A History Of The Unification Church In America, |
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Chapter Three Local Changes The years 1964 to 1965 were years of transition for the Unification Church in the San Francisco Bay Area. The most important transition during this period was the dispersion of the original Oakhill community. By January, 1966, none of them were left in the Bay Area. Each had moved on to new mission fields. The Pumphreys and George Norton were in Denver, Colorado. Pauline Phillips was in Cleveland, Ohio. Doris Walder was in Rome, Italy, and Miss Kim was in Washington, D.C. In addition, many of those who had gathered for the 1963 Children's Day celebration were elsewhere. Gordon Ross was pioneering Dallas, Texas. The Werners went back to Germany, then Austria. Douglas Burns moved first from Fresno to Phoenix with Orah Schoon and then to New Orleans. Carl Rapkins was in Tampa, Florida, Sandi Pinkerton was on her way to England, and Teddy Verheyen was in Holland. The Flemings were in Washington, D.C. with Miss Kim. In short, the foundation that the Oakhill group had established in the Bay Area was broken down and scattered across the United States and Western Europe. The causes and local effects of this diaspora were half of the story of the Unification Church in the San Francisco Bay Area during this period. The other half involved the interplay between the Bay Area church and developments in the rest of the movement. Foundations had been established in Korea and Japan as well, and the whole movement appeared to be at a point of transition. In Korea, a three-year course of 40-day "Enlightenment" movements was completed and had covered the entire peninsula. 93 In Japan, Mr. Nishikawa (Sang Ik Choi), the Unification Church missionary there, had also established a foundation also and, like Miss Kim, had recommended that a native member take over as president of the national church. By Children's Day, 1964, both Miss Kim and Mr. Choi were in Seoul, Korea. Beginning the following February, they, along with Mrs. Won Pak Choi, accompanied Rev. Moon on his first world tour, the first stop of which outside the Orient was the San Francisco Bay Area. Thus, both local and overseas developments shaped the character of the Bay Area church during this transitional phase. Following the world tour, when Miss Kim decided to relocate in Washington, D.C., a new story was ready to unfold in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Before examining these developments, it is necessary to consider the transition period itself. Local Changes The first changes that affected the Bay Area church during this period were organizational. Having recommended Gordon Ross as her successor, Miss Kim was no longer president of HSA-UWC. This transition was significant, especially given the role she had played in the community's development. Obviously, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace Miss Kim as the leader of the association, especially while she was still in the vicinity. There were several conflicts. One of the first and most serious was Gordon's proposal to rewrite the Principle text. Given her constant work, this was a sore spot for Miss Kim, and she noted, "This was very presumptuous of him." At the same time, she had begun to suspect the new president's motives: He had many years to go to become a trustworthy and dependable leader. . . . I had made Gordon the president simply to train him, but this he never understood. 94 While difficulties are to be expected in any organizational transition, the problems which confronted HSA-UWC were complicated by cross-cultural and religious issues. Miss Kim, after all, was Rev. Moon's direct representative. While she may have relinquished organizational authority, she by no means had relinquished spiritual authority, as evidenced in her attitude toward the new president. At the same time, it was this split between organizational and spiritual authority that brought about a breakdown of community and general exodus. As long as Miss Kim had been able to fulfill both functions, the community had held together. Now that she had relinquished organizational authority, her spiritual authority also began to be questioned. Not only were her views overridden on at least one occasion, but Miss Kim, herself, seemed to be influenced by the more 'spiritual' members of the community. More erratic prophecies and hopes were again articulated, and members, at their own inspiration, began to be called to new mission fields. Those who remained or joined in the Bay Area adopted a community style radically different than before. Prediction of Economic Collapse It is difficult to overestimate the significance of President John Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. In some respects, it was a shocking conclusion to the conservatism of the 1950s and an abrupt beginning to the radical turmoil of the 1960s. For the Bay Area Unification Church, the turn of events, so tantalizingly close to the election of their new president, re-awakened earlier feelings of being a saved remnant. This time, however, rather than looking for the nation to convert en masse, the group sensed an imminent disaster. Mary Fleming, who, along with her husband, was given to receiving messages through disembodied spirit friends, began intuiting "an economic collapse in America." The first message came shortly after the Kennedy assassination. She received the second message on "the coming economic collapse" on November 28, 1963, and the community began to mobilize. Miss Kim wrote: We held a training session on the 30th and discussed preparations for the collapse. According to the message the dollar would be devaluated completely and all money would be worthless. Therefore, it would be necessary to convert our money to food and usable goods while there was still time. There was some support for this gloomy economic outlook in the press, but to me this extreme prediction sounded very strange. . . . I suggested that rather than buying up food, we should deposit our money in a Swiss bank and wait out whatever economic crisis arose. Mary received that this was a wise idea, but that eventually the Swiss franc would also be affected. Nevertheless, I was in favor of depositing. The members, however, were fully expectant of catastrophe. I didn't force my view on them, so we didn't deposit in the Swiss bank, but began buying great quantities of food. 95 It was significant that although Miss Kim urged characteristic caution, members overruled her and opted for the more radical alternative of stocking the Masonic Avenue house basement with food. Miss Kim, herself, appeared to have been caught up in the general expectation by January 1st. In her New Year's sermon of 1964, "Our Time Has Come!" she wrote: When the economy collapses how many ministers will remain in their posts to preach the gospel? Without a car, without pay, will they still be inspired to preach the grace of God? Maria Elliot, a Portuguese spiritualist and a former actress, has accepted the Divine Principle, and recently she received a message for me in which she saw a huge beautiful eagle, flying in a dark sky. Then the eagle tumbled. . . . The Christian Church is no longer supported by spirit and truth but has been maintained in the last few decades by the power of the dollar. When the dollar is taken away, the eagle will tumble and the church will also lose its last foundation. 96 The economic crisis, however, did not occur in early 1964 as predicted. The messages' impact was far less on the economy than on the small community of believers in the Bay Area. Rather than the dollar, it was the community that collapsed, and a general exodus of members from the Bay Area to new locales of missionary endeavor began. By far, the most significant departures were those of the community's two presidents. Gordon Ross, after leading several street preaching efforts at Union Square, left for Dallas, Texas, in late January. Miss Kim, permanent visa in hand, left the Bay Area for a visit to Korea in late February. Although her visit lasted eleven months and left the Bay Area effectively rudderless during that time, Miss Kim met a singular person before departing. Sir Anthony Brooke Former Rajah Muda of Sarawak in northern Borneo, Sir Anthony Brooke represented the culmination of the Bay Area church's interaction with the New Age milieu. A quixotic figure born into a line of 'white rajahs' ruling Sarawak from 1841 until 1946 when it became a British colony, Anthony had "led" the populace in "defying the British government, and even the King of England." Continuing his quixotic efforts, he subsequently became the leader of an English metaphysical group and traveled constantly, promoting global consciousness and the "Universal Link Revelation." 97 In Los Angeles, Brooke met Doris Walder, became excited about the Principle, and immediately flew to San Francisco where he met with Miss Kim who was about to leave for Korea. Excited even more, he quickly made plans to join her there. His decision to go is best described in his own words: I found myself being drawn by a seemingly irresistible force to Korea and to the presence of Sun Myung Moon, but not before I had received a direct inward intimation that Sun Myung Moon was in a particular sense the "earth form of Limitless Love." It was in these precise words that I found myself giving recognition to him as I awakened in the early hours before a California dawn with every fibre of my being aglow. . . . I became increasingly convinced that the role of Sun Myung Moon would be progressively recognized by mankind as having unique significance not merely for the peoples of the East but for the whole of humanity in relationship to the leadership of the new age and in connection with the events foretold in the Universal Link Revelation. 98 In Korea, with Miss Kim translating, Brooke spoke before 800 people at a correctional institution, 2,000 people at Citizens' Hall, and on Korean national television. Leaving Korea, he arranged for a brief speaking tour covering Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo in Japan before arriving back in San Francisco on April 10, 1964. Lofland wrote "DP's who met him at the airport rejoiced in his disembarking exclamation: 'It's true! It's all gloriously true!'" 99 Conceiving his mission to be that of "coordinating revelations," Anthony visited new Unification centers in Los Angeles, Denver, Oklahoma, Dallas, and Cleveland as well as Col. Pak's group in Washington, D.C., before returning to England in May. He also met leaders of the Unity School in Kansas and clairvoyant, Arthur Ford, with whom he did a 'reading' that was to circulate widely. In England, he established links with several spiritual groups that subsequently made reference to the name Sun Myung Moon in their newsletters of 1964. Finally, in November, Sir Anthony Brooke returned to Sarawak for the first time in twenty years and "witnessed to the new revelation." 100 His contact with the Unification Church continued for several years. Community Style The community style that developed in the Bay Area during this period of transition was quite different from what had gone before. The most obvious difference was that those who remained were relatively leaderless. This leaderless state was, perhaps, best reflected in a succession of weekend meetings following Miss Kim's departure. The first, on March 3, 1964, was guided by Jim Fleming from Burlingame. The second, a week later, was under the direction of Edwin Ang of Berkeley. The third, on the 17th, was chaired by Lowell Martin of Oakland, and the fourth, on the 24th, was conducted by Sandi Pinkerton from Sacramento. Although Miss Kim planned only to visit Korea, her return was repeatedly delayed. She had wanted to return in May, but Rev. Moon restrained her. By mid-June, she still had not returned. She wrote, When I think of each one of you, I feel urgent and am anxious to return to you. At the same time, I have an important part to play in the work here. . . . It is necessary for me to stay away from you for a while to see how you carry on the work. God is planning important things for each of you, and it is absolutely necessary to go through a certain period by yourselves. So don't think foolish things or complain; just work hard with faith and gratitude. My thoughts go to you and are with you more than they are here. 101 By October, Miss Kim was no longer issuing challenges but counseling endurance: In your troubled times, you can manifest your capability, faithfulness, loyalty, and wisdom. So everything will work out for the good. I will return soon and see you all. 102 At the same time, it is important to recognize that, despite difficulties, Bay Area members were not despairing. The crisis of local organization was not a crisis of faith. On the contrary, Bay Area members felt that whatever members they had lost to other locales, the message was spreading. Hence, there was hope. Everyone was simply a missionary again -- the Martins in Oakland, the Pinkertons in Sacramento, Edwin Ang in Berkeley and the Flemings in Burlingame. As John Pinkerton put it, "1964 is the year of expansion." 103 In the context of movement expansion and their own organizational depletion, the role of the Bay Area church became that of a clearing house for news. With the increase in the volume of letters and news from missionaries in the field, more and more time was focused on the newsletter. The decision to publish the New Age Frontiers twice monthly further inhibited local outreach. As Jim Fleming wrote, The San Francisco Center Family have threatened to get a rubber stamp for their news section each issue which reads as follows: "News from San Francisco: We have been busy getting out the Newsletter." 104 Additionally, the San Francisco center began charging subscription rates and investigated obtaining a copyright. In October, 1964, a copyright was obtained for the newsletter in the name of the "Unified Family" rather than the Unification Church, a choice that would have future ramifications. 105 Aside from its frequency and format, the content of the newsletter also changed. Most obvious were the opening messages. Whereas Miss Kim had been able to balance millennialist visions with a tough-minded pragmatism, the new editors were entirely visionary. Miss Kim's sermons were replaced by messages from spirit world friends whose themes were less evangelistic witness than personal growth. 106 This arcane and eclectic approach to the newsletter was manifested in evangelistic activities which featured less street witnessing than a kind of "mail-order" proselytization. While confined to her home because of illness, Mary Fleming constructed a correspondence course "to enlighten someone who did not have a Principle teacher within their vicinity." Drawing material from many sources" including diagrams Gordon Ross first introduced and descriptions Miss Kim and others used, she reported having "sixteen people participating in the course from distances as far away as Bechuanaland, Africa. Significant here was the current Bay Area group's avowedly eclectic re-working of the Principle. As a result of the correspondence course, two couples in St. Louis professed conversion and joined. 107 Although would be unfair to say that Bay Area activities were limited to 'literary' efforts -- witnessing continued -- still the overall character of the Bay Area group had changed. Unlike the original Oakhill group which had severed ties with family, jobs, and locales, the current Bay Area community gave more the impression of pursuing the Principle within the context of already existing families and careers. Jim Fleming and Lowell Martin were businessmen, and Edwin Ang was working on his doctoral dissertation at the University of California at Berkeley. In this respect, concerns that would have been alien to Miss Kim's original group were now voiced. A good example was the concern expressed in New Age Frontiers for Sheeba, the Flemings' four year old dachshund: To those of you who knew and prayed for Sheeba's recovery from paralysis, our grateful thanks! Sheeba... ruptured a disc in her spine eight weeks ago and was completely paralyzed on the back end. The day she first wagged her tail again was a great one, and there has been steady improvement since. She has not completely regained her coordination yet, but she is functioning very adequately, thank you. 108 In many ways, the local group took on the attributes of any number of groups of the occult milieu. Those who joined in the Bay Area during this period were mainly middle-aged and older women. 109 Excitement was less over new prospects than over visits from other members. In short, the Bay Area was largely inactive. Moreover, it was clear that the impetus for new developments was to come not from within but from without. In this context, changes in the movement as a whole played a decisive role. As previously mentioned, the situations leading to dispersion and the local effects of that dispersion constitute only one half of the story of the Unification Church in the San Francisco Bay Area during this period. The other, and in many ways more significant half, related to the Bay Area church's interplay with developments in the rest of the movement. Whereas members learned of these developments second hand via the newsletter in 1964, this knowledge became decidedly first hand in 1965. Reverend Moon Visits America In all stages of its development, the American church anticipated the imminent arrival of Rev. Moon. Miss Kim had expected his arrival with David S.C. Kim in 1959 and out of her meager funds rented an apartment and purchased bedding and other items. The original Oakhill group in the Bay Area anticipated his arrival in the spring of 1961 and purchased a camper. This same expectation was a focus of the 1964 Bay Area community. They, along with members throughout the country, began a "High Noon Prayer Vigil" in anticipation, and by November, word came through the New Age Frontiers that "Time is growing short." 110 This time they were not disappointed. Rev. Moon departed from Korea for his first world tour in January, 1965. After spending two weeks in Japan, he and Mrs. Won Pak Choi left for America. Miss Kim, who accompanied them to Japan, departed ahead of them "to prepare Americans for his visit." 111 In an article, "Hail to the Brightness," the New Age Frontiers chronicled Rev. Moon's San Francisco Bay Area arrival: The Great Day dawned for us before the sun was up. At 5:30 a.m. on the still, cool morning of Friday, February 12th, our Master set foot upon the continent of North America. Twenty-seven highly honored, greatly privileged, and totally breathless members of the Unified Family in the United States were on hand to greet him and Mrs. Choi as they stepped off the Japan Airlines flight from Hawaii at the San Francisco International Airport. Among the fortunate few were the three missionaries from Korea whose love and single-minded devotion were responsible for the presence of Americans at the momentous occasion -- Miss Young Oon Kim, Col. Bo Hi Pak, and Mr. David Kim. 112 As "West Coast Headquarters" had been transferred to the 1139 Wellington address of the Martins in Oakland, the "Official Party" stayed at the Oakland center for the seven days they remained in the San Francisco Bay Area. There were meetings every night during which Rev. Moon spoke, and answered questions. Days were spent showing the visitors "points of interest in and around San Francisco." Yet neither lecturing nor sightseeing were the primary focus of Rev. Moon's visit. As reported in the New Age Frontiers, The high point of the Master's visit in the San Francisco area was the selection and sanctification of Sacred Ground. The site was chosen on February 14th, and the ceremony took place on the 15th. This will be Holy Ground for all members in this area, and has already been the scene of several meetings for prayer and renewal. 113 The first "Holy Ground" established by Rev. Moon in the United States was on Twin Peaks overlooking San Francisco. In the next forty-four days, Rev. Moon traveled by car to all forty-eight continental United States setting up a total of fifty-five Holy Grounds. A key part of each ceremony was the burying of a "holy rock" from Korea. Having completed a three year course of "national restoration" on the Korean peninsula, Rev. Moon transplanted Korean rocks in American soil. At the same time, a pebble was gathered from the grounds of City Hall at each stop in America and put into a sack for later transport to Korea. While individual Holy Ground sites were selected on the basis of setting and the possibility of public access, the directions to several of the Holy Grounds, such as the second one in Los Angeles, read more like treasure maps: Griffith Park: Enter from Fern Dell Dr., pass vertical parking area on right & picnic ground #7 to parking area on right. Walk past men's rest room #4 & picnic area. Go up dirt pathway to left of picnic area to where large dirt road turns left and steeper trail goes up to right of picnic area. Take steeper path. Climb past small water faucet with spigot about 72 paces. Holy Ground is on plateau 6 paces from middle of trail. 114 Heading east across the country, ground was blessed at the highest point (Mt. Whitney) and the lowest point (Death Valley) in the United States. Col. Pak joined the Official Party in Florida and traveled north with them to Washington, D.C., where the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth Holy Grounds were blessed: the first at the Ellipse behind the White House and the second, on the lawn to the west of the Capitol Building. On that same day, March 14, 1965, Mr. Nishikawa (Sang Ik Choi) and Kenji (Daikon) Ohnuki arrived in Washington, D.C., from Japan. Mr. Nishikawa joined the Official Party as they traveled west across the northern half of the country. At that point, the group consisted of Rev. Moon, Mrs. Choi, Miss Kim, and Mr. Nishikawa as well as George Norton and Gordon Ross who drove. Miss Kim described the travel pattern: As we traveled, we stopped only for the blessing of ground and sometimes we covered several states, blessing several Holy Grounds in one day. Routinely we slept in motels at night. I bought groceries and made sandwiches for our lunch to save time and money. Missing Korean food, we carried hot bean paste which we ate on pieces of lettuce at lunch time. At night we often went to a Chinese restaurant. Then after driving as far as we could, blessing ground in every state we entered, we slept again. Each day we followed this pattern. 115 David S.C. Kim joined the party in Salt Lake City and accompanied them through Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon where the final Holy Ground was blessed in Eugene. A local member there described the final ceremony: First we made a quick tour of the historic places in Eugene where Miss Kim lived and worked when she was here, then quickly selected a park for the Sacred Ground. The spot selected has five trees all growing out of a common root, with a large stone in front where one can sit. This was the last Sacred Ground to be dedicated during Master's trip. When the ceremony was completed he shouted in English, "Finished!" and strode away from the Sacred Ground as if a great victory had been won. 116 Arriving back in the Bay Area on March 30, the circuit was complete. At this point, Rev. Moon flew east to celebrate "Parents' Day" with the Washington, D.C., group while Miss Kim stayed on the West Coast to celebrate with the "Western Family." At Rev. Moon's request, she returned to Washington, D.C., shortly afterwards and departed for England on April 26, 1965 with "the assignment of teaching the Principle to the English people." 117 At the same time, Doris Walder left for Italy to become the church's first missionary there. Teddy Verheyen had already departed for Holland. The significance of establishing missions in twelve different nations was stressed. 118 Rev. Moon's visit to the United States lasted nearly five months until July 1, 1965, when he left for Europe. Besides establishing Holy Grounds, he called a twenty-one day training session in Washington, D.C., continued touring, and spoke frequently. By June, members were ready with the first edition of The Master Speaks, seven edited, in-house transcriptions of question and answer sessions with Rev. Moon taped at various centers throughout the country. 119 In addition to activities within the church, Rev. Moon also initiated several contacts outside. Two of these were of particular note: his 'sitting' with well-known American trance-medium, Arthur Ford and his visit with former president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Along with Jeanne Dixon, one of the nation's most well known psychics and famous for his sittings with Madame Henri Houdini and later with Bishop James A. Pike, Arthur Ford did a sitting with Rev. Moon in March, 1965. Sir Anthony Brooke had prepared the way for this meeting the previous November. In that session, Ford's communicator, Fletcher, had testified to the Rev. Moon. The same testimony continued in the session with Rev. Moon: Fletcher: It is not easy for me to get down to the level of Ford. Great power in the form of light - if you were to see the light that surrounds you - most of you would be blinded by it. . . . In another setting I would insist that my instrument and the rest of you should take off your shoes. But spiritually you can create the humility that will enable you to know that you are in the presence of truth-Incarnate and Discarnate. . . . Sun Myung Moon is the one I have been talking about. I have been speaking for a group of people here. This group seems to surround him. And the power that flows through him, the intelligence, is not just one -- it is a great group of people. And they seem all to draw their inspiration and their knowledge from One Source -- and then they seem to pour it symbolically into a pool and in some strange symbolical way that pool becomes Sun Myung Moon. . . . Col. Pak: Could you give me some forecast of our leader's work, the teaching and educational process of this new truth in the United States? Fletcher: First of all, he must be willing to listen, to speak, and then have his words translated -- and they will be translated into many languages. But you cannot expect the message to be accepted immediately by vast numbers of people -- only those who are ready and who are willing to listen and to whom this particular message seems to be right and meaningful. That is the way that all the world teachers have had to go. And remember one thing only, that if it is of God, it cannot fail. And it is of God. Excerpts from the verbatim record of both "The Sun Myung Moon Sittings" were later incorporated as a chapter in Arthur Ford's Unknown But Known (Harper & Row, 1968).120 During his stay in Washington, D.C., Rev. Moon also initiated contacts with several political figures to whom he introduced the movement and its objectives and asked for support. By far, the most well-known contact of this kind was former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom Rev. Moon met in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on June 25, 1965. According to the New Age Frontiers, the meeting was most successful: Although we knew that the General was a very busy man, it was plain that he didn't want us (i.e., Mrs. Won Pak Choi, Col. Bo Hi Pak, Kenji Ohnuki, and Gordon Ross, along with Rev. Moon) to leave. In his private office upstairs, he began to explain the origin and significance of every gift on display . . . . Finally, no gifts remained to be explained. Escorting our Leader to the door, he said that he was honored by this visit and wished our Leader the greatest success. Our Leader smiled broadly, thanked him again for the hospitality, and said goodbye. Time originally allotted for our Leader's visit -- 5 minutes. Time spent with General Eisenhower -- 45 minutes! Truly a successful day! 121 The World Tour It is difficult to determine the impact Rev. Moon's visit to America had on the Bay Area church. If one were to judge by the New Age Frontiers, the impact was decisive: Suffice to say that our Leader left behind him a Family whose dedication and devotion are now supreme. The car had no sooner left the driveway in Oakland than the Bay Area groups swung into action. There is so much to be done, so many to contact, to teach, to tell this marvelous true message! If we were convinced before, our conviction now is absolute. We must work and grow and accomplish. . . . There is nothing else we can do, no other way we can go, no other cause so worthy than returning the world to God, our Father! To this end, we pledge our blood, sweat and tears! 122 On the other hand, one sees little evidence of new activity. From February to July, news of Rev. Moon in America dominated the newsletter. After July 1, 1965, it was dominated by news of his world tour. However, as a number of members in the Bay Area had been "furiously engaged" during June "in arranging financing to assist the . . . continuing trip around the world," 123 they had a stake and involvement in the journey. After a short trip to Canada and several South American countries, Rev. Moon along with Mrs. Won Pok Choi and Mr. Nishikawa (Sang Ik Choi) began the European portion of the tour, a portion that was marked by meetings with eight previous Bay Area members now missionaries on that continent. In London, Miss Kim, six new contacts and a limousine Anthony Brooke sent met the group at the airport. The following day the group blessed ground at a place "near Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens," 124 and visited many sites such as Windsor Castle, Eton College (which Anthony Brooke had attended), the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, the British Museum, the National Gallery and Buckingham Palace. Miss Kim rejoined the tour, and they went to Copenhagen, on July 20, 1965. From there, the Official Party traveled to Oslo and Stockholm before arriving at Tempeldorf Airport in West Berlin where Peter Koch and Ursula Schumann, original pioneers in Germany who had left the San Francisco Bay Area sometime before met them. 125 The next day ground was blessed in Berlin. Ursula Schumann described the ceremony: The ceremony was set at 6 p.m. in the park near the zoo, opposite from the Pillar of Victory. Our Leader preferred a young tree which will stand for many years to come. Mrs. Choi was taking her position in the North, representing the position of our Leader and our Mother, Mr. Nishikawa was assigned to stand in the East, Peter as representative of the country in the West, and Miss Kim as main missionary in the South. Then I was placed several steps behind Miss Kim. Our Leader offered a prayer, sprinkled salt and soil, and buried the pebble. We were completely drenched and rushed to get to the City Hall of Schoeneberg where all official festivities took place. With an umbrella, our Leader obtained a fairly large stone, took soil from a flowerpot, and handed it over to Mrs. Choi. 126 Rev. Moon and party arrived in Frankfurt Germany, on July 28, 1965, where they met Paul and Christel Werner, their son, Klaus, Barbara Koch (Peter's sister) and Elke Klawiter, all of whom had joined in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, there were seven new German members. From Essen, Germany, the Official Party plus Peter Koch and Paul Werner began their trip across Europe. First stop was Amsterdam, Holland, where they met Teddy Verheyen who presented them with the first Dutch translation of the Principle. From there, the group proceeded to Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy where they met Doris Walder. In the course of the European trip, the group visited a multitude of historic sites including the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the former League of Nations' Building as well as Calvin's church in Geneva, and the Coliseum, catacombs, Circus Maximus and Vatican in Rome. Again, however, the key purpose was not sight-seeing. A kind of 'divine compulsion' was well expressed in Peter Koch's description of a museum in Brussels: After blessing Holy Ground in a park opposite the King's residence, our Leader wanted to visit a certain museum. However, by the time we arrived there it was almost closing time. Nevertheless, in order to make a condition we had to visit the museum. The whole building! In eight minutes! I never laughed so much as I did on that occasion. Imagine seven heavenly soldiers with smiling faces running through the exhibition halls like a storm! 127 Having blessed ground in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Rev. Moon and party traveled to the more ancient lands of Greece, Egypt and the Middle East. While remnants of the Acropolis and pyramids were impressive to the group, the most poignant stops were in the Holy Land. Arriving in Amman, Jordan, on August 28, 1965, they were met by Major Maduber, a friend who had heard the Principle in Washington, D.C. Together they visited many sites: Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked out over the Promised Land; the Jordan River at the place where Jesus was thought to have been baptized; the Mount of Temptation on which a Greek Orthodox monastery stood; Jericho; the Dead Sea; Mt. Gerizim; Jacob's well; and, finally, Jerusalem: St. Anne's tomb, Pilate's court, the prison where Jesus was kept before his crucifixion, the road he walked to Calvary, Gethsemane, and the Rock of Agony. Miss Kim wrote: Each holy place is occupied by one, two or three churches which are built right on the holy place, so one loses sight of the original natural scenes. Yet it is quite touching to visit these places. Our Leader and all of us burst into tears as he prayed on Calvary and Gethsemane. 128 Rev. Moon set up Holy Grounds on Mt. Nebo, Mt. Gerizim, Gethsemane and at Hebron; then traveled to Syria on September 3, 1965 and blessed ground in the desert outside of Damascus. From there, they traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, where ground was sanctified on the beach facing the Mediterranean. Because of the political situation, they were unable to enter Israel to visit such sites as Mt. Zion, Nazareth, or Galilee. The unstable political situation in the Middle East was a foretaste of the general instability that marked the rest of the world tour. A cholera epidemic in Iraq prohibited stopping there, and in Tehran, the group learned of the war between Pakistan and India. Avoiding Pakistan entirely, it was only after some difficulty that the party got out of India and traveled to Singapore, Malaya, Thailand (they were refused visas to Burma), and Vietnam which they found "full of Americans, GI's and military trucks." This was their "most unpleasant" stay of the journey as "most of the hotels . . . had been either taken over or reserved by the Americans." Vietnam was followed by Manila, capital of the Philippines, where Mr. Nishikawa was assaulted by two youths who tried to steal his wrist watch and camera. The party arrived in Hong Kong on September 24, 1965; Taipei, capital of Nationalist China, two days later, and finally Tokyo where they were received "by an excited crowd of the Japanese Family" on September 29th. Miss Kim wrote: After 12 days of sightseeing and visiting in Tokyo and vicinity, on October 10 we put our Leader and Mrs. Choi on the plane for Korea. It was exactly 260 days since his departure from Korea. 129 Back to the Bay Area Miss Kim arrived back in the Bay Area on October 11, 1965. That her arrival was unexpected but welcome was reflected in Mary Fleming's report in the October issue of New Age Frontiers: Miss Kim is back! She arrived yesterday from Tokyo and took us all by surprise. The first indication we had of her arrival was a telephone call from the airport; Miss Kim wanted to know which bus she should take to which Center in the Bay Area! Needless to say, we broke all records getting to her. 130 Miss Kim, however, was not the only Korean missionary to have arrived in the Bay Area. Mr. David S.C. Kim, having completed a Master's Degree in Psychological Counseling from the University of Oregon, where he enrolled after being expelled for 'heresy' from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary just before his graduation in 1961, came to the Bay Area from the Northwest the previous June to work on his visa situation. Once again, the two missionaries were living in close proximity to one another: Mr. Kim at Edwin Ang's apartment in Berkeley; Miss Kim at the Martin's in Oakland. Just what their relationship would be was unclear, although there were two possible indicators in late October: the establishment of a new Holy Ground in Oakland; and the celebration of the 1965 Children's Day at La Honda, California. The first church Holy Ground in the U.S. set up by anyone other than Rev. Moon, "Oak Heart" Holy Ground was sanctified by Miss Kim on October 17, 1965. Gathering early that morning at "Father's Peak" in San Francisco, the first Holy Ground established by Rev. Moon in America, members gathered rocks and soil and crossed the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge by caravan to Lakeside Park by Lake Merritt in Oakland. There, encircled by "nine majestic Italian Stone Pine trees," the spot chosen was a point of land extending farthest out into the "heart-shaped lake located in the very heart of Oakland." Lowell Martin described the ceremony: Miss Kim stood on this spot at 8:30 a.m. and began the ceremony. Jim Fleming stood in the north position, Peter Robinson in the east, Edwin Ang in the west and I in the south. All others present stood in the children's position twelve paces behind the south position. . . . As we departed from the ceremony to gather at the Oakland Center, someone remarked, "Miss Kim first lived in a Principled home on the Hill of Oaks (with the Pumphreys on Oak Hill in Oregon). Now she has blessed her first Holy Ground in the Land of Oaks (Oakland)." 131 Although Mr. David Kim had been absent from the Holy Ground ceremony in Oakland, the weekend Children's Day celebration at La Honda, California, October 22-24, 1965, was a coming together not only for Bay Area members but also for members from Oregon and Los Angeles. Alternating talks by Miss Kim and David Kim were followed by a question and answer period, warm fellowship, worship, a brief Board meeting and recreation. There was no hint of disharmony. As one member wrote, "Everything and everybody contributed to an ideal time." 132 Whether Miss Kim and David Kim could have worked together at this point to reconstruct the Bay Area community was unlikely. In any event, they were not given the chance. Mr. Kim, in order to stay in the country, took a counseling position with the Job Corps which led him to Clearfield, Utah where he coordinated activities of the "Northwest Family" until 1971. Miss Kim soon afterwards relocated in Washington, D.C., where she maintained "national headquarters" until 1972. While the reasons for Mr. Kim's departure were rather clear, the rationale behind Miss Kim's move was more complex. In order to understand her decision to relocate, it is important to note the appearance of yet two more Korean missionaries in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first of these was Mr. Nishikawa (Sang Ik Choi). Previously deported from Japan in 1964, Mr. Nishikawa knew before joining the world tour that his mission there was over, and Rev. Moon suggested that he pioneer Chicago. A postscript in the November 1965 New Age Frontiers announced his arrival in the Bay Area: Mr. Nishikawa arrived tonight (Nov. 12 on Pan American Flight 346 from Tokyo. He will stay ln the Bay Area for a short time before proceeding to his new mission field in Eastern United States. Because his passport is in his Korean name, and his travel must necessarily be in that name, he requests that we address him as Sang Ik Choi -- Mr. Choi (pronounced Chay as in chair). 133 The second Korean missionary who appeared in the Bay Area at this time was Col. Bo Hi Pak, who arrived December 3, 1965. On that day, the four earliest Unification Church missionaries to America were gathered in the San Francisco Bay Area: Miss Kim, Mr. Kim, Mr. Choi, and Col. Pak. Although Col. Pak stayed only one day, he brought news that hastened in Miss Kim's departure. She wrote simply: In the end of 1965 I came to Washington, D.C., at the request of Mr. Pak bringing our California corporation papers to establish headquarters in Washington. It had become impossible for Mr. Pak to continue spiritual work because of his career. 134 While Col. Pak's situation was the immediate cause for Miss Kim's departure, there were two additional reasons why she was willing to relocate: the advantages of Washington; and the limitations of the Bay Area. There were at least three distinct considerations that could have influenced Miss Kim in her decision to relocate to Washington. First, that was where Rev. Moon stayed during his visit to America. As a result, the center there had gained a good deal of prestige. 135 Not only had the Washington members started referring to their center as headquarters, but being located in the nation's capital, the center appeared to offer more of a focus for nationwide activities. A two-week "Midwinter Training Session" for new members throughout the country was already scheduled to begin there December 20, 1965. Second, in Washington, Miss Kim would be in closer proximity to the European mission, the leaders of which were all from the Bay Area. Third and perhaps primary, by relocating in Washington, D.C., Miss Kim would have the opportunity to solve "the problem of two existing corporations" and to deal with Col. Pak's rival text. 136 If there were positive reasons for Miss Kim to relocate in Washington, those advantages were reinforced by three distinct drawbacks in the Bay Area. First, there was factionalization. Although relations among centers in Burlingame, San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley were cordial, there was little interaction. Second, there was the possibility of rival missionaries, first Mr. Kim and now Mr. Choi. Third, and most important, the community style that had developed in the Bay Area during her absence was different than before. There were children and animals. Members appeared encumbered by family and career responsibilities. Thus, the decision was made. Sandi and John Pinkerton flew up to the Bay Area from Los Angeles on December 10th for "a last talk with Miss Kim before she left and Sandi started her trip across the country and on to England." The last Sunday service before Miss Kim's departure was held at the Berkeley Center the following day, and on December 12, 1965, members gathered at the airport to see off Miss Kim and Jim Adams, a serviceman who would accompany her as far as Denver. Equally significant as Miss Kim's decision to go to Washington was Mr. Choi's decision to remain in the Bay Area. This began a new phase in the church's development. Kenji (Daikon) Ohnuki and Yun Soo Lim arrived in the Bay Area from Washington D.C., on December 11, 1965, to be with Mr. Choi. At Miss Kim's Farewell Service, Mr. Choi, Daikon and Soo Lim sang two songs from the Japanese church. By the December 21 they had moved into a new center in San Francisco. On December 28, 1965, Mr. Choi's wife and their 100-day-old son, Jen Ki arrived. Shirley Robinson, living in San Francisco Center #l wrote poignantly: During these last two months it has been as if our Father were saying to us, "Yes, I have had to send away some of those you love, but because of my love for you I send others to you." 137 A whole new story was ready to unfold in the Bay Area. Notes 93. "News from Korea," New Age Frontiers, January 15, 1963; April 15, 1963. 94. Young Oon Kim, Memoirs, Dec. 1963. 95. Ibid., November 1963. 96. Young Oon Kim, "Our Time Has Come," New Age Frontiers, January 1, 1964. 97. Doris Walder, "News from L.A.," New Age Frontiers, March 1, 1964. The "Universal Link" groups, in England and the United States during the 1960s were an informal fellowship of like-minded individuals centered upon a number of "channels" who were delivering messages of the cosmic operations ushering in the new age. Much expectancy focussed on December 1967, when there was hope for an objective event, a spectacular change in universal thinking, which would signal the coming new age. See J. Gordon Melton, The Encyclopedia of American Religions, Vol. II (Wilmington, N.C.: McGrath, 1978), 121-29. 98. Sir Anthony Brooke, Revelation for the New Age (London: Regency Press, 1967), 90-91. 99. Young Oon Kim, "News from Korea," New Age Frontiers, March 15 1964; Lofland, Doomsday Cult, 260. 100. Bob Oswald, "Testimony from St. Louis," New Age Frontiers, July, 1965; Anthony Brooke, "News from England," New Age Frontiers, April 15, 1964; "Former Rajah Muda Gives a Talk on `Toward Human Unity'," New Age Frontiers, June 15, 1965. 101. Young Oon Kim, "News from Korea," New Age Frontiers, June 1, 1964. 102. Young Oon Kim, "News from Korea," New Age Frontiers, October 1 1964. 103. John Pinkerton, "News from Sacramento," New Age Frontiers, March 1, 1964. 104. Jim Fleming, "News from San Francisco," New Age Frontiers, March 15, 1964. 105. See Regis Hanna, "Report on the National Director's Conference," New Age Frontiers, January 1971. 106. See New Age Frontiers, March 1964-December 1965. 107. Jim and Mary Fleming, "News from Burlingame," New Age Frontiers, November 1, 1964; "News from St. Louis," New Age Frontiers, December 15, 1964. 108. Mary Fleming, "Report from Burlingame," New Age Frontiers, September 1965. 109. They included Pearl World, Lovie Smith, Esther Samematsu, Yvonne Owens and Hildegard Kress. See "News from Berkeley," New Age Frontiers, June 1965. 110. "High Noon Prayer Vigil," New Age Frontiers, September 1, 1964. 111. Kim, "Memoirs," 1965. 112. "Hail to the Brightness," New Age Frontiers, February 15, 1965. 113. Ibid. 114. "List of Holy Places in the United States with Description of their Location," New Age Frontiers, May 15, 1965. 115. Kim, "Memoirs," 1965. 116. David Bridges, "The Master's Northern Visits: Eugene, Oregon," New Age Frontiers, May 15, 1965. 117. Kim, "Memoirs," December 1963. 118. Gordon Ross, "The Significance of the Passover Ceremony," New Age Frontiers, June 15, 1965. 119. "The Master Speaks," New Age Frontiers, June 15, 1965. 120. Arthur Ford, "The Sun Myung Moon Sittings," Unknown But Known (New York: Harper & Row, 1968), 114, 123, 121. Gordon Ross, "Eisenhower Meets Our Leader," New Age Frontiers, July 15, 1965. 122. "Hail to the Brightness," New Age Frontiers, February 15, 1965. 123. Jim Fleming, "Report from Burlingame," New Age Frontiers, June 1, 1965. 124. Young Oon Kim, "Europe's Blessing: London to Stockholm," New Age Frontiers, August 1965. 125. Kim, "Memoirs," May, 1963. 126. Ursula Schumann, "Europe's Blessing: Berlin, Germany," New Age Frontiers, August 1965. 127. Peter Koch, "Eurasian Glory: Germany to Italy," New Age Frontiers, September 1965. 128. Young Oon Kim, "Toward the East and Toward the Glorious Land-Visit to the Holy Land," New Age Frontiers, October 1965. 129. "Saigon to Korea." New Age Frontiers, October 1965. 130. Mary Fleming, "Report from Burlingame," New Age Frontiers, October 1965. 131. Lowell Martin, "Oak Heart: A New Holy Ground," New Age Frontiers, November 1965. 132. Shirley Robinson, "Report from San Francisco," New Age Frontiers, November 1965. 133. "Postscript," New Age Frontiers, November 1965. 134. Kim, "Memoirs," 1965. 135. "Reports from Washington, D.C., New Age Frontiers, July-December, 1965. 136. Kim, "Memoirs," 1965.
137. Shirley Robinson, "News from San Francisco," New Age Frontiers, January 1966. |
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