Aim to learn about the background to Father’s birth
Aim
To learn about the background to Father’s birth
Materials
*Father is born on a farm in Korea, by Chris Garcia
*Sun Myung Moon, the Early Years, by Mike Breen
*Visual Aids: a)map of Korea, b)Korean flag, showing yang lines, c)Remains of Father’s home in Sansa-ri, d)Market day in Jeongju, e)Confucius, f)Moon family holding a baby
*Names of major places in large letters
*Children’s worksheet
Lesson Outline
1. Background information
2. Tell the story
3. Key points
4. Discussion
5. Worksheets
6. What can we learn from the story?
7. Prayer
1) Introduction
*Ask children if they know about Father’s childhood. When and where was he born. Show his birthplace on the map of Korea. Use the information below to give some background information Sun Myung Moon was born in the winter of 1920 in the straw thatched home of a farming family in north-west Korea. The house was one of a line of fifteen which made up a tiny village called Sangsa- ri and Dok heung-ri. Unofficially, the locals called it ‘Moon Village’ because ten of the households were of the Moon clan, seven of them close relatives.
The families in ‘Moon Village’ and neighboring Morum Village farmed the land, growing rice, millet, corn, beans, cabbages and radishes. At least half rented their fields, surrendering half their produce as payment to the landowners. The best quality rice was not for the eating, at least not at local tables. After the Japanese took over, it was taken to Jeongju, where there was a market every five days, processed into brown rice and sent to Japan. The villagers mostly ate millet in place of rice, with corn, beans and pickled cabbage and radish. They kept chickens for their eggs, and ate beef, pork or chicken on special occasions usually birthdays. It was a difficult life, but nobody starved.
2) Tell the Story
Father was born in 1920 in a small farming village called Sangsa-ri, near Jeongju in North Korea.
Before he was born there were some spiritual signs about his birth. The local fortune teller predicted that a great man would be born in the Moon clan. Sun Myung Moon means ”The light of Truth has come to Christians”. Sun = Christians Myung = Light Moon = Truth
3) Key points
Some Key Points from the story
* Father’s father had two dreams about the birth of his son. In the first, He saw a golden rooster crowing at night, on the shrine of their ancestors. Confucius appeared and opened a paper painted with six yang lines. What did the dream mean? Night time crowing meant Heaven has gained victory. The yang lines meant a boy would be born. The appearance of Confucius meant the boy would grow up to be a Taegun or true man
* In the second dream he saw a Shining Dragon of Heaven. The local fortune teller told him that a taegun would be born to the Moon clan.
* His father named him Sun Yong Moon. Yong means ‘Shining Dragon* named after his dream.
When Father grew up, God gave direction to change his name to Sun Myung Moon. Moon means truth; Sun is a symbol of the Christians; Myung means light. Thus, his name means, “The light of truth has come to Christians.”
Some Key Points from Mike Breen’s book
* The villagers were accustomed to signs and prophecies. Early one morning in the Moon Village, one of the women noticed a gold colored crane in the trees near her house. The next day it appeared again. No one saw where it nested. In fact, it may not have been a real bird at all.
Moon’s cousin, Yong gi, describes it as a real bird, while his brother, Yong sun, says it was “a phenomenon” which their mother “saw”. They remember being told that every day for three years, it flew off eastward and appeared the next morning. In early 1919 it stopped coming.
Villagers took it as a sign, stirring within them a sense that they were not forgotten by God.
* Moon’s grandfather, Chi-Kook, felt he was a special child and told his family to make sure he got a good education, at a time when many children didn’t go to school.
4) Discussion
* When was Father born? – January 6th 1920
* Where was Father born? – in a village called Sansa-ri in North Korea
* What was the name of the nearest town?
* What did Father’s father see in his first dream? – a golden rooster crowin1g at night, on the shrine of their ancestors. Confucius opened a piece of paper painted with 6 yang lines
* What did the dream mean? – night time crowing meant Heaven had gained victory; the lines meant a boy would be born; seeing Confucius meant the boy would grow up to be a taegun or true man
* What did Father’s father see in the second dream? – the Shining Dragon of Heaven
* What did it mean? a taegun would be born in the Moon clan
* What special signs were there at the time of Jesus’ birth – the angel Gabriel visited Mary, Joseph and Zechariah; angels appeared to shepherds, a star guided the three wise men to Bethlehem
* What name was Father given when he was born and what does it mean? – Sun Yong Moon. Yong means “Shining Dragon” named after his dream
* Why did Father change his name to Sun Myung Moon when he was older? – God told him to
* What does the name mean? – Moon means truth; Sun is a symbol of the Christians; Myung means light. Thus, his name means, “The light of truth has come to Christians.”
* Why do you think God wanted to change his name? – “Shining Dragon” may have been too strong a name for a man of peace. “Light of truth” is a more accurate explanation of his mission.
* All of these signs show that God was behind Father’s birth and that he was no ordinary child.
Throughout Father’s life there have been so many spiritual signs, showing again and again that he has been chosen by God for a special mission.
5) Activities
* a worksheet to write a summary of the story and colour a picture of Father’s birthplace
* a map of Korea to fill in missing words: Jeongju, Sagsa-ri, Pyongyang, Seoul, North Korea. South Korea, Russia, China, Japan
* a Korean flag to colour
6) Conclusion
What can we learn from this story about the background to Father’s birth?
* Signs about Father’s birth show that God was directly behind this, and they prepared his family for something very special.
* We can also compare with the signs of Jesus’ birth. Both close relatives and local people received messages. Both Jesus and Father were born in a humble place in a poor country, unknown to most of the world. After 2,000 of waiting, this was not just a special time for all people, but also for God who has waited patiently for so long. As with Jesus, Father’s birth was a time of great joy and hope for God. We all feel Christmas is a special time of year, when we remember Jesus’ birth.
Let us also feel the same when we celebrate True Parent’s birthday.
* We should also try to understand how lucky we are to live at the same time as Father.
7) Prayer
