Washington, DC, United States – Two separate Peace Road events were held in October by UPF-USA chapters, together with partner organizations. Mrs. Harumi Ota, director of the Maryland Salisbury Chapter, organized an event themed “Bike and Walk Peace Road: Bridging Cultures for Peace” on October 12, 2024, a beautiful autumn Saturday. The program was co-sponsored by Pastor Greg Morris of Parkway Church of God, Pastor John Harrison of Faith Community Church, and Imam Ashraf Ahmed of the Islamic Community Outreach of Ocean City.
Over 100 participants gathered in Salisbury, including UPF International President Dr. Michael Jenkins and his wife, Dr. Reiko Jenkins, who joined the 1. 5-mile march from Unity Square to Faith Community Church, where lunch was served to all guests.
Salisbury Maylor Randolph J. Taylor made a moving proclamation designating October 12, 2024, as “Peace Road Day.”
On October 27, 2024, the Washington DC Chapter of UPF held an interfaith Peace Road event with co-sponsoring organizations FFWPU and the Capital Family Church at The Washington Times. Over 200 participants joined the event.
Dr. Achille Acolatse, senior pastor of the Capital Family Church, delivered a message on the theme “We are One Family Under God.” This was followed by an interfaith ceremony, with representatives of different faiths each pouring water into a common vessel to symbolize their unity of purpose. In this ceremony, Mr. Mathew Goldberg represented Judaism, Bishop Edward Barnett of Greater Grace Family Ministries represented Christianity, Imam Talib Shareef from the Nation’s Mosque represented Islam, and Dr. Surinder Singh Gill represented Sikhism.
The ceremony derives from the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s description of interfaith unity:
“Religion is like a wide river flowing toward an ideal, peaceful world. The river does not reject any of the streams that flow into it. It accepts them all. It embraces all the streams and forms a single flow as it continues toward the ocean. Each stream traces its origin to a different spring, but they are all going to the same destination. They are seeking the ideal world overflowing with peace.”
Mrs. Tomiko Duggan, senior vice president of UPF-USA, shared a video and PowerPoint presentation about UPF’s global Peace Road activities and its dream of connecting all nations through an international superhighway. The International Peace Highway Project was proposed by the late Rev. Moon at the Unity of Sciences convocation in 1981.
Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, co-founder of UPF, moved the project forward in 2015 by suggesting local Peace Road activities such as bicycling events and walks, connecting diverse peoples and communities under themes related to a common purpose. She suggested that such small steps can lead to big leaps in uniting people in a global sense of purpose.
The Peace Road organizers passed out small paper national flags, and invited participants to describe what “peace” meant to them. Various people said that peace is patience, compassion, kindness, understanding, equality, justice, unity, forgiveness, and an expression of God’s dream. The flags were tied together and displayed as an expression of the universal longing for lasting peace.
