22 November will see the London “Global Peace Festival“, one of several events that have been held around the world over the past few months. The Festival’s slogan is “One Family Under God”, and it is being organised by the Universal Peace Federation. The UPF, as I’ve noted in the past (and chronicle on my spin-off blog, Ambassadors for Moon), is an initiative of Rev Sun Myung Moon, who considers himself to be the “True Father” of this “One Family”. The UPF has succeeded in tapping into the enthusiasm of groups and persons from a range of religious backgrounds, and it has also sought to gain political credibility by endowing “Ambassador for Peace” awards to various high-profile figures.
The UK Global Peace Festival has an official blog, which explains why one of its representatives was at Downing Street:
They say that “opportunity knocks” and hence it came to be that we were knocking on the door of the Primeminister, Gordon Brown, one very wet and unexpected London evening. GPF Social Impact Project partner, Rev. Canon George Ausah, was invited to attend the Peace Week event at the Primeminister’s residence that same very morning and kindly agreed to meeting up with me there.
Networking events like this are vital to the ongoing process that is Global Peace Festival and it is encouraging to know that individuals, peace activists and NGOs are being invited and recognised at the highest level.
Once again the value of working in partnership is clear!
“George Ausah” is actually Canon George Ansah, a Church of England clergyman based in South London. Apparently he is an “Ambassador for Peace”, which means that he has been given a certificate signed by Rev Moon – a man who believes that Jesus failed and that churches should remove crosses.
Here’s a video from the recent Washington D.C. Festival, including a speech by Rev. Moon’s son:
And just for fun, here’s Rev. Moon’s famous 1997 Washington Times address:
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[…] meanwhile, has links with the Unification Church’s “Global Peace Celebration” front group; in December he gave the invocation at a GPC event in Atlanta, and atttended an […]