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On October 9, 2003, we dedicated
the National Wonjeon Shrine and held a commemorative memorial service
for the eight members who were in a temporary mausoleum and recently transferred
to Fort Lincoln Cemetery.
It was a beautiful bright
sunshiny day and the atmosphere clear and fresh. Rev. Levy Daugherty was
the emcee. Rev. Phillip Schanker gave the benediction. Kathy Hill opened
with a reading from the Divine Principle and a message from President Abraham
Lincoln. Then Antonio Betancourt and Bill Selig described the history and
background leading up to this day. The Wonjeon Dedication Addresses were
given by Dr. Chang Shik
Yang (click
for transcript)
and Rev. Michael Jenkins
(click
for transcript).
We had an inspiring ribbon-cutting
ceremony with representatives of the families whose loved ones are buried
in the National Wonjeon.
Following the tradition of our
True Parents, Dr. Yang and Rev. Jenkins signed sections of the ribbons
and presented them along with the scissors to the families. The ribbon
was held by two STFers, Michelle Zambon and Yusun Tobkin.
After the festive ceremony,
representatives of each of the families gave testimony, including Kitty
Wojcik, Martyn Byrne, Steve Symonds, Tom McDevitt, and Ichiko Marshall
(click
here to read testimonies). Michael
Balcomb spoke about Oleksiy Veligurov who was buried on Oct. 6, 2003. Rev.
Jeong Phyo Hong gave the benediction and the closing cheers of mansei.
A delicious reception was
organized by Maria Agres with assistance from Mary Holden, Donna Selig,
and Youn Jeong Quinn who made a beautiful offering table. Otmar Weinmann
provided the music, while Rev. Randy Francis took care of many organizational
details. Jim Howell did a fine job putting together the printed program. |
