REMEMBER - REVIVE – REIMAGINE: GOD'S HOPE FOR AMERICA BANQUET, WASHINGTON, D.C.

President Selle with WFWP Maryland members

On July 12, 2014, the Washington Times Ballroom in Washington, D.C. filled up with families and friends of the Unification Movement to welcome the God's Hope for America Holy Ground Tour bus, which at that time was halfway through its 48-state tour of 55 "holy grounds" and which made a major stopover in the nation's capital. They came to celebrate the legacy and accomplishments of our co-founder, the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, who had come to America some 40 years ago to remind the American people of their spiritual roots and to help them re-embrace them. He invested all his energy and resources to wake up America, pointing out God's three major headaches: 1) division within Christianity and among all faiths, 2) immorality and confusion among the youth, and 3) the strong influence of atheistic and materialistic ideology on the people of this nation. The tour was designed to reconnect to this message, to take ownership of it, and to inspire participants to make this vision a living reality.

Mrs. Dottie Chiquelo

There was a spirit of anticipation and excitement in the air; it almost felt like a reunion. Among the 300 participants who filled the elegantly prepared ballroom was a significant number of the next generation. WFWP was represented with two tables and 12 guests in attendance, including one of the speakers of the program, Mrs. Dottie Chicquelo, a member of WFWP and an advocate for Native American Indian social change, who has been instrumental in assisting WFWP in last year's national assembly that was held at the university.

Among the keynote speakers including Dr. Michael Balcomb, Mr. Tom McDevitt, Dr. Michael Jenkins, and Bishop Ki Hoon Kim, were two women who represented the other half of humanity and the heart of mothers: Mrs. Chicquelo, of Native American and African American descent, and a younger generation mother, Mrs. Lan Tsubata. Each lady shed a different light on the occasion, as they shared their hearts about the significance of the tour and what it meant to them. Mrs. Chicquelo began by saying, "When I look at the theme of 'God's Hope for America: Remember - Revive - Reimagine,' I feel that this is going to take a lot of work!"

President Selle with participants from Maryland and Washington D.C.

Throughout her speech, she quoted from Father Moon's message, "God's Hope for America," that was given in 1973. She expressed that after the rather painful beginnings of this nation, when her ancestor Native American people were slaughtered; she has new and real hope because of this tour, in which "spiritual warriors retrace the footsteps of Father Moon, who came to revive America with the true vision given by God, to rebuild America including ALL people." (Her speech will be available upon request.)

The banquet ended on a high note with musical presentations, and a fervent prayer from a young pastor, Reverend Miilhan Stephens.