23rd Anniversary of American Clergy Leadership Conference
Photo courtesy of ACLC
May 22 marks the 23rd anniversary of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), founded in 2000 by True Parents. Established with 120 ministers from 17 denominations, more than two decades later the ACLC is a thriving coalition of faith leaders united to strengthen marriages, rebuild families, restore communities, and renew America and the world.
Dr. Chung Sik Yong, ACLC national co-chair, described religious leaders as the “moral compass for humanity” and stated the ACLC, which affirms the God-given vision of the reunification of the Body of Christ, is bringing Jesus’s long-awaited dream to fruition.
“Faith leaders from all over the nation have come together to share this love with each other and our wider communities, going beyond racial and denominational barriers to provide clear, moral direction for America and our leaders,” he said in remarks about the ACLC in 2022. “True Mother has reminded us that we, as clergy, are members of the chosen people and their mission from God is to spread His love and blessing to humanity.”
The ACLC played a central role in True Father’s 2001 national speaking tour, “We Will Stand in Oneness,” and in 2003, ACLC clergy and other participants marched to the Field of Blood in Jerusalem to end the era of the cross — a symbolic barrier to unity between Christian and Jewish people — and bring peaceful reconciliation to the Middle East.
“Christian clergy from the United States and Europe as well as Israel marched through the streets of Jerusalem carrying a cross,” recalled True Mother in her memoir, Mother of Peace (2020). “In a prayer of repentance and forgiveness, [they] buried that cross in the Field of Blood, which is said to have been bought by Judas Iscariot with the 30 pieces of silver he received for betraying Jesus. A Jewish woman present at that event said she felt as if 4,000 years of sorrow on the part of her people had finally dissipated.”
The ACLC’s Jerusalem Declaration in 2003 also called for reconciliation among different faiths. “The coronation ceremony was attended by people of all the Abrahamic faiths, thus liberating Jesus from his sorrow,” wrote True Mother. “On that day, and others like it, we created the environment in which religious leaders from around the world, together with Jewish and Palestinian Israelis, embraced in tears.”
Today, the ACLC has swelled to more than 20,000 clergy of many denominations. With chapters nationwide, the ACLC has hosted monthly prayer breakfasts to facilitate meaningful dialogue and exchange among clergy, as well as national convocations, pastors’ forums, and the annual True Family Values Awards Banquet — an interfaith and intercultural education effort recognizing prominent peacemakers around the country.
Since its inception, multiple ACLC associations have emerged as well, including The 172 Clergy and Women in Ministry (WIM). In December 2019, True Mother inaugurated the World Clergy Leadership Conference (WCLC), where two more associations were established: the Korean Clergy Leadership Conference (KCLC) and the Young Christian Leadership Conference (YCLC).
“For me, seeking peace is comparable to searching for a needle in the middle of a sandstorm,” wrote True Mother in her memoir. “Success is accomplished only by the intervention of God, our Heavenly Parent. Thus it was with absolute faith, love, and obedience that my husband and I resolved never to turn back until we had established a peaceful world.”
You can learn more about the American Clergy Leadership Conference here.