Keeping Unification Traditions Alive
“There are two things we must leave our descendants when we die: One is tradition, the other is education,” True Father notably said. “A people without tradition will fail. Tradition is the soul that allows a people to continue. A people will also fail if it does not educate its descendants. Through education, people acquire wisdom for living.”
A group of Unificationists from the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area have spearheaded a new “Traditions” workshop — teaching and educating new and established members the customs and holy practices of the Unification movement. Twenty-three guests and 65 participants on Zoom joined the regional workshop, which was emceed by Matthew Goldberg and held at the Capital Family Church on Sept. 24.
“We assist and teach the Divine Principle and raise people through the 43-day journey to become in alignment with Heavenly Parent and True Parents,” shared Mrs. Judie Lejeune in a Sept. 27 report to FFWPU USA leaders. “We have brought people to the Marriage Blessing over the past four years, and realized the new members – and those who are not so new – don’t know about our traditions.”
Lejeune said communicating the traditions of the movement are an important part of our faith legacy. “We believe deep in our hearts, deep in our souls, that the membership of our movement is the foundation for the success of all the international and national programs that exist,” she said. “If we don’t raise our members properly, then the foundation will be weak.”
With the help of BFM National Director Yun-A Johnson, and BFM advisor Christian Nseka, the workshop content came directly from a new Traditions online book that was unveiled just before the program began, Lejeune said. In it, the digital book details core practices of the Unification faith, including hoon dok hwe, tithing, holy items, birth, seonghwa, and ancestor liberation. “We’re very excited that we have the most updated information,” said Lejeune.
“The workshop was both educational and spiritual,” shared one participant. “For me, to learn and understand the updated holidays and traditions, and the way that we should celebrate our faith, was very helpful. The providence has evolved a lot, so having a website that explains all the new information and changes about our traditions is great.”
Rev. Ernest Patton delivered welcoming remarks before the two-part program commenced with a session presented by Natascha Phillips titled “Life of Attendance,” which covered nine topics, including prayer rooms, holy days, and Sunday service. Another session, “Passing on Traditions to Our Children,” was presented by Nancy Makowski and addressed six topics, including the value of Marriage Blessing trinities and how to create them locally, celebrating your Marriage Blessing anniversary, and the perfection of the four great realms of heart. “There’s so much in our traditions guidelines that we tried to choose the essentials,” said Lejeune.
The session, “Birth Traditions and Offering Our Children to God,” was led by Homi Hess and covered six topics, including preparing for birth, the eight-day ceremony, and celebrating children’s birthdays. “Our presenters were not just giving the steps of our traditions, but sharing the heart behind the traditions and why they exist,” said Lejeune, who emphasized that parents are the model for their children, and children follow the example exhibited by their parents in establishing traditions in the family.
Lejeune led a session touching on guidelines about frequently asked topics, such as abortion, blood donations and transfusions, circumcision, and how to dispose of holy items. The second half of the workshop, presented by Rev. Randy Francis, covered the history of the seonghwa and preparation for the ceremony, including a prayer vigil after ascension, burial, cremation, and financial cost, among other related discussion points.
You can learn more here about the traditions of the Unification faith, including access to the Traditions e-book.