Each religion has its own holy grounds -- holy places with sacred meaning to the believers of that religion. Often, these are the place where the founder of the religion was born; or they are places that mark significant events in the the course of the founder's religious quest. So, religious people often make pilgrimages to holy grounds in order to deepen their faith and to express gratitude to the one who brought them inner peace.
A holy ground is a divine domain. Also, it represents the particular area or nation in which it is located. A holy ground is God's land -- a place of freedom where we can enjoy spiritual communion. The holy grounds of the Unification Church are replete with the spirit of our founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and with memories of the suffering he endured. For this reason, these are places that move the hearts of our members. Here, our hearts can be at home.
-Jung-joo, in the province of Pyongan Namdo, is where Rev. Sun Myung Moon was born and where he spent his early childhood.
-Bumnaetgol in Pusan, is where Rev. Moon went through a difficult period as he sought to begin his work in South Korea in order to unfold God's Providence for the salvation of all humankind.
-The former headquarters church in Chungpa Dong, Seoul, is where many important events took place following the official founding of the Unification Church.
-There is also the current headquarters church, also in Chungpa Dong.
-Moon-gyung Saeje is a series of ancient fortifications in the mountains of south-central Korea. Rev. Moon passed here on his desperate trip south with Kim Won-pil and Park Jung-hwa following his liberation from the North Korean labor camp in Heungnam;
-Chongpyung Prayer Center is where the sound of the waves of Chongpyung Lake washing against the shore seem to reverberate with the continuous sound of Rev. Moon's prayers.
-The Heuksok Dong holy ground in Seoul is where the young Rev. Moon lived in a boarding house while attending middle school.
-The Wonjon, located in Paju, Kyonggi Do, is where early members rest after having passed on ahead of us into the spiritual world.
-The Choong-Eui-Ae Hall was built in remembrance of Daemonim.
-The Central Training Center is in Kuri, a suburb of Seoul.
All of these are places where members can feel spiritual joy and peace by visiting, praying, and making sincere offerings of heart.
We all want to visit these places.
We feel a desire to set out on a pilgrimage to the holy grounds today, because we want to inherit True Parents' heart and determination. We want to bring ourselves closer to the heart of True Parents, who continue steadfastly on the path of God's Will in spite of all manner of suffering and difficulties.
Each of the holy grounds is imbued with the tears, sweat and heart of our True Parents. We can find our Father in each rock and each stone -- even in the smallest flower too insignificant even to have a name. There, we can sit down side by side with Father. We can talk with him and enjoy the same view of nature that he enjoys. We invite you to come.
Please come and meet Father.
He is here already, waiting for you to come.
