Peace Education
UPF-Argentina Celebrates the Birthday of UPF’s Founders
Written by UPF-Argentina
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Para leer en español, haga clic aquí.
Buenos Aires, Argentina—On February 26, religious representatives and people from different sectors of society joined the celebration of the birthday of the founders of UPF, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The event took place in Club Español. The program consisted of speeches, artistic performances, and a Peace TV video about the birthday celebration in Korea. That celebration, which had around 30,000 participants, was held on February 10 at the Cheongshim Peace World Center in Cheongpyeong.
Carlos Varga, director of UPF-Argentina, talked about the teachings and work of Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han: “A man and a woman who, inspired by God, have led for more than 50 years lives in search of peace for humanity. They have endured endless suffering and hardships for us to witness their work.
“They have lived with the heart of parents. Why do we give them that connotation? Parents, True Parents. True is an adjective that refers to someone who is resolved, everlasting, unchangeable. When we say something is true, it means it transcends and does not change. We can say this about gold, a precious metal; not only because it is gold, but also because it has unchangeable qualities.”
Mr. Varga explained about their “constant, unchangeable heart, and their vision and mission for peace around the world.” Then, he mentioned the people who have been called father and mother, and the concept of parents. For this reason, he referred to the Scriptures, the moment of the creation of the first man and woman in “His image” (Genesis 1:27). He concluded that “God not only has the heart of a Father, but also the heart of a Mother.” Likewise, he reaffirmed the sanctity of marriage in times when people claim the equality of men and women, which constitutes “a perfect counterpart.”
He finally talked about the separation between the human and the divine, and the difficulty of feeling God’s love for our neighbors. “Human nature has been skeptical in finding the divine in the human. This is a time when we have to start rebuilding this unity between the divine and the human, and believe it is possible to live and feel like a family under God. These are also the teachings of UPF’s founders,” he concluded.
The first artistic performance was in charge of the baritone Tomás Jofré, who sang “Nella fantasia” and “La oración” Then, the young Japanese Ambassadors for Peace Mijo Obi, Motomi Hirai, Nichika Kabakino, and Mizuna Shinozaki sang in Japanese and Korean “Song of Filial Piety”, a cry for “becoming true filial sons and daughters who can face the heart of True Parents.” Later, a group young people from the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, coordinated by Marco Castellón and Araceli Melgarejo, sang “Estar contigo” (by Álex Ubago), followed by Emiliano Corales on the guitar. The final performance was the poem “Crown of Glory” (*) recited by Juan Manuel Cañas.
At the end, we cut a cake and shared it with representatives of various religious traditions: Norma and Eduardo Castro, from the Catholic community; Faiza Yahia, from the Islamic community; monk Senpo Oshiro, from Soto Zen Buddhism in Argentina; Awo Ifayare Daniel Bouza, vice-president of the African and Umbanda Society, Culture, and Religion; and Gustavo Libardi, president of Scientology Argentina.
Representatives of other areas also joined the event. They included Councilman Marianela López (Hurlingham); Patricia Pitaluga, director of Acercando Naciones; Horacio Daboul, president of the Cultural and Social Arab League; Gabriel Machado, Rotary Club Solano (Quilmes); Dr. Ana María Molinari, ASEPROFAR Foundation; and Elena Faggionato, who remembered her uncle, the former president Arturo Frondizi, who introduced Hak Jan Han Moon in 1993 at the launch of the Women’s Federation in Argentina.
After listening to some testimonies, we sang Happy Birthday, along with the representatives of the hosting entities, Carlos Varga and his wife Laura Correa, from the Family Federation; Miguel Werner and his wife Alba Luz Tangarife, from UPF-Argentina; Rosetta Conti and her husband Sergio Castellón, from the Women’s Federation in Argentina; and Emanuel Sayavedra, from CARP.
For the occasion, we received many salutations and support from the FEPAIS Foundation / FANCV Foundation – Fundación Argentina a las Naciones Camino a la Verdad; Presidency of the Institutional Relations Committee from Rotary District 4895; Cultural and Social Arab League; Hispanic and World Union of Writers; Autonomous City of Buenos Aires; Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Tourism, and Services from Parque de los Patricios; Community Club of Parque de los Patricios; Radio Program “Diplomacia, política y economía”; Radio TV FM Diamante de Buenos Aires; Newspaper El Faro del Sur; SADE Atlántica; Center of Argentinian and Latin American Writers—CEAL; Society of Writers from the Province of Buenos Aires—Mar Del Plata branch; Latin American Female Forum; and Cien Poetas por la Paz.
Quote:
(*) “Crown of Glory”
When I doubt people, I feel pain.
When I judge people, it is unbearable.
When I hate people, there is no value to my existence.
Yet if I believe, I am deceived.
If I love, I am betrayed.
Suffering and grieving tonight, my head in my hands.
Am I wrong?
Yes, I am wrong.
Even though we are deceived, still believe,
Though we are betrayed, still forgive.
Love completely, even those who hate you.
Wipe your tears away and welcome with a smile
Those who know nothing but deceit,
And those who betray without regret.
O, Master, the pain of loving.
Look at my hands.
Place your hand on my chest.
My heart is bursting, such agony.
But when I love those who acted against me,
I brought victory.
If you have done the same things,
I will give you the Crown of Glory.
Sun Myung Moon
Poem written when he was 16 years old (1936)
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