“YOUR DEDICATION AND LOVE INSPIRE ME”: HEARTFELT WORDS FROM OUR WFWP INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT

Editor’s Note: In this excerpt of President Julia Moon’s message to WFWP leaders, given during a breakfast meeting on April 7, 2019 in Los Angeles, she reflects on her new role as the international president, expresses her appreciation to the hardworking members, and highlights art and women as peacemakers.

The day that WFWP Co-founder Mother Moon announced my appointment publicly as International President of WFWP was actually my 56th birthday!

At first, I felt that taking this responsibility was a huge and heavy burden, because I felt and still feel so inadequate to take on this role, but I later realized that Mother Moon had given me the greatest birthday gift and blessing. WFWP is truly a gift to all women that the WFWP co-founders have given to all of us!

As I began working for WFWP, I realized that the other organizations that I have been responsible for have clear boundaries, but WFWP is a worldwide movement that has no boundaries. With WFWP I feel like I am swimming in a great big boundless ocean! President Selle expressed it very well the day before, when she said that it is normal to feel that way because WFWP is addressing all women in the world which means that we are dealing with half of all humanity!

I am not good at speaking in public, as my whole life I trained in classical ballet, which is a non-verbal expression. Even without words art is powerful because it bypasses the brain and speaks directly to the heart. This is the area that I have been working in my whole life, which is why I am not so good at speaking. WFWP is a completely new field for me so I have much to learn from all of you.

I want to thank you for your unchanging love and support for God and WFWP. Your dedication and love that you have shown gives me so much inspiration. I would like to learn from you and at the same time support you as best as I can.

Women are strong because women are mothers. Through the Global Women’s Peace Network (GWPN), we need to harness all women and mothers. If we can unite all mothers of the world to work for peace, how powerful will that be! This is what GWPN should do.

The 21st century is the age of culture and the age of women. It is time for women to come to the center field and create a new culture of peace and love. Art is powerful in bringing people together beyond race, nationality or religion. My daughter attended a BTS concert recently (a popular Korean boy group) and told me that she felt that all 15,000 people in the stadium were completely one! The music had the power to make everyone feel like they were totally united as ONE!

As Bishop Noel Jones also said at the rally, “When you put theology before love, the result is division. We need to put love first!” I am not saying that theology is not important, but we can use the arts to touch and open people’s hearts.