WFWP USA PRESIDENT VISITS WEST COAST CHAPTERS

WFWP USA President Angelika Selle

It was a wonderful adventure and experience to visit, meet, greet and spend time with the women of our WFWP chapters on the West Coast!

The reason for this three-city trip was to share about, energize, inform, reorganize and strengthen our chapters and WFWP leaders in the West as well as do a bit of research as to where we would have our 20th anniversary celebration in 2012.

Though we already had decided that the location was likely to be Los Angeles—and incidentally it was in LA that the very first WFWP national assembly took place back in 1992—I wanted to find an overall events coordinator as well as see what our resources and possibilities are there.

Well, after completing this very exciting and meaningful trip/tour, I would like to confirm that our 20th Anniversary National Assembly will indeed be held in Los Angeles, in October next year! Date will be announced by the end of October 2011!

Starting in LA, the "City of the Angels," Heidi Iseda, our local chairwoman there, picked me up from the airport and brought me to Pasadena House, True Parents' beautiful mountaintop estate and educational center. Our WFWP office is located there. The wonderful facility also houses the main offices for Lovin' Life Ministries in LA and is a place for guests to reside when they come to LA.

I have to tell you that LA is a great place to get low-cost massages: One Chinese establishment asks only $35 for an hour and a half! And the client is thoroughly worked through after the session, getting more than the money's worth!

On Saturday, Sept. 24, about 50 wonderful women gathered around lunchtime at the main hall in the Pasadena House to welcome me, the still relatively new president of WFWP, to hear my presentation, ask questions and share personally. The spirit was already high over a buffet breakfast as the ladies began to chat and enjoy one another's company.

Angelika Selle giving her presentation

It was great to again see our elder sister Nina Alexander and meet her friend, Caroline, Kazue Short, Naomi, our Japanese women as well as many women and friends I hadn't seen in a long time! It was about a year ago that I had first visited the LA chapter, but at that time I had come with only a vision and my heart. This time, we had more substance to show, and were able to tell how far we have come in a short time!

The ladies received and responded to the presentation with enthusiasm, and some committed to rejoin WFWP. All were delighted to hear about the upcoming 20th anniversary assembly in LA! Ideas as to what can be done at that convention started to flow immediately! A few ladies met afterward at a Chinese eatery to further discuss the upcoming event. Most importantly, Mrs. Emma Reed, a longtime member of WFWP LA, stepped forward and volunteered to take on the role of Coordinator for the affair!

We asked her to be the assistant to Heidi, the chairwoman, whom I also appointed as the WFWP district coordinator, connecting and empowering the following state chapters: Las Vegas, Nevada, where we have a new local chairwoman/assistant to Heidi, Mrs. Lorna Todd (more about that later); Denver, Colorado; Northern California; Arizona; Hawaii; and New Mexico.

The next day, I was introduced after the Lovin' Life Sunday service by Rev. George Kazakos, who is an ardent believer in and supporter of WFWP and of women at this time. We all joined in a special picnic in a park, and chatted about the many possibilities of what can be done in LA for the WFWP anniversary.

It is indeed the time when more and more men—leaders who are brothers and husbands—realize the great need for women leadership and their own important role to encourage and empower us/them. This is mostly because we have an awesome woman leader right here in our American Unification movement, dear Rev. In Jin Nim!

Rev. Tengen, the local district director, concurred with the notion about women leaders and humbly offered his support for whatever WFWP LA needs to be successful.

Of course, there is already a tremendous foundation of WFWP activities in LA laid by our elder sisters, such as Sheri Reuter, Kimiyo Anceny, Pam Stein, Claudelina Smith and many others who had started the Interracial Sisterhood Project many years ago to bring students and teachers together on the Bridge of Peace in crime-ridden areas. Many connections to state officials were made at that time, as the women worked hard to reach out to women leaders and bring them together.

Angelika Selle in Pasedena House with WFWP Sisters

On Tuesday night, I presented one more lecture entitled "Tune In to Tune Up," which dealt with "Women's Spirituality in the 21st Century." This presentation was put together by myself and delivered earlier this year in April in New York City to educate our women on the deep spiritual roots of our organization and its founders, and to inspire us to cultivate our own spirituality as a prerequisite to doing our WFWP work of change and healing most successfully.

Since this presentation is more spiritual and touches on our emotions, some women were moved to tears and deeply touched, understanding more deeply the significance of women's work at this time, and the need for us to be in close communication with our Creator as we learn to reflect and express Her Heart, Mother God's Heart, to a wounded world.

"I am already transformed by having heard this presentation," Era Thompson explained as she gave me a big hug before leaving.