It  has been confirmed that our International President, Pastor Hyung Jin Nim and his wife, Yeon Ah Nim  will come to the UK on Monday 23rd August and spend  a few days here to meet brothers and sisters before going on to visit the rest of Europe.

I am sure you will all look forward to meet them with your families and guests, so let us all prepare well to receive them and inspire them.

FFWPU Annual Gathering at Cleeve House

We have decided to move the Annual Gathering in Cleeve House to Tuesday 24th August (originally set for Saturday 21st August) so that all our Blessed families can have a chance to meet with Pastor Hyung Jin Nim and Yeon Ah Nim in our own beautiful environment .
We did not want to miss our traditional summer Annual Gathering and it was thought  difficult to gather UK members from all over the nation twice within a few days, so it seemed a wonderful opportunity to ask Hyung Jin Nim to speak to everyone at Cleeve on 24th.  We have there facilities for the younger children to enjoy the bouncy castles, games, etc.
Please try to book time off work if you need to. More details will come soon.

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!

The hoon dok hwe this morning included passages from the Cheong Seong Gyeong, including this passage:

How did the universe begin? It started with God serving and pouring Himself out for the sake of the other. It started with God expending Himself. Then, what is the purpose in devoting oneself to creating one’s partner? After both have given all they have, what we gain is love. As long as we have love, we are happy, no matter how much we have invested… Giving all one has creates a minus, so why do you think He did it? Because love has the power to more than fill up any void, after expending and investing Himself, God gained love in return… True love grows bigger and bigger the more it is invested. (237-124, 1992.11.13)

I felt everyone on the workshop could connect these words of wisdom to our sports activity this afternoon. In the spirit of the current World Cup in South Africa, we played a game of football:

A couple of brothers aside, most of the workshop participants weren’t terribly keen on football. Nevertheless, everyone committed themselves valiantly in the hot, sunny weather. I witnessed resurrection in all the participants. After giving all they had, non-footballers were reborn as footballers. It was an exciting game, with the lead exchanging several times. With the final phase of the game, a goal was scored to put everything level at 5-5. It had been a genuinely fun game which was competitively contested. Despite feeling exhausted, after having replenished their bodies with fluids and having had a refreshing shower, everyone was bright and alert half an hour later for Uncle William’s lecture. A nice example of the principle in action.

Later in the evening, Markus Thonnett led a session on artistic creativity. He wanted to awaken the creativity latent inside all of us, and this evening the awakening would be expressed through the medium of bamboo sticks. Upon self-reflection, I realised that I don’t invest enough time in my own expression of creativity. I wanted to make (or at least communicate) a panda, but the result was rather disappointing. Perhaps I wasn’t cut to be a bamboo artist, but I am a creative person – God created me to be creative, as Uncle William’s lectures had earlier explained. I need to spend more time developing my creativity in the areas I enjoy, like music and poetry.

As you can see from the pictures and videos, everyone enjoyed this exercise and created some impressive 3-dimensional sculptures. What titles do you think these creations should have? (Click on the thumbnails to see the full images)

Yesterday I did the unusual thing of attending the HQ community Sunday morning worship service. As a Bromley regular, the reason for this trip away was the fact that I was collecting 4 passengers – 2 sisters from Lancaster Gate and 2 Parisians from St Pancras station – with whom I would drive to Cleeve House for the workshop starting that evening.

Along the M4, while most of the passengers were peacefully snoozing, I chewed on wine gums and reflected on my purpose for coming to Cleeve House. Why do we do workshops? What’s the point of coming to this workshop? I wasn’t questioning the educational philosophical of our workshop culture. No, I had done that a few weeks ago and reached some conclusions that I might share at a later stage: I was questioning MY PERSONAL PURPOSE for dedicating some time on this workshop. I know some people don’t like the word “retreat” (it sounds like surrendering) but I felt that I would benefit from a retreat from life in London, and dedicating some time to reflect on my personal life of faith. Of course I’ll make myself busy all week trying to help the staff and participants on this workshop have a good experience, but while I’m in the GLORIOUS environment of Cleeve House, I’m committing myself to focus on some constructive me-time.

That means turning my phone and laptop off occasionally and just speaking with God.

Among many things I intend to discuss with God this week, I’d like to ask Heavenly Father what I need to do to be a better disciple. Discipleship is something I’ve been reflecting on recently (what does it mean to be a disciple???) and through the inspiration and revelation on this workshop, I hope to return to London with some clarity and hopefully some answers.

The children’s Summer Camp for 2010 will be held at Cleeve House from Tuesday July 27^th to Monday August 2^nd.

Details and the application form are available HERE.

Please return completed forms by post to:

Chris Le Bas, 17 Jubilee Close, Pinner HA5 3TB

or contact Chris

‘ARTiculate Your Self’

You are invited to the upcoming Arts Workshop at Cleeve House this Summer with the motto: ‘ARTiculate Your Self’. Following on from the last UK Arts Workshop which took place last Easter in Cleeve House, we decided it was necessary to hold another one.

With some fresh ideas and objectives we aim to bring something new to the table for you. A new experience, something different you can get involved with, a chance to develop certain strengths in either your desired career field, or generally the things you love to do/participate in.

This year we will have the following groups: Art, Dance, Drama, Media and Music. The group leaders are very promising and have a lot in store for you, the participants. We will be setting up a website where you will be able to find more information about each group, as well as apply for the workshop:

http://www.articulateyourself.co.uk

Date: 21st – 26th August

Price: £80 (£70 for siblings)

If you have any questions or want more information contact reamonn@gmail.com
Look forward to seeing you there

Sincerely

Réa
(workshop co-ordinatior)

Indivisual; Expressing True Parents’ Style

We would like to invite you to the UKHARP Summer Workshop 2010, which has the motto “Indivisual; Expressing True Parents Style”, in accordance with the European HARP summer motto. Indivisual is a made up word, combining the words Individual and Visual, encouraging people to find their own individual faith in True Parents and be able to show and express that faith to the people around them. The aim for this workshop is for the participants to gain a deeper connection to True Parents, their mission and vision for the future and for the participants to gain the confidence to be able to show what they have gained to their family and friends back home.

Age: HARP members in High School years 7‐11 (born between September 1993 and August 1998)

Dates: Evening of the 15th of August – Morning of 21st of August

Venue: Cleeve House, Seend, Wiltshire

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

Application Deadline: Spaces are limited to 70, 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

Click here to download the workshop application form
Click here to view the Workshop Agreement