Ariana Moon
October 30, 2012
The more than 500 participants of the Benefit Gala conclude the three-day WFWP conference with a enthusiastic wave at the camera.
After a heartfelt message of re-determination from the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, attendees of WFWP’s 20th Anniversary National Assembly took part in the “Art and Healing Networking Expo” on October 27, 2012. The expo, titled “Woman, Heal Thyself,” featured several hour-and-a-half “Breakout Sessions” led by health experts and more than fifty tables exhibiting products and services from vendors representing various WFWP chapters. The three-day assembly from October 25-27, 2012 was held at the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas.
At 7:00 p.m., the doors opened for the Benefit Gala, the proceeds of which were given to local Las Vegas social service organizations. The gala included a three-course gourmet meal, remarks from various women activists, award presentations, a silent auction for items such as plane tickets to Korea and luxury rooms at the Aria Hotel. Entertainment included a comedian and a band composed of Unificationist-born youth from California.
Lisa Carol Williams was awarded the “Herstory Award,” which celebrates extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary women. Williams was honored for raising more than $1.3 million and working more than 60 hours a week to raise awareness about child prostitution.
The evening concluded at 10 p.m., bringing to a close WFWP’s three-day National Assembly, which many came to say was appropriately titled “The Turning Point” in that they had come away renewed, refreshed and re-determined to bring peace from the local to the global level.
Mimi Morse said the guiding principle of FEEF "is to empower parents and youth through education that supports their moral emotional and intellectual development to help resolve our differences."
Mimi Morse on Family Faith Empowerment Education Federation
One of the highlighted speakers at the event was Mimi Morse, president of Family Faith Empowerment Education Federation (FEEF) and executive director of marketing for the Las Vegas Bellagio Resort and Aria Resort, who dedicated her work with FEEF to the late Unification Church Founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
“Last year, True Father and True Mother told me about their plans to host the WFWP 20th anniversary here in Las Vegas, and I was extremely excited for that,” she told her audience of more than 500 women and supporting husbands from around the nation.
“I met Rev. Moon three years ago here in Las Vegas, while I was struggling financially, working two jobs and raising my daughter. I knew right away he was a great man. I wanted to do everything I could to make Father and Mother Moon happy. Until I met Father and Mother Moon, I have always had this guilty feeling of not being able to treat my parents well and never having the chance to take care of my biological parents because they passed away 27 years ago. But I feel by honoring Father and Mother Moon I am honoring my biological parents too.
“Father Moon asked me 18 months ago to educate people. In June 2012, I registered my non-profit (FEEF) and by August 10th, I had 340 people join my organization. On August 13th, Father Moon fell ill, but I gathered more than 300 people at FEEF’s inauguration on August 14th, and Father and Mother Moon were very happy.
“When I first started working on my organization, my husband joked, ‘Honey, I thought the Unification Church was about family. But we don’t spend much time together.’ I told him, ‘In the Unification Church, if the wife is doing her mission, the husband cooks. If the husband is doing his mission, the wife cooks. Regardless, both husband and wife are working together in spirit.’
“With True Mother’s and True Father’s love and support, we now have a great foundation to help our Las Vegas community.
“We firmly believe that the family is a school of love. Parents are the role models for children. Children observe everything that their parents do and learn from their behavior. Therefore, our guiding principle is to empower parents and youth through education that supports their moral, emotional and intellectual development to help resolve our differences. Our main goal is to educate our parents to teach our children love and self-respect. I ask anyone and everyone that I meet to donate money to our organization. If you don’t have money, donate your time. We accept either one.
“Thank you so much for coming to Las Vegas. It is a great honor to be with all of you again. My heart is with True Mother and I am so excited that we have Mother Moon as a leader with True Father supporting her.”
Mother Moon holds an hour-and-a-half Hook Dok Hae session the following Sunday morning.
Sunday Morning Hoon Dok Hae with Mother Moon
The morning after the Benefit Gala, Angelika Selle, president of WFWP USA, and various other WFWP representatives attended Mother Moon’s Hook Dok Hae session at Father and Mother Moon’s Las Vegas residence. The session, led by Mother Moon, lasted for an hour and a half and was attended by approximately 80 people, many of whom were Unificationist-born youth.
“I couldn’t understand the English translation provided during Hoon Dok Hae, but suddenly I heard my name called by Dr. Lan Young Moon, and then I was asked to give a report to True Mother,” said Selle. “I hadn’t been prepared with any materials, nor had I anticipated that I would be asked to speak, so I spoke straight from my heart. I spoke about Father, about all the women who had contributed to the event without financial compensation. For our conference, we received 44 proclamations from governors, mayors, local government officers, etc., which was profound, and 140 ads from around the country. What I said seemed to be what Mother hoped to hear, because she became so happy.
“When Mother began talking about her upcoming tour of America to visit the places Father had visited years ago, she had this smile on her face that showed us how excited she was. She showed us the map that plotted out her trip, which will end on the East Coast at East Garden at the beginning of November.”
WFWP representative Jayne Turconi enjoys a moment of dancing with fellow sisters during the gala.
Feedback from Participants of the National Assembly
Netta Johnston, representative of WFWP in Wisconsin: “Everyone was so inspired at the conference. It was a whole other atmosphere. Even with all the different things going on in the church, you could come here and find focus.”
Dawn Bacchus-Horan, a representative of WFWP in Saint Vincent in the Grenadines and Florida: “This conference has been amazing. To me, it is definitely a turning point in the sense that it represents the culmination of all of the work that we’ve done over the past 20 years. The information that we gathered from the conference is so very important, and we want to use it to advance our work in Florida. We have more or less made a pledge amongst ourselves to use the material we get from this conference and implement it. This conference represents so much that we can do as women to highlight the problems in community and be like family through extended family values. It’s phenomenal.”
Women young and old mingle on the dance floor during Benefit Gala of "The Turning Point."
Elizabeth Aihe, a representative of WFWP in Washington, D.C.: “Sometimes you hear things, but when you hear them again, there are points that you’ve already heard that hit you like never before. What was shocking for me was to find out the prevalence of human trafficking within the United States, which a lot of people think takes places only in other countries. Attending the conference was a very informative and touching experience.”
Jane Karimi, WFWP representative from Kenya: “The world of men is coming to an end. Of course, we still need them in that we need to work together, but this is truly a turning point.”
Toni Curry, representative of WFWP in Oregon: “It’s great to see women come together. I think it’s really important to mark a commemorative date after 20 years of work, as this conference does. What I see here is a lot of people with real dedication to a lot of interesting projects. I see a lot of potential when I see what the other WFWP chapters are doing. There’s synergy there, a lot of good energy.”
Christina Kartel, administrative assistant of WFWP USA: “Considering the time constraints we had, I think we pulled it off well. I got a lot of good, positive feedback from guests. People were pleased with the format and enjoyed the Breakout Sessions, which we’ve never done before. I’m sure we’ll do something very similar next year. Obviously, people were impacted by the fact that True Mother was coming. The whole event went so fast and had so much content, and I was impressed that so many people attended.”
The "Herstory Award" was presented to Lisa Carol Williams (left) by WFWP USA President Angelika Selle (right) for her work fighting child prostitution.
Angelika Selle, president of WFWP USA: “I believe that we have truly entered a turning point, that the theme has become real for many of the participants and organizers. According to the feedback we’ve received, many were deeply impacted, healing took place, and many came away with renewed confidence. People want to contribute. Our Japanese Kodan team got $50,000 worth in advertisements and donations, which was astounding.
“Also, the GWPN, of which I am the vice president, was a success. The GWPN, launched in Korea by True Parents on July 16, 2012, is a project off of WFWP that will go beyond WFWP as we work with other organizations and government officials to create a change on the global level. It will be a catalyst for bringing other NGOs together to create a greater voice, approaching high-level women in different organizations, businesses and governments around the world. The next international GWPN will probably take place in Korea, around Foundation Day, and will address the pertinent and crucial issue of building healthy families. Dr. Lan Young Moon was very happy with our event and even said that it is a model for WFWP in other nations to follow.”