Gangtok, India—On November 1, 2015, two-hundred and fifteen couples, including two government ministers of Sikkim state in northern India, attended a marriage rededication and Peace Blessing ceremony, co-organized by UPF. The “Multicultural Family Peace Blessing Festival” was held at Sikkim Government College with support from the government of Sikkim, in particular, Ambassador for Peace Hon. G.M. Gurung, a government minister. The event received front-page coverage in three newspapers; in all, four papers covered the event.
Mr. Krishna Adhikari, secretary-general of UPF-India, 30 members of UPF and 138 college volunteers helped coordinate the ceremony.
The evening before the event, Dr. Chung Sik Yong, chair of UPF-Asia, met with three government ministers from Sikkim and friends of UPF for a dinner to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UPF-India. One decade ago, UPF’s co-founders, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, came to India on their world tour, and UPF-India was launched.
After the ceremony, the principal of Sikkim Government College invited UPF to organize a program for the college’s students in March 2016.