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M. Ferreira: Drawn Together in the Bonds of God's Love
Written by Bishop Manoel Ferreira, Member of Parliament, Brazil; Co-chair, Global Peace Festival-Brazil
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Interview Conducted by Universal Peace Television
Global Peace Festival, USA, August 9, 2008
How do you feel about working for this vision of peace and One Family under God?
This is, I believe, the most important point for all churches in our days. We are living in a moment when there is a big devaluation of the family, or at least an intention to devalue the family.
It is a time of uneasiness and excessive violence in many parts of Brazil. I think that peace and the status of the family are very important points for these days because not only Brazil but the world is facing a crisis in the area of family. A message that can bring trust and express the value of the family is the message that we need today.
How do you feel this kind of vision of peace will help the work of cooperation and harmony among all the different faiths and beliefs of the world?
I think that this integration is for all segments of society, religious and nonreligious, evangelical Christian, Christian Catholics, nonevangelical Christians and other segments that believe in the family. The family is where trust is built. The human being was created to live in a family. The disintegration of the family and the devaluation of this segment of society signifies total defeat. Working in this direction will bring peace, harmony, and calm. This is the message that we want to bring, not only through the word of God, through the Gospel, but through the experiences that this great institution of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) has in spreading this message and this work.
This is the rain that will fall into this dry soil, which is so much in need of God’s direction and the word of God that brings comfort and trust. Through peace that we will achieve these goals.
I think that God has raised up Dr. Hyun Jin Moon at this time to bring this message that addresses so many difficulties and problems. Especially in Brazil, where we are passing through times of insecurity, this great Global Peace Festival will bring an answer that many people desire.
How would getting together for this kind of group of Abrahamic faiths help to create an example that might influence and affect some conflict in the Middle East?
The truth is that we have imprisoned ourselves. We put limits on ourselves and we haven’t had communion among the religious segments of the world.
There are divisions between the Orient and the Occident. There are many creeds, divisions, and religions on this side of the world as well. This Global Peace Festival will break this barrier. The purpose is to break this barrier, break this ice, and bring us close together, united under the guidance of God around one objective, which is the family.
I see this moment as an answer to our prayers, because we are all praying for more unity in the search for a greater purpose, which is peace. God made us. There is only one God, who is the God of us all, and I believe this proposal to unite will benefit all of us.
How does the Global Peace Festival represent an opportunity for greater cooperation between North and South?
I see this Global Peace Festival as an instrument of integration. Our nations will benefit if we become closer and more woven together. We all will win because, as we seek to love and unite more fully, drawn together in the bonds of God’s love, peace will automatically spread. Peace is where harmony is. If we take advantage of this moment, it will be a very special time for all nations, for all peoples, a great response from God to all our lives.
What is your sense of the vision of peace behind the Global Peace Festival, having met Dr. Hyun Jin Moon? What is your own sense of that vision of peacebuilding?
It is an age-old dream brought by a person who has a vision and an answer from God for this moment. I think Dr. Hyun Jin Moon experiences a deep communion with God and much closeness with God. He is striving to manifest God’s will. Furthermore, his father, whom I met many years ago, has been a great proponent of unity and communion, and now we are seeing the instruments that can bring this dream to fulfillment. I see that the time of God for this to happen is now.
What is your sense of the value of service projects?
Especially in Brazil, service projects have extraordinary relevance. Today we are living in a very good moment in Brazil, when things are beginning to balance out, but there are still huge deficiencies. The distance between rich and poor is very big. There are enormous social inequalities in Brazil.
I think this proposal will bring enlightenment and help us find solutions for these problems. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, where there is no social justice, where there is social inequality, discrimination, and divisions, there can hardly be peace. Therefore, this proposal to unite in the search for peace will decrease this distance and enable God’s love to spread in the hearts of the people.
Would you comment on your experiences and let people in your country know that the Global Peace Festival is an important event in which to participate?
Many festivals are being organized, including in Paraguay and Washington, DC. On December 6, 7, and 8, we plan to do things on a large scale in Brazil. We count on your presence to carry out this great work, which will bring a new vision of integration among the religious and nonreligious people.
Brazilian leaders from all segments need to unite in brotherhood so we can show people who we are and what we are able to do. When we unite for the sake of peace, we will truly have one large family of God, under His guidance.