REACHING OUT WITH A MOTHER'S HEART: PRESIDENT ANGELIKA SELLE SPEAKS AT IAPD CONFERENCE
Editor’s note: On April 5th, 2019, WFWP USA President Angelika Selle was invited to speak at the national convocation of the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD) and the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) in Los Angeles. She introduced the vision and work of WFWP to an audience of more than 200 dignitaries from nine countries. Read her powerful message below:
Good afternoon, excellencies, distinguished guests, Ambassadors for Peace, ladies and gentlemen,
Greetings of Peace!
Do you think we need women to play a role in order to create world peace?
It is my pleasure to introduce to you the Women’s Federation for World Peace, which was co- founded in 1992 (27 years ago) by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband, Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon to announce the ARRIVAL OF THE ERA OF WOMEN, calling on all women to play a more pivotal role in making peace a reality.
The founding purpose of WFWP is to realize One Global Family rooted in a culture of heart and sustainable peace, and a lifestyle of LIVING FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS - the idea is not new, but has not been practiced very much - and for women to influence the world with their own unique feminine values and vision based on their motherly heart.
Quote by the founders: “History is calling for compassion, love, service and sacrifice. Today’s problems cannot be solved by the Logic of Power. Today’s problems can only be solved by the Logic of Love”.
Therein lies the uniqueness of WFWP in that we are not a feminist organization pursuing women’s rights to the exclusion of men. Rather the Women’s Federation seeks to empower women to first of all understand their own God-given value which comes from the CREATOR. As scripture says: God created us in HIS OWN IMAGE – male AND FEMALE he created them. And understanding and internalizing that means that we know, we are daughters of the divine God, and therefore have no need to fight or put down men, but rather assist our husbands and other men to also see the Divine within themselves and collaborate in building a world of peace. AMEN!
This feminine type of leadership is most of all exemplified by our founder herself, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who is now leading the worldwide Peace Starts With Me movement. Dr. Moon has especially inspired women and women leaders to aspire to a more spiritual type of peace leadership or leadership from the inside out, and also step forward and exercise their gifts, experience and passion to address pressing social issues and bring substantial change.
She herself is leading by example, thereby educating thousands and even millions with the simple message of PEACE STARTS with me. We call her the Mother of Peace – and mother indeed she is, as she has given birth to 14 children and has more than 40 grandchildren. But most of all she is concerned about the 7.7 billion people in the world – and she demonstrated that from the very beginning when in 1992 she visited every major country and continent personally to inaugurate the WFWP chapters sharing the love of God through her motherly heart. It is that heartset and mindset we women seek to inherit, emulate and act upon.
WFWP therefore in one sentence is REACHING OUT WITH A MOTHER’S HEART FROM THE LOCAL TO THE GLOBAL LEVEL.
Much has been quietly accomplished through the Women’s Federation for World Peace around the world in the last 27 years.
Internationally, WFWP supports humanitarian projects, AIDS prevention, hygiene and school development – such as the Schools of Africa project which started in 1997 and has grown to include 10 schools to date with more than 15,000 students graduated.
Our UN work focuses on human rights, education and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
In our pursuit of global harmony, WFWP initiated the Bridge of Peace Project in 1996 with the sisterhood ceremonies – Mrs. Tomiko Duggan initiated the idea of using an actual bridge as a prop for those ceremonies – to give women the opportunity to experience one another as sisters beyond stereotypes of race, religion or nationality.
In the meantime the BOP is trademarked, and has brought together not only individuals, but also families and organizations, leaders of races and religions, with an educational component in teaching about the value of repentance and forgiveness and then committing to a Peace Project together.
Each region in the world has its own focus. Here in the United States over the last six years we were focusing on reaching out to the youth, and young women professionals, inspiring them to use their passion, energy and professionalism to contribute to the greater vision of creating peace and impacting for the greater good. I myself work with an intergenerational team in NYC.
We have been educating and empowering women to become peace leaders through various workshops and community projects as well as through national and local assemblies.
We recently created two educational curricula for the two major areas of impact which are:
1. Leadership of the Heart
“The Leadership of the Heart” curriculum is designed for self change, re-adjusting our own heartset and mindset to one that is conducive for peace. The reality is that each of us has an ongoing war 24/7 between our mind and body, thus humankind is dealing with 7.7 billion wars, and once we lay that to rest there is hope for peace in the world; thus the message of Mother Moon is PEACE STARTS WITH ME.
2. Family Education
In the area of healing the family we created the “Cornerstone for Happiness – Marriage and Family” interactive and transformational curriculum, teaching about healthy relationships, good communication and the 4 kinds of love one can experience in the family, leading up to the invitation for married couples to re-dedicate their marriages on a deeper level, and create families of peace.
These are but a few highlights of the tremendous work of women and mothers over the last 27 years in this organization.
Once again through education, advocacy, partnerships, reconciliation and humanitarian services, propelled by a Mother’s heart, WFWP aims to create an environment for peace and well-being for all peoples, cultures, all religions and creeds.
Distinguished leaders,
The world is changing fast, and here in America we are facing many divides on all levels – political, social, economic, educational, and so on and so on. There cannot be peace when there is division. It is a historic moment when the last hope is that people of conscience, goodness and faith come together beyond differences, find common ground in the moral universal value of living for the sake of others and then do the same in our areas in the field.
It is not easy when it comes to practical realities to implement positive change and establish common ground among enemies, but that is why I believe we need women with motherly hearts who are good at finding common ground, sometimes finding common ground where there seems to be none, and thus we can make a significant contribution in bringing about a world of lasting peace and harmony.
Do you think so?
Thank you very much!