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)

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

It’s been a while since the last MBU report, so here’s a brief update on how things have developed over the season so far.

Basically, MBU has been going through a steep learning curve. There were some tough times, when things became so frustrating on the field, tempers flew off it and relationships within the team were strained. These, and other problems, were teething pains, predictable in the sense that this is our first season, a formation stage, and thankfully things are beginning to click into place.

With the exception of a solitary victory in a knock-out cup competition (against a team who are no longer participating in our league!) MBU has become familiar with defeat. The scorelines have been quite embarrassing at times, but frequently, and especially recently, the lads have felt that these scores were poor reflections of the large steps we’re taking forward in our improvement. Individuals are growing in their ability, there’s more fluidity in our game and the managerial style is gaining confidence.

We won our first league game just over a week ago, a 3-4 away victory with a late Toby Suda goal securing the victory. Wild scenes ensued as the touchline members of the team celebrated; the manager ran onto the field in jubilation, and although the referee reminded him to return off the pitch, the ref was rather sympathetic to our joy having refereed many of our defeats.

Below are pictures and a video (courtesy of Tadaharu Hashimoto and Chris Jubb respectively) of last Saturday’s game (a 6-0 loss, but there was some tasty football on show).

Expect more victories to come!

Youth Ministry Director
Job Description

The UK FFWPU (registered Charity # 267917) is seeking to employ full-time a Director of Youth Ministry who will, together with the youth ministry team, coordinate pastoral care to the 500+ youth aged 12-25 living in the 9 spiritual communities of the UK.  Essential qualifications include a sincere faith in God & True Parents and good use of the English language.  A university degree and a stable marriage are preferred.  The job will include attending & supporting the national leadership in the FFWPU HQ in London, coordinating the student chaplaincy programme, supporting and guiding the HARP committee, creating educational programmes & materials, coordinating workshops and passing on communication between the European & national HQ staff and the youth of the UK.  Salary negotiable.

The purpose of the work should be to:

• Empower UK youth to discover and fulfil their unique calling to serve God and others
• Empower them to develop a personal relationship with True Parents
• Prepare young people for the marriage blessing and for a life of public service
• Build a spiritually secure community where young people can enjoy fellowship as one family

This should be achieved by:

• Praying for and serving the youth aged from 12 years (academic year 7) to 25 years
• Coordinating the university chaplaincy programme
• Communicating with national and European leadership regarding youth issues
• Maintaining the youth contact info database & disseminating relevant information (e.g. workshop invitations, blessing announcements etc)
• Supporting the HARP committee in fulfilling their objectives related to the purposes of HARP
• Supporting the youth worship services
• Reaching out to existing FFWPU youth and reaching out beyond to youth outside our church, inviting them to join different activities of varying commitment
• Developing educational materials with the Education Department and executing workshops & programmes
• Communicating & cooperating with parents of FFWPU youth

If you are interested in applying for this job, please send an email to hq@ffwpu.org.uk.  If you don’t want to apply for this job but are interested in supporting the Youth Ministry in another way, please also contact HQ.

On the foggy evening of Friday, December 11th 2009, 11 of us gathered at Bonaly Scout Camp on the outskirts of Edinburgh for an informal Christmas weekend. This of course meant that upon arrival we meticulously Christmas-ified the building. Lights, tinsel and stockings were hung and no ornament was spared in the decoration (or redecoration) of the tree. With hand made secret Santa gifts placed carefully and Christmas music playing in the background (both good and cheesy) the scene was set for this opportunity to smile and laugh together.

It was an opportunity which, I’m sure you’ll be glad to know, we took with gusto. Playing blind man’s bluff, carol singing, walking, dancing and movie-watching was enjoyed by all and nearly as much fun was had taking responsibility for the weekends more functional activities, like cooking. As the youth organised the whole event it all went, perhaps surprisingly, well. Even Christmas dinner for 22 people (parents were invited) was achieved with ease ;D

On our last day together we gave Sunday service. It was based on what we had been doing the previous couple of days. Sharing. A number of short testimonies were given by individuals to express what is going on in the lives of the youth of the region right now. What came across quite clearly is the diversity of skills, interests and personalities in what is a relatively small number of people. Brought together this kind of diversity has great potential.

What set this weekend event apart from other ones, on a personal level, was being able to stand on a hill with Dominik and Nik at 1.30am and look up to see shooting stars. That will be something I can always look back on. For the group as a whole it was something different, a sense of things to come. We became more open with each other and more open to the idea of doing more. With the possibilities that come with a new year I think we will find that there are great things ahead.’ by Magnus Webster

South London Christmas Party for young people.

Some people don’t find Sunday service inspiring. So they stop going. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t want some spiritual inspiration every now and again.

So out pops Refresh – a project started by me and Steven.

Are we a service? Are we a small group? Even we still aren’t too sure about the answer to that. All we know is that we try to think outside of the box.

What do we do? We’ve tried different ways of inspiring people, from meditation/reflections/prayer to watching short videos (like the one below) and then discussing to testimonies to simply having a round-table discussion about faith-related topics (favorite Unificationist tradition, anyone?). We also try to make things interesting with stuff like outings and end-of-the-month dinners.

Where and when is it? Refresh is every Sunday at 6:30pm. (Don’t worry, we almost never run over 1 hour for the main spiritual guidance.) And in recent developments, Refresh has developed into a roaming service. Can’t make it? We can come to you now!

Be sure to check our Facebook page to see where the next event is. If you become a fan, you can get updates straight into your Facebook News Feed every time you login.

We hope to see you sometime!

Dear HARP Members,

We would like to invite you to the God’s Day Workshop 2009/2010. The motto of the workshop will be “DNA, Divine, Natural and Absolute” with the slogan “The Basic Building Blocks of a Blessed Child’s Life.” The aim for this workshop is for the participants to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a blessed child, our lineage and the core teachings of the unification movement so they can be proud of their heritage and be empowered to fulfil their potential. Come to this workshop so we can start 2010 together and go into the New Year with a stronger sense of purpose, determination and positivity to become True Blessed Children.

Age: HARP members in High School years 9‐13 (born between September 1991 and September 1995)

Dates: Evening of the 27th of December – Afternoon of the 2nd of January

Location: Cleeve House, Seend, Wiltshire, SN12 6PG

Cost: £90 for the 1st child and £80 for the 2nd and 3rd

Application Deadline: Sunday 20th of December – 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 enquire 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 informationthat will help you get ready for the Workshop.

We look forward to hearing form you.

The HARP committee

I am a huge admirer of Eboo Patel (see his Wikipedia entry), ever since seeing him speak last year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at the British Library. It was refreshing to see someone else who is actively pioneering the way in interfaith for young people and actually being successful at it. I was so inspired that I bought and devoured his book – Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation. (Let me know if you’d like to borrow it, but I strongly recommend that you buy a copy for yourself. It’s that good.)

What amazed me most about his work was that initially, he struggled to get faith leaders to get their youth involved . See, the religious leadership feared that if their youth who are still discovering their own faith encountered other faiths, they might be converted and “lost”. But in the end, the reverse became true. The youth that got involved became curious to see how they could contribute stories of the traditions of their own faith and the result was that interfaith dialogue strengthened their convictions. I think maybe this is something that our community lacks and something that we should give a try: a way to strengthen the convictions of our youth in their beliefs.

Well, he’s back in town and this is a wonderful opportunity for anyone actively involved in interfaith work to come and hear him. (Click here to RSVP on the Facebook event.)

Eboo Patel, Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core

“Interfaith Leadership in a Religiously Diverse World”

Monday, December 14, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Friends House, Large Hall
173 Euston Road
London, NW1 2BJ

Seasons are like children in a large family. Each one is so different from the others, it is hard to imagine them coming from the same two finite parents.

Spring is the baby of the family, so easy to love, and is given license to be hot-tempered because its eyes are so big and its smile does such a number on your defenses.

Autumn too is nice to be around, talented and complex. Autumn is where life and death meet, where art and intellect make another attempt to occupy the same time and space. It speaks its mind and you never know what Autumn is going to say. There is a fragile intensity and a brilliance there; sometimes Autumn dies young. Nobody forgets Autumn.

Summer is a blue-eyed blonde. Being a born romantic, Summer can be the best child or the most troublesome. Seems like never in between.

Winter is easy to discount and put to one side. Winter seems sullen but that’s because what Winter offers is deep and hard to get to. Everyone hopes Winter will latch onto a path and destiny that won’t wreck the world. But there is a hero buried inside Winter that will emerge when the world needs it. Winter can melt your heart faster and more thoroughly than any of the others because the thoughtfulness is so unexpected, the utter selflessness so profound.