A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER IN CHICAGO
It was a weekend to remember! First of all, it was the hottest March weekend in decades, with temperatures in the 80s, and it was St. Patrick's Day!
Our Chicago WFWP chapter had made plans for this weekend months ahead, preparing a fundraiser and Women's History Month event to honor extraordinary women, and also welcome the national WFWP president, Angelika Selle, as the keynote speaker.
Under the capable leadership of our new Midwest events coordinator, Mrs. Fannie Smith, we were able to use one of Chicago's most historic buildings for the occasion: the South Side Community Art Center in Chicago, where celebrities in the arts as well as our nation's president and other icons of the African-American arts had visited and which used to be a vibrant center of creativity and spirit. One of the late women of the civil rights movement, Mrs. Margaret Burrough, had made her vision a reality to restore this once old and abandoned building and had transformed it into a kind of art community center and museum.
When entering it, one could feel the history and warmth in the wooden panels and creaky stairs. Some 10 vendors, with their tables offering homemade desserts, jewelry, handcrafted items, and books written by local authors, brought an added touch of hominess to the scene, truly a most fitting place for our auspicious gathering.
And it was indeed auspicious! Among the guests in attendance and special honorees were Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad, Chief of Protocol with the Nation of Islam, Rev. Barrow, an icon of the civil rights movement who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow P.U.S.H. (People United to Save Humanity), as well as some 50 women and men from various organizations and walks of life.
Our keynote speaker, WFWP USA national President Angelika Selle, shared passionately from her heart about women's role at this time, and also explained about the new phase and development of WFWP in the last two years via a PowerPoint presentation centering on the theme "Living by the Logic of Love." A brief video presentation with WFWP highlights of just last year (2011) inspired all and showed the many new initiatives and new growth in only one year! Angelika was so gracious to all.
Upon receiving her award, Sister Claudette Muhammad shared much of her own story and some history of her time with Minister Louis Farrakhan, the founder of the Nation of Islam, as well as truly gave credit and recognition to the founders of WFWP, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, whom she said she loves dearly. She also asked that special greetings be conveyed to Rev. In Jin Moon, the Moons' daughter, who is currently the head of the Unification Movement in America.
Famous civil rights leader Rev. Willie Taplin-Barrow followed suit in her very unique, funny, direct, and no-nonsense way, as she brought some African-American history to life, but also expressed her deep disappointment and concern about today's neglectful attitude about the institution of marriage, which compelled her to write her own book, titled "How to Get Married and Stay Married."
The Hispanic Family Church leader in Chicago, Rev. Marina Acevedo, spontaneously and bluntly related her marriage story, how she was matched to her husband and how he fell in love with her. They both lead a very successful family ministry in Chicago.
Teacher Ms. Yasuko Yoshida, an elder Japanese member, also followed suit, expressing her heart about WFWP and her life. Time flew by quickly.
A word about our wonderful coordinator and emcee of the event, Ms. Fannie Smith. She and her family had planned this event very well, invested time and resources in acquiring the venue and getting the word out. Also, as an emcee she kept the program flowing smoothly all the way through. It was her beautiful spirit which helped us all come together and brought us to this new beginning here in Chicago.
Many volunteers were involved to help ensure the success of the event by bringing in tables and chairs, audio-visual equipment, setting up the refreshment table, staffing the registration desk, etc. Without them, this event could not have succeeded. We were also able to sign up several new WFWP members as a result of the afternoon. In addition, our raffle prizes were all donated by both vendors and guests, which helped boost our funds for WFWP.
Special mention should also be made of the support of our local Japanese women. They not only helped by planning, manning a vending table with Japanese crafts and jewelry, and assisting with registration, but also donated a portion of their profits to the chapter. With True Mother's heart, they inspired everyone.
All in all, this event brought our Chicago WFWP chapter to yet another level. The main reason for this great success was undoubtedly the unity and good cooperation within the leadership team; Patricia Filginger chairwoman, Fannie Smith Events coordinator and Noriko Ogden Membership coordinator.
The next day, our president, Angelika, also addressed our Chicago church community at Lovin' Life Ministries, and then the Hispanic Family Church (article was already published in the previous issue).
To conclude this very busy weekend, which began Saturday, March 17 at the South Side Community Art Center, our women community leaders gathered Sunday evening in Elk Grove Village to share with Angelika and make a plan to move our chapter forward throughout the course of 2012. This was a valuable chance for each of us to become better acquainted with Angelika and to familiarize ourselves in a deeper way with the purpose and guiding spirit of the organization.
We look forward to participating with a good delegation of WFWP women at the 20th anniversary conference on October 25 in Las Vegas. It was clear to see the developments over the last two years, and easy to imagine that the future for Chicago will be bright.
