Ocean Church: Celebrating 43 Years
October 1 marked the 43rd anniversary of Ocean Church, inaugurated by True Parents in 1980. Unificationists and seminary graduates who participated in a summer tuna fishing tournament in Gloucester, Mass., joined True Father for the official launch of Ocean Church. At the time, True Father urged the pioneers to stimulate interest among Americans, particularly young people, telling them, “your sole concern is to revive the fishing industry in America.”
True Father shares his love for the ocean and its great significance in his autobiography, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen (2009), in an excerpt below.
Excerpt:
Water is the source of life. We were all born from our mothers’ wombs. Inside those wombs is water, so we were born from water. I launched [our first] boat with the belief that, in a similar way to how we receive life from water, we need to go out onto the ocean and pass through a series of trials there in order to become capable of surviving the trials we will face on land...
As I toured the world, no one knew that plans were being made to develop economic foundations on a worldwide scale ... The earth where we live is covered by more ocean than land. The United States has two oceans and therefore plenty of fish ... The ocean is filled with things to eat. Also, on the ocean surface, there is an active shipping industry. Ships carry things made in countries all over the world to be sold elsewhere. The ocean is a treasure trove that guarantees humankind a bright future. That is why I teach that those who are concerned with the future of humanity must be concerned with the oceans. When we can love and inherit the oceans, we inherit the future.
We purchased several boats in the United States. These were not the large ships that might be seen in a brochure but boats about 34 feet to 38 feet in length. They could pursue tuna with their engines turned off. They were fishing boats about the size of a yacht that would not have major accidents. These boats were placed in Washington, San Francisco, Tampa, and Alaska. We also purchased a ship repair facility. We did a lot of our own research...
With any task, if the leader does it first, the people follow. As a result, I have become well known as a tuna fisherman. It would have been of little use, however, if we had only caught the tuna... Our work, ultimately, was to pioneer new worlds. We were not simply catching fish. We were taking paths not taken by others. How exciting it is to pioneer new paths! The ocean changes constantly. They say people’s minds change morning and night, but the ocean changes moment to moment. That is why the ocean is both mysterious and beautiful. The ocean embraces everything in heaven and earth. It can come together at a particular spot and form clouds, or become rain and fall back down.
I am very fond of nature, because it never deceives. If it is high, it becomes lower; if it is low, it becomes higher. In every instance, it adjusts its height to become flat. If I am sitting holding a fishing pole, it seems as though I have all the time in the world. What is there on the ocean to stand in our way? Who is there to make us hurry? We have a lot of time for ourselves. All we need to do is watch the ocean and talk with it. The longer a person spends on the ocean, the greater the spiritual aspect of his life will become...
Even when the waves have risen and a fearful wind is blowing, the fish in the water have no trouble sleeping. They give themselves over to the waves and don’t resist them. This is what I learned from the fish. I decided not to be afraid, no matter how strong the waves were. I let the waves carry me. I made myself one with the boat, and we rose with the waves. Once I started doing that, my heart was never shaken, no matter what kind of waves I came up against.
Along with Ocean Church, True Parents created the Ocean Challenge program to give young people the leadership training the ocean provides. You can learn more about this program here.