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UPF Webinar Brings Together Clergy From Four South American Countries
Written by Evaristo Fernández Sandoval, President, UPF-Paraguay
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Asunción, Paraguay—On Saturday, November 7, a “Peace Talks” webinar was organized by UPF members from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay respectively. The American Clergy Leadership Conference of Paraguay supported the event by sending two religious leaders to share their messages respectively. A pastor from the Mormon Church of Uruguay, an evangelical pastor from Chile, a monsignor from the Orthodox Church of Ecuador, an evangelical pastor from Paraguay and a bishop from the Paraguayan Catholic Church participated. The meeting was honored by the presence of Rev. Dong Moo Shin, president of UPF South America; UPF Secretary General Dr. Simón Ferabolli and Rev. Sung Jhon Seo, leader of Subregion 2. The organizers and the national leaders of the four countries of Sub-region 2 met on the Zoom platform and the guests connected on YouTube accompanying the event. There were 211 views on YouTube and 28 participants on Zoom.
Summary of the messages of each of the Speakers
Reverend Dong Mo Shin's Message:
It is true that this Covid-19 pandemic came to our continent silently, affecting our human relations. We closed our borders and the economy was seriously affected; however, as the Mother of Peace, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon said, “Heaven can’t wait!” It is urgent that we find ways to overcome the current crisis and we are going to achieve that together, as children of God and as people of unchanging faith.
One of the biggest lessons we can learn from this pandemic is discovering how fragile humans are and how many of us need each other. The basic principle of "living for the sake of others" should be reflected in interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values, which will allow us to find ways to overcome the current global crisis and create together the "unified heavenly world" that represents the fulfillment of the dream of God and of all of us. A new stage begins for our continent, and hopes are reborn that we can finally contribute together to establish the unified heavenly world that our Mother of Peace has been instilling in us in this precious era when we have to be the protagonists of providence next to the founders of the Universal Peace Federation, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
Bishop Juan Carlos Reyes of Chile:
Dear brothers and sisters in the faith, it is an honor for me to represent my country, Chile, from where I bring you this message of peace with our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. It is imperative to revive the true Christian spirit next to God and for our hearts to find the peace of living with Him as the center, guide and motor of our lives. We cannot be simple observers of what is happening in our societies. We are being threatened by satanic ideologies that influence our young people and families to lead a life of debauchery, without feelings of guilt for the bad actions we commit daily. The message that I bring you is that we arm ourselves with the words of our beloved eternal God and be protagonists in the defense of our ideals of building the world we dream of together with our beloved Lord Jesus. I really liked the words that the previous speaker shared that Heaven can no longer wait. We urgently need to eliminate selfishness and start living for the sake of others. God bless each of you and your families.
Pastor Graciela Viale of Uruguay:
I thank God for allowing me to share these messages of peace tonight from my country, Uruguay, and the Universal Peace Federation for the opportunity to meet such brilliant exponents related to the subject that summons us tonight. I have several biblical messages and anecdotes of the words that the Lord Jesus left us to guide us towards the Kingdom of Heaven. One of the words that he left for future generations was the following: "I leave you my peace; I give you my peace. Don't look at your sins but at the faith of your words.” We must always carry this peace of the Lord with us, in our families and spread it throughout the country. Each brother and sister must feel that as children of God we are his temples, his body and his image. Therefore, we have a commitment with God, with history and with ourselves. Finally, I want to remind you that the Lord Jesus left us the following words: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen. God bless you, and thank you very much.
Bishop Rafael Ruiz Gaona of Paraguay:
I join and sympathize with the Mother of Peace, who found a method in this time of crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic to send us her words and her voice of encouragement to continue with our respective missions. I have participated in the Rallies of Hope and received the message that Heaven can no longer wait and that today the president of the UPF of our continent reiterated. I am aware that as Ambassadors for Peace we must unite with her and accompany her without fatigue to build that unified heavenly world. I fully agree with the speakers who preceded me that we must ensure that the words of the Lord Jesus found in the sacred scriptures become substantial in our lives, and we must embody every word. Our commitment to continue working in the education of our peoples based on Christ-centric ideologies is the solution for this community, which is enduring a crisis of values never seen before in history. A big hug to all, God bless you and thank you very much for the invitation to come here today to share with all of you. Amen.
Pastor Javier Obregón from Paraguay:
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity that you offered me to come here today and share this message of peace that unites us to work together for a more just and caring society with highly spiritual values. I understand that our Lord Jesus did not found any religion on the face of the earth but left his words of conversion, repentance and rebirth. One of his key words to establish a society with moral values was the following: "Do you not know that you are temples of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you"? I think we should be concerned with honoring the position that Jesus has given us and taking care of our individual bodies. I propose that we highlight the points that unite us: We have the same God, the same Bible, the same savior and the same desire, salvation. As you see, we have more points in common that unite us than those that separate us. May God bless you, bless this event and may we continue on this theme of working together to take care of the Lord's flock. Amen.
Monsignor Vicente García of Ecuador:
I feel very blessed to be able to share this night with my colleagues from South America and meet such brilliant shepherds who are caring for the Lord's flock, as one of the shepherds present here today has already said. I think all the messages shared tonight are very important; however, there is a reality in Christian society that is unacceptable in the eyes of God. How can we explain that there are so many children living in extreme poverty in Latin America and so many abortions that add up to thousands of innocents who could not see the light of day because their life was cut off in their mother's womb? I think we need to work in coordination to solve these real problems that occur in our communities. God cannot experience joy and happiness in our work if his eyes see so much injustice between us. [Monsignor García’s presentation ended here because of technical difficulties.]
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