An anniversary celebration of the two Marriage-Blessing ceremonies that took place in 1992 and 1995 will take place in the Hammerstein Ballroom of the Manhattan Center this Sunday, August 26, 2012. The event recognizes the 20th anniversary for the 30,000 participants of the Blessing on August 25, 1992 at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, and the 17th anniversary for the 360,000 participants of the Blessing on the same date and location but in 1995.

The upcoming celebration will take place after Lovin’ Life Ministries (LLM) Sunday Service, to be held in its usual location, the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center. A cake-cutting and a group photo will take place in the Grand, and shortly after, boxed lunches of Japanese and Korean cuisine prepared by members of Kodan in New Jersey will be available for participants in the Hammerstein.

The program for the anniversary event will begin at approximately 12:45 p.m. with welcoming remarks from an emcee, a commemorative video and a main address by a keynote speaker, either Rev. In Jin Moon, senior pastor of LLM, or Rev. Joshua Cotter, vice president of the Unification Church USA. The program is scheduled to conclude at approximately 1:30 p.m. and will then transition into a ballroom-dance social featuring 1980’s music. Two photo booths will be available for families to take pictures, to which backgrounds will be added by photoshop afterwards.

Three participants of the 30,000-couple Blessing, Terry McMahon, Atsushi Takino and Rev. Hirofumi Sakamoto, are the main organizers for the event.

“This event will not be noteworthy in terms of being a front-page blowout celebration,” said McMahon. “This event is a simple way to connect to and recognize each other.  The beauty may be in the simple conversations that take place among the families that are getting together, in most instances, for the first time. We want to give our kids a chance to introduce themselves to their brothers and sisters of faith whom they do not know.  Many of these parents will be making some serious decisions in the near future for their children regarding their life of faith and the blessing.  We need to support each other,” McMahon said.

McMahon continued: “Our greatest excitement is to see the development of LLM at this time and see how our younger children can fully engage it. Nothing makes us happier.  If the path to the Blessing can be developed, and the support is there, the sky’s the limit for our families. I believe that the 30,000 couples are so excited about the changes going on now because this is what we truly wanted to experience 20 years ago. We welcome all the growing pains, and we want to show our deep appreciation to Rev. In Jin Moon. We want her to know that we are here for her and True Parents now.”

Registration is $15/person or $50/family before 6:00 p.m. on Friday and $25/person or $75/family at the door. As space at the event is limited, prospective attendees are encouraged to register today. Visit www.familyfed.org/825 to do the following: register and upload family photos; offer a donation; send congratulatory messages, photos and advertisements to be compiled into an event journal that will be published as a keepsake. Those who place ads in the event journal will receive a free copy. In addition, a list of local hotels with special rates is available through the registration form.

For more information, contact Sakamoto (District 2) at hirosakamoto2011@gmail.com or Takino (District 3) at takino7@optonline.net.