Dear Family, Happy New Year! Fumiko and I would like to share with you an important memorandum just received from the World Mission Department concerning the celebration of True Parents’ Birthdays, which this year fall on Sunday February 22nd. Let us honour and celebrate our True Mother on her 83rd birthday and our True Father on what would have been his 106th birthday. As much as possible, we want this to be a joyful outreach-focused celebration to which we can invite all of our friends, family and guests.

Yes, a joyful celebration. For although our True Mother is still in detention and may not be able to celebrate freely herself, we can be assured that our Heavenly Parent will be celebrating the births of the True Parents, the ones whose advent was so long awaited. To our celebration, let us add our renewed determination to stand together with True Mother until the day of her release and vindication! Let me summarize the key devotional points that are being requested in the memo: (copied below)

  1. Dates: A 13-day period to mark True Parents’ Birthday and the 13th Anniversary of Foundation Day, running from February 17 (January 1 lunar) to March 1 (January 13 lunar)
  2. Devotional Conditions:
    a. 13-day Hoondokhae reading of the “Epic of the Chosen Han People”
    b. Registering and attending the Special Great Works from Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd
    c. True Parents’ Birthday Worship Service on Sunday, February 22nd
    d. Foundation Day service on Sunday, March 1st.
    e. Offering daily acts of kindness and love.
    f. Offering the Holy Day Donation
  3. The international Worship Service will be in Korea, and each continent will be sending a small delegation to attend in person. There will several other celebratory programmes. It is likely that there will be an invitation to join some of these events online and further details will follow.
  4. Holy Day Donations: All members, families and friends are encouraged to offer Holy Day donations. The suggested international guidelines are €130 for families and €70 for individuals. Of course, all donations are welcome, bigger and smaller, and you may follow your own local /national guidelines.
  5. Holy Day Offering Tables: All communities should prepare a Holy Day Offering table which may include offerings of fruits (including persimmons, jujubes (red dates), chestnuts and pears) candies and cookies. Larger offering tables may include meals for True Parents. All the holy table should be shared with the congregation following the service, following the tradition of the holy sacrament. Families joining from home are encouraged to prepare a simple holy table. Please take some nice photographs!
  6. Greeting Cards and Letters All members and communities are encouraged to write a letter to True Parents. Each church or community will choose one letter to be read out during the service, and this will be sent on to Korea. It is also appropriate to sign a communal card during the celebrations on February 22nd, and send that card together with a group photo the following day.

The address to use is: Ms. Mika Namowicz, World Mission Headquarters General Affairs Department, Cheon Jeong Gung, 324-275 Misari-ro, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, 12461 Republic of Korea.

Thank you very much! Let’s make this a truly memorable celebration that honours and comforts True Parents!

Michael & Fumiko Balcomb
Continental Directors, FFWPU Heavenly Europe & the Middle East

Bank Details:
Account Holder: FFWPU-Europe
Bank: Frankfurter Sparkasse
IBAN: DE97 5005 0201 0200 6918 80
BIC: HELADEF1822

PayPal:
donate@ffwpu-eu.org

Purpose: Holy Day