Reverend and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon will convene the international Blessing '99 ceremony in Seoul, Korea, on February 7, 1999. The ceremony, to be held in a large indoor stadium in Seoul, will link by satellite thousands of couples in the stadium with millions of couples worldwide. According to Reverend Moon, participation blesses, cleanses and liberates the couples, gathering them up into the true family of humankind beyond race, nationality and religion.
Rev. Moon and his wife, called by Jesus Christ to be the True Parents of humankind, seek to free the world from the abuse of love and instill a "culture of heart" worldwide. This begins, as Reverend Moon puts it, through godly, unselfish use of the sexual organs, the "palace of true love." The Blessing is the decisive event in that process of spiritual and substantial liberation.
Reverend and Mrs. Moon also are convening a four-day World Culture and Sports Festival February 4 - 8. It will gather international academics, religious leaders, artists, media professionals and statesman to discuss the theme, "Family Ethics and World Peace." Ambassador Phillip V. Sanchez, publisher of Noticias del Mundo and Tiempos del Mundo newspapers and the former US Ambassador to Columbia, will chair the Special Convocation. According to Ambassador Sanchez, "I believe this conference is vital to the development of a common vision for humanity as we enter the 21st century. I see the hand of God working through Rev. and Mrs. Moon and all those people around the world who are making it happen."
The conference will consider the means to bring together the leaders of the world's religions under one vision for a God-centered world, and to empower them to provide coherent spiritual and moral guidance to the political sphere. The conference designers are eliciting contributions as to the role of the media, academia and culture in this revolutionary process. The Festival, sponsored formally by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International (FFWPUI), thus will strengthen the family unit, the most vital body in all societies, and set up a healthy balance of spiritual and secular forces in society.
The Blessing is open to couples from all religions wishing to take a stand for eternal marriage, sexual purity and universal family values. The organizers will broadcast the February 7 ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m. Seoul time, via satellite. They will release the satellite coordinates soon, to enable millions of couples worldwide to participate in this extraordinary show of God-centered interracial, international and inter-religious unity.