible, without getting information indigestion. Rev. Yoo poured his heart out and made me think about who True Parents are and what they have accomplished.

If there’s anything I’m taking away from the past couple of days, it’s to take the word more seriously. Rev. Yoo explained that the ODP isn’t something to be memorised, rather something to become. Of course I should still study the word, as understanding the content will help me to embody the content. Thus I will strive to study the word more – especially the 8 designated scriptures bequeathed to us by True Parents – and pray to embody it more in my life.

So, this blog is a little late in coming to you, but I wanted to let you know about the conclusion of the 5-day workshop for students hosted in Cleeve House a couple of weeks ago.

I think the workshop can be best summarised in the words of the participants themselves:

“I guess the main things I wanted out of this workshop were a deeper understanding of DP & finding ways of actually applying it to my life. The lectures that we have had have definitely helped. I have heard Uncle William’s DP workshop content before but he’s either added more or, upon hearing it for the second time, parts have finally got through to me. Hearing how DP is needed in fields, like politics & economics, makes me realise how it truly can be applicable to more, if not all, parts of life…”
(Takao Kobayashi)

“…it’s nice to get a different point of view and some very basic and simple points that were mentioned with examples became more understandable for me. Like the 3rd blessing! Before I couldn’t connect to it, but now I understand the meaning of it much better… I’ll definitely recommend this workshop…”
(Jeanne Penhard)

“Well, certainly not your orthodox DP workshop. Uncle William has illuminated the historical context surrounding the ideas discussed in the Divine Principle in a far more exhaustive fashion than is typical and re-emphasises its intimate relationship with the many, seemingly unconnected at first glance, goings-on on earth. The philosophy of human nature and the natural world is revealed in a fascinating manner through the lens of the Principle…”
(Christophe Murphy)

“Why I came? I suppose I was looking for answers to a couple of fundamental questions I had with the church, or maybe looking for someone to reafirm my own beliefs on the subjects. Whatever it was, I was definitely pleased with the content…”
(Iain Davies)

“This time here has also allowed me to think more deeply about what I should do in the future. So far I haven’t been too worried as I am still studying, but I have really started to feel an urgency in terms of what I should do with my life. I felt I was able to tell this to God very clearly and I am openly waiting for a response, and will continue to search until I find one… Somehow a new view of God has been awakened in me but also an understanding or rather feeling that there is soooo much that is yet to know and experience with Him. Just as I believe the relationship between husband and wife is infinite so is the relationship with God, and only by living according to the Principle more, or more simply the 3 blessings, can we come to reach these deeper and deeper levels of relationship. I get the feeling True Father wants to share these things but it’s something that can only be experienced and is different for every person and couple. Life is awesome! This I know.”
(Jonathan Bateman)

“… I really like the idea of trying to put oneself into a certain situation in history, to try to figure out what exactly was going on and how people felt, because sometimes I forget all of these historical figures were REAL people, normal people, they felt real emotions and sometimes I wander what I would have done in their situations…”
(Katrina Earle)

“I appreciate the fact that God gives us so much freedom to decide who we want to be and what we want to do. There are infinite possibilities in life. I am happy my life doesn’t have to be about following someone or only doing what I am told to do. I don’t want to be only a servant of God but I prefer to walk besides Him, like Abraham and True Father. Even if sometimes we have to do something our of duty, at least I can decide to di it or not. Whatever I am doing, I want to do it with my heart, this gives value to my life.”
(Tony Yuen)

Deep in the forests behind Cleeve House, two teams competed against each other in a number of challenging missions, armed with high velocity projectile weapons. Despite suffering frequent casualties, the members of these warring tribes overcame personal injury to pursue their objectives. What motivated these young adults to advance as heavenly soldiers? Was it God? Was it True Parents? Not quite, but nearly…

Uncle Mike Stout is a legend when it comes to organising fun activities on workshops. Many of the young people of our movement have enjoyed his creative games which stimulate both the body and the mind. For just over a year now, Mike has invested a lot of time and effort to develop paintballing facilities: He has applied for grants, investigated rules and regulations to ensure safety standards are in place, purchased equipment and even forged an agreement with a farmer who owns a forest behind Cleeve House to host the paintballing games for free. At the same workshop last year, we had the privilege of being the first group to enjoy the facilities. Although we were guinea pigs last year, we had a lot of fun.

This year, things were more organised: There were smoke bombs, flash-bangs & paint grenades; there were organised missions and games; the organisation was more efficient to allow maximum time for playing games. As a father-and-son team, Uncle Mike and Victor Stout did an inspiring job, serving our needs for aggressive fun!

There was blood. There were bruises. There were even tears (after a couple of badly aimed shots to the gonads!) It’s true that most of us had to bear discomfort and pain, which some found to present an unexpected emotional struggle, but through overcoming the immediate suffering, we actually had a really good time, creating good memories and forging close bonds of fellowship.

Abigail Cohn, who’s working with YeaHongHee Lee as the kitchen staff, commented that after the paintballing, she observed everyone discussing and sharing more openly. Perhaps after going through life-and-death experiences, and thus sharing in the rebirth experience, we could relate to each other more deeply through the common experience. We became a genuine band of brothers and sisters.

Credit for the title of this blog goes to Iain Davies, who uttered these words during a break while paintballing yesterday afternoon. I hope they give you an insight into our experience yesterday afternoon!