God’s Ideal Family and Peace Kingdom - World Peace Tour

On November 6th 2006 the Austrian branch of the Universal Peace Federation was honoured to receive 15 of the 120 American clergymen, who are presently touring 120 nations worldwide. This is the 4th World Peace Tour, which Rev. and Mrs. Moon had initiated in order to spread their message of peace.

While Pastor Nagi F. Yousef from New York spoke at a parallel convention organized in cooperation with the Palestinian community in Vienna, and other pastors spoke in different bigger cities in Austria the main event in Austria was held at the “Parkhotel Schönbrunn”, which is located close to the historic site of Schönbrunn Castle.

The beautiful “Wintergarden” of the hotel was packed with guests, more than 150. For a welcome the “Vienna Peace Choir” sang “Let there be Peace on Earth!” and Rev. Robert Pyle of the “Church of Brethren” opened the event with an invocation. In a special message about the meaning of the tour he gave us a taste of the spirit in American Pentecostal Churches.

Everybody was waiting for the keynote speaker Archbishop G.A. Stallings. We heard that his flight was 4 hours late, so the tension grew: would he be able to attend the meeting? Just as Mr. Peter Haider, Secretary General of UPF-Austria and Master of ceremony of the event, started to read out Archbishop Stallings` curriculum vitae, the door opened and he came in. Educated for priesthood at the Catholic Seminary in North Carolina, Stallings attended a Catholic College in Rome for 5 years, earning two graduate degrees in theology. In 1989 he broke with the Roman Catholic Church and founded the Imani Temple, an African-American Catholic Congregation in Washington. His church has currently 70 000 members in America.

The archbishop was received with a warm applause and after a personal statement, he read out Rev. Moon’s message to the audience. Everybody was listening attentively throughout the speech. Among the guests were numerous Peace Ambassadors from Vienna, a delegation of “The Celestial Church of Christ” and other society leaders.

The presentation of Archbishop Stallings was followed by a “World Peace Blessing Ceremony” by Rev. Peter and Mrs. Gabriele Zöhrer, President of the Austrian Family Federation for World Peace. Towards the end of the program several other American pastors joined the event and were introduced by Archbishop Stallings. For a finale the choir sang “Amigos para siempre“, “friends forever” we want to become.

Refreshments were served after the official event, and the guests had a chance to meet the American pastors more personally. Stallings literally “disappeared” in the crowd, talking to as many people as possible. Later, during dinner, a small group of Peace Ambassadors had the chance to hear the moving testimony of the Archbishop, about him being blessed by Father Moon, about his beautiful Japanese wife and his two sons.

One of our Peace Ambassadors, who had attended several similar meetings before, stated: “Among all the events, this was the most uplifting one!” Thanks once again to the American clergy!

Peter Haider und Elisabeth Cook, UPF-Austria

Eine Delegation bestehend aus 120 amerikanischen Pastoren, Imamen und religiösen Leitern begann am 21. Oktober eine weltweite Friedenstour, die sie durch die Vereinigten Staaten, Japan und Korea führte, wo sie auch am 38. Breitengrad, der Grenze zu Nordkorea für den Frieden beteten. Sie besuchten in einer Woche mehr als 300 Städte. Die Tour soll bis zum Ende des Jahres in 120 Nationen weiterlaufen.

Diese Friedensinitiative wird von der Universal Peace Federation, gegründet von Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, koordiniert. Rev. Moon, seine Frau und Mitglieder ihrer Familie haben in den letzten zwölf Monaten drei weltweite Tourneen absolviert. Sie wurden von Staatsoberhäuptern, Leitern von NGOs, Frauenorganisationen, religiösen und Jugendorganisationen in 120 Ländern willkommen geheißen, am 6. September 2006 auch in Österreich. Seit Jahren hat sich Rev. Moon für die Schaffung eines Friedensrates in den Vereinten Nationen eingesetzt, welcher sich aus Persönlichkeiten zusammensetzen soll, die sich über ihre Nation und Religion hinaus für den Weltfrieden einsetzen.

In der US Delegation sind viele prominente Geistliche, denen die Arbeit für den Frieden nicht neu ist, da sie sich schon mehrere Jahrzehnte für Bürgerrechte, Religionsfreiheit, Familienwerte etc. eingesetzt haben. “Der Einsatz des Rev. Sun Myung Moon und seiner Frau für den Weltfrieden hat in der Tiefe meiner Seele einen sehr positiven Widerhall gefunden,” sagt der ehemalige DC Kongressmann Rev. Walter Fauntroy. “Der Grund liegt darin, dass alles was ich bin und alles was ich erhoffe, ich der Aufgabe verdanke, der ich mich vor 45 Jahren mit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. verschrieben habe. Seine Botschaft war einfach: ‘Entweder lernen wir miteinander als Geschwister auf diesem Planeten zu leben oder wir werden miteinander als Narren zugrunde gehen.’ Ich schätze Vater Moons Einsatz, da er wie Martin entschlossen zu sein scheint, etwas für den Weltfrieden zu tun, nicht nur darüber zu reden.”

Weitere Informationen unter: Tel.: 0650/2588846 oder E-Mail: info@weltfriede.at