Prague, Czechia—Personal testimonies at a UPF event honoring the late Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon showed the humility and generosity of the UPF founder. Some 20 people attended the meeting held on September 4, 2023, at the Prague Peace Embassy.
In his opening speech Dr. Juraj Lajda, the president of UPF-Czechia, reminded the audience of some of Reverend Moon’s remarkable achievements. It is important to remember the life, work and legacy of significant people for the sake of future generations and history, he said.
However, in spite of decades of working to bring about world peace and reconciliation based on faith in God, Reverend Moon is still portrayed by many media and so-called “sect experts” as the founder of an obscure cult. These malicious reports prevent the world from receiving a true, objective image of Reverend Moon and his wife. “Let’s discover the true and genuine Reverend Moon,” Dr. Lajda said.
Professor Dušan Lužný, a respected sociologist and religious scientist from Palacký University Olomouc, spoke about his experience when he attended two conferences in Korea some 12 years ago and had the chance to see Reverend Moon personally. He appreciated that after the official celebration of his birthday, Reverend Moon spontaneously came down among the audience and was singing together with them.
Professor Lužný emphasized that to know history is very important, because if a nation forgets its history, it will decline and can be manipulated very easily. He commended UPF for commemorating the 11th anniversary of Reverend Moon’s passing.
Erika Lajdová, the co-president of UPF-Czechia, gave a personal testimony of her life after joining the Unification movement 50 years ago. In the early 1970s, she recalled, young people were searching for the truth. When she came to know Reverend Moon’s teachings, she was ready to sacrifice anything to practice them. She recalled the parable that Jesus told about a man who found treasure in a field and sold everything in order to buy that field (Matthew 13:44).
In 2007, together with others who had been imprisoned under the communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia, Mrs. Lajdová was invited to come to Korea by Reverend Moon. The group spent one week in Korea visiting many significant places.
Before the group departed for home, Reverend Moon said that they could not leave Korea without receiving new clothes as his gift to them. Then Mrs. Lajdová showed to the participants the jacket that she had received as a gift from Reverend Moon. Through this incident, she came to understand the parental heart, love and attitude of Reverend Moon.
Suzana Strkulová, the acting president in Czechia of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an affiliated organization, spoke about her personal experience with Reverend Moon. She had an opportunity to meet him a couple of times in her life and knew the background of many official events. To her, he is “Father Moon,” who showed a great example of a good husband and father.
A video called A Determined Man was shown with Czech subtitles, giving the participants an overview of the whole life and work of Reverend Moon. Many participants were moved by this video.
Next, Martin Slezak, a vice president of FFWPU-Czechia, introduced some of the key ideas and thoughts of Reverend Moon.
A final video showed a performance by the Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet of Korea, which was established by Rev. and Mrs. Moon in 1962. In the end, some participants sang the “Tongil” (“Unity”) song to conclude the commemorative event.
There followed a time in which the participants enjoyed refreshments and informal discussions.
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