The Words of the Cotter Family |
Joshua
Cotter -- March 4, 2012
When our True Father and Mother came to this great country of America in the early '70s, Father had a great vision for this country. Father knew that America was providentially prepared to really work together with the Messiah, to really share in the breaking news -- and over the years and over the centuries our Heavenly Parent has blessed this country to be that country of prosperity, not for itself and not for its own power and glory, but so that it can really be that nation, that agent of change on behalf of the world.
We are focusing on the pioneers of our movement both in America and abroad. We have so many brothers and sisters who rose above the persecution of their fellow Man and continued pursuing the dream that God has for humankind. We commend all them and share some of their stories here.
I was one of the thousands of young people in America who, in the mid-1970's, became inspired by Father Moon's message and believed that Jesus had anointed him to fulfill the mission of the Messiah. I can vividly recall when the backlash of persecution against the Unification Church began to occur and the coordinated efforts to brand us as a 'cult' resulted, more often than we would like to remember, in their untimely deaths. This was heartbreaking to our True Father, who could only watch as these precious brothers and sisters died for what they believed in. For those who shed not only sweat and tears, but their blood in such a precious way, I can only humbly thank them for their sacrifices and use the inspiration of their lives to fuel me onward.
Let us not forget the roots and precious value of our pioneers, as well as our connection to religious liberty, a tenet upon which this great nation of America was founded. I hope the brave stories in this issue can encourage us all to take a stand and defend the religious liberty of our brothers and sisters around the world and be an agent of change.
God Bless you and your families,
Rev. Joshua Cotter
Executive Vice-President
HSA-UWC USA