Message from Chung Won Ju, Vice President of Cheon Mu Won
On April 14, the opening ceremony of the General Assembly of Cheon Il Guk Leaders was held at the HJ Heaven and Earth CheonBo Training Center and the Cheongseong Wangle Palace in Cheongpyeong, Korea, where Chung Won Ju, Vice President of Cheon Mu Won, gave the welcoming remarks. The following is a translation of her speech.
The Commemorative Event of the Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Il Sanctum Entrance Ceremony, the greatest event in history
Good morning. At this hour, I extend a welcome greeting in the name of the entire Cheon Mu Won Office, hoping that the love and grace of the Heavenly Parent (God) and True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind will overflow to all of you, the leaders.
The Gapyeong Hyojeong Cultural Festival at the end of March (March 29), the Hyojeong Special Worship Service for 2.1 million Members Worldwide (April 6), and the Cheonwon Grand Festival Opening Ceremony (April 10), which True Mother was welcomed at Cheon Won Gung, opened the commemorative events for Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Il Sanctum Entrance Ceremony, which will come to a finale today and tomorrow at the General Assembly of Cheon Il Guk Leaders and the Closing Ceremony, respectively.
In retrospect, it was one of the finest events, if not the finest, of the past thirty-five years. It was on an unprecedented scale that our community had never experienced before. The materials and human resources, as well as the tangible and intangible cheongseong, cannot even be compared to any other event that we, the Unification Family, have ever had. In every aspect, efforts quadrupled that of the consecration ceremony. I do not think there will be another event of this caliber in the future.
To bring victory to the entrance ceremony, all the public leaders, pastors of each church, blessed families, and future generations of pure water from all of over the world, had united their hearts and devoted their cheongseonng. Every night, we prayed fervently for this victory during the Cheon Shim Won Special Prayer Vigils. All of the cheongseong and hyojeong were bound together in a passionate offering and nobly bore fruit with the Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Il Sanctum Entrance Ceremony, which were consecrated to Heavenly Parent and True Parents of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind.
To all the leaders and all the blessed families around the world who have gone through so much hardship, I hope you will give a big round of applause to each one of you in congratulations. (Applause)
And there are those to whom I would like to take this opportunity to extend a special thank you. These are the people who stood along the roads throughout this commemorative week, from early in the morning until late at night, overcoming all the physical and mental hardships of cold, heat, rain and wind, hunger and sleepiness, parking and directing traffic for thousands or tens of thousands of vehicles during the week, and safely guiding the tens of thousands of members crossing in front of the Cheong Shim Peace World Center. These are the future generation of young church leaders and public ministers, the second and third generations, the Pure Water! Please give them a passionate and generous round of applause of appreciation! (Applause)
Mother’s vow to heaven: “We will do it with our lives!”
The name of today’s event is called the General Assembly of Cheon Il Guk Leaders. Today, the day after the entrance ceremony, I feel extra weight to the meaning of the word, “leader.”
The word “leader” is applied after “Cheon Il Guk.” So it becomes “Cheon Il Guk Leaders” and I believe this word suggests a great deal to all of us who have completed the entrance ceremony.
When you look up the meaning to “leader” you will find “one who leads and teaches others.” Generally speaking, it is someone who presents a vision, makes decisions, and assumes responsibility. Even socially accepted wisdom assigns such a significant role, but for us, the word “Cheon Il Guk” precedes it and makes us think a lot more in terms of its meaning and weight.
May 7, 2023 was the day of the consecration ceremony of Cheon Won Gung. At that time, True Mother prayed this prayer:
Heavenly Parent, please be delighted and accept our offering. There are still some inadequacies. However, we will do our best to expand this environment in which the Heavenly Parent can directly initiate the providence on earth with True Parents in a perfectly organized and neat manner by the time of next year’s entrance ceremony in 2024.
If you look carefully at the text, it was a promise that the entrance ceremony would be held in 2024. However, on June 1 of that year, during the Determination and Dispatch Ceremony for the Korean Leaders of a Heavenly Korea (Districts 1 and 2), True Mother encouraged us to accomplish the consecration of the entrance ceremony in 2025. Less than a month after the consecration ceremony, the date of the entrance ceremony was changed from 2024 to 2025.
What happened? True Mother came to know the many difficulties and problems that had arisen from the construction of Cheon Won Gung. The schedule was changed after these problems became known. Therefore, she told the public officials of the Heavenly Korea to make preparations for the entrance ceremony in the following way:
“We will do it with our lives!”
All of the public leaders of the Heavenly Korea, who were present, recited these words, saying, “We will do this with our lives.” True Mother’s heart must have been in agony when they were reciting these words. However, I don’t think anyone could have guessed the meaning of her words nor her heart.
“We will do it with our lives.” These words were not just the cry of a public servant, but the cry of True Mother to the Heavenly Parent. It was Mother’s determination, Mother’s vow, and Mother’s decision.
After that, True Mother invested all of her cheongseong and effort for the victory of the entrance ceremony. She directly inspected and directed every aspect of the construction of Cheon Won Gung from start to finish. She visited the construction site several times a week, and on some days she made two or three inspections.
Why the Cheon Mu Won was established
A year later, on June 6, 2024 (May 1, the Heavenly Calendar), during the ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Family Federation, the Cheon Mu Won was established as the central organization of heaven’s providence. The reason for establishing Cheon Mu Won was stated for the first time: “We are going to establish a new organizational structure in preparation for the Heavenly Parent’s entrance ceremony next year.” The consecration of the victory of the entrance ceremony was the primary reason why Cheon Mu Won was established.
Once the interior and exterior of Cheon Won Gung were completed, True Mother focused not only on the entrance ceremony, but also on the next steps of establishing software and (digital) systems in which providential meaning, will, and direction are integrated for the new age and era that we are to welcome. The reason for this is that eternal providential values and their meanings must be handed down to all generations of humankind and they must be operated in a virtuous cycle.
Therefore, she invested more cheongseong into these efforts than the actual building of the Cheon Won Gung. This was towards the Cheon Mu Won , and Cheon Mu Won was the center of producing “Chambumoron” and the Epic History of the Chosen Han People of Korea as well as the “Songs of Praise of Cheon Il Guk.”
The Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Il Sanctum Entrance Ceremony is the day when the Heavenly Parent came to earth for the first time after 6,000 years and is the day He was firmly established. It is the first day that God, clad in the body of True Parents, can begin life in heaven on earth with the children of the blessed families.
It was also the beginning, the first day, when God, through True Parents, could directly govern and rule with true love, the world of peace, Cheon Il Guk. Directly being able to govern means that Cheon Il Guk will be in full operation. This is the reason why True Mother spoke of Cheon Won Gung as the Central Administration of Cheon Il Guk.
Cheon Il Guk is a heavenly territory under the the Heavenly Parent’s direct governance called “Hyojeong Cheon Won,” and the place where heaven’s people, blessed families, reside. However, Cheon Il Guk cannot function with only external conditions. First of all, there must be an official organizational body that can manage Cheon Il Guk.
We also need common values that can be shared by the people of Cheon Il Guk, and a single mainstream narrative of history. These are the essential elements that make a nation function and be sustainable.
From that perspective, True Mother established the Cheon Mu Won as the central administrative office to ensure that Hyojeong Cheon Won can fully prepare all aspects of Cheon Il Guk, like the Roman Papacy (the Vatican), centered on Cheon Won Gung, the Central Administration of Cheon Il Guk.
Establish values and cultural arts necessary for the people of Cheon Il Guk
True Mother established Chambumoron, which contains the positions and values of True Parents from the perspective of heaven’s providence, as a shared value that people of Cheon Il Guk should have. Last year, during the Resolution Week for a Victorious Entrance into the Cheon Il Sanctum in Cheon Won Gung, lecture and sermon competitions were held in order to quickly spread Chambumoron throughout the world.
She then established the Epic History of the Chosen Han People of Korea as the historical and providential view of the history of Cheon Il Guk centering on the Heavenly Parent. On August 2, 2024, she finalized the name of the epic and then instructed us to quickly deploy its education in Korea and throughout the world. The reason for this was to make people clearly realize that the (people with the) heavenly lineage blessed through True Parents are truly the chosen ones, and to enable them to fulfill the responsibility of the chosen in light of this gracious gift.
In line with this, True Mother prepared the Songs of Praise of Cheon Il Guk in order to establish the cultural arts of Cheon Il Guk. On the morning of August 30 last year, True Mother said, “On the occasion of attending the Heavenly Parent for the first time in substance after 6,000 years of heaven’s providence and human history, the blessed families and future generations who are of the lineage of heaven must compose the Songs of Praise for the Entrance Ceremony, create (cultural) performances, and create worship teams to give thanks and praise (to the Heavenly Parent). Therefore, church musicians from all over the world, were convened to devote special cheongseong for forty days and create the anthem, centering on the Cheon Shim Cultural Center.
It is not only in the field of music. She made it clear that the arts must also be established for the culture of Cheon Il Guk, and gave us the guidelines to create the Epic History of the Chosen Han People of Korea as a painting comparable to the Cheon Il Sanctum paintings.
From last August, twelve painters, who were church members, had been working day and night to paint thirteen paintings of the Epic History of the Chosen Han People of Korea, and they were completed in March of this year. Each of the paintings is a large work measuring more than six meters in width and three meters in height. The epics of the holy birth of the first coming of the Only Begotten Daughter, and the providential lineage centering on the Korean nation are deeply expressed, and the epics and core themes of each work were all set by True Mother.
In order to respond 120% to her will, the Cheon Mu Won offered a Special Seven-Day Cheongseong for the Victory of the Entrance Ceremony at Cheon Shim Won, established a plan for the entrance ceremony, set up an integrated management headquarters and organizing committee, and organized over 15 task forces.
The time has come when the Heavenly Parent is firmly established on earth and can directly administer the providence
In this way, True Mother prepared for the entrance ceremony with deep cheongseong on all fronts, as if one day were a thousand years, and in the 13th year of Cheon Il Guk—a number representing completion—she finally accomplished an irreversible providential revolution, both internally and externally. She never rested for a single day, and with her indomitable will, she has led all of us, the entire world, and humankind into a new era and a new place in history.
In the great sea of events, True Mother opened the 13th year of Cheon Il Guk, the age of the realm of life in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, where we are able to live in the presence of the Creator and the Heavenly Parent in substance for the first time. She announced this blessing of the new age in her new year’s motto, saying that it is the greatest gift not only for the 13th year of Cheon Il Guk, but also for generations to come.
She also restored the providential position of the Heavenly Mother, which had been hidden for six thousand years, and advocated that she, Holy Mother Han, was the substance of the Heavenly Mother. She clarified that through the Holy Mother, true life of the heavenly lineage could be
born. She also gave us the special grace of being able to pray in thanksgiving as a blessed family attending Holy Mother Han.
Yesterday, through the victory of the Cheon Won Gung and Cheon Il Sanctum Entrance Ceremony, the Heavenly Parent was firmly established on earth and the era in which He can directly reign (govern) over the providence as the substance of love was accomplished.
In this way, True Mother has opened a grand new age for all of us, the community of blessed families and for all humankind. Please give a great round of applause to Holy Mother Han, True Mother! (Applause)
Mother showed us who the real leaders of Cheon Il Guk are
What True Mother said at the morning assembly on October 15 of last year still rings in my ears. As she was giving us different guidelines in preparation for the entrance ceremony, she suddenly gave us the following words of wisdom: “Heaven has told us that we only need to go through with it to the very end.”
She took a deep breath and her voice when she said, “Heaven has told us that we only need to go through with it to the very end,” I felt all of the Heavenly Parent’s feelings just as they were, and I reaffirmed how difficult a path True Mother, who is completely together with the Heavenly Parent, is walking, and how she was putting her life on the line in preparing for the entrance ceremony.
True Mother continued to make progress after that, not resting a single day, even though she was over 80 years old, and not sleeping a single day in peace.
The reports provided by Cheon Mu Won regarding preparation and progress of the entrance ceremony exceeded 1,000 pages over a nine-month period. True Mother listened to that tremendous amount of information for hours at a time. She did not just listen and finish. She set the direction and made revisions to the plan and process of the project. I can’t tell you how much she devoted her attention to this project. We don’t know how much patience she had with our shortcomings and how much she guided us in the right way.
Dear esteemed leaders.
True Mother is Holy Mother Han, the Mother of Peace who wipes all tears away from humankind, the True Mother of humankind and the substance of the Heavenly Mother. When we see her through the lens of Cheon Il Guk, she is the founder and builder of the nation. She is the true leader of Cheon Il Guk, the eternal specimen and teacher of Cheon Il Guk.
True Mother has personally shown us, the so-called leaders of Cheon Il Guk, what it means to be (Cheon Il Guk) leaders through the past 13-year course. She has eloquently demonstrated what kind of mindset, attitude, and posture a leader of Cheon Il Guk must have through her own noble life and entire being.
As I look at this image of Mother and her life, I will look back at the image of us here today, who bear the name of Cheon Il Guk leaders. We must think about how we can become the true leaders that True Mother desires and the leaders of Cheon Il Guk who can live up to her expectations.
Matthew 5:4 says, “Blessed are those who mourn.” If we grieve deep in our hearts to respond to True Mother’s wish, that is the appearance of blessing and integrity, and I believe that is truly the first step toward becoming a leader of Cheon Il Guk.
Strongly determined to repay the grace and love we received from Mother
True Mother bestowed plaques and special items with the seal of Holy Mother Han to 1,260 people of Cheon Il Guk with meritorious deeds, who have labored tirelessly for God’s will for more than 30, 40, or 50 years. On March 18, she directly presided over the Awarding Ceremony of Plaques for the members with meritorious deeds from the Heavenly Korea and Heavenly Japan, the parent nations in the providence, and bestowed the plaques to each one of them.
We did not want to burden Mother too much, so we had actually planned for only the major representatives to receive the plaques directly, and the rest of the recipients were allowed to take commemorative photos in groups, but they were to receive their plaques from the regional group presidents. However, True Mother insisted on handing them out one by one, no matter how many hours it took.
I was truly moved by her words. I was worried that it would be a great burden on her body, but True Mother handed each of the recipients a plaque. Everyone was very happy and it was a time where they received deep grace and love.
At the morning meeting the following day, True Mother was asked what she thought of the meritorious members, and she said, “Actually, my arm is very sore.” She then said, “What I have done will go straight to the spirit world. Therefore, the people who were with me to the end, whose names I remember, means that the spirit world knows them.” From this, I was able to clearly realize how much Mother cherished and loved each and every one of the leaders of Cheon Il Guk.
The position of Cheon Il Guk leaders is truly a blessed and honorable position. It is a great blessing and endowment to be given this position. However, True Mother clearly said that we should not just accept it. She emphasized that the important thing is responsibility and that we should become leaders who fulfill our responsibilities.
True Mother gives so generously and then wonders if she has more to give. She is truly the True Mother of humankind, the substance of the Heavenly Mother who existed before the creation of the world, the Holy Mother. As we firmly resolve to be those who can repay her grace and love, I ask that everyone give her a great round of applause and thank Mother. (Applause)
The thirteenth year of Cheon Il Guk is a year of blessings and honor. I sincerely hope that you will reaffirm your resolve to be those who fulfill the responsibilities as Cheon Il Guk leaders in this great and sacred golden age. And I hope that this General Assembly of Cheon Il Guk Leaders will be one where we make a new start filled with passion.
The hard work and diligence of each and every one of the leaders, Cheon Mu Won will always express our deep appreciation and respect. We promise to be a Cheon Mu Won that always supports and endorses you, the leaders, and we hope that this General Assembly of Cheon Il Guk Leaders, that will be held over the next two days, can end in a great victory. Thank you very much.
