Why the American Family Matters to the World By Rev. Demian Dunkley
Peace Starts With Me choir
By Rev. Demian Dunkley
The longer I live outside America, the more convinced I become that the world still looks to us for hope.
I recently returned after three years of service in Southeast Asia, and I still remember my first home visit to a village in Cambodia.
We left Phnom Penh before sunrise and drove for hours along dusty roads. The farther we traveled, the simpler life became. We had come to visit a family who had recently received the Marriage Blessing through Family Federation in a large stadium ceremony, much like the one held at Madison Square Garden in 1982.
They were regarded as leaders of their village. Their home stood among raised wooden bungalows, palm trees, and banana plants. Chickens greeted us at the gate before the couple welcomed us warmly inside.
The room was humble. As we gathered around their table, I asked the interpreter what we planned to discuss. She wasn’t sure. Then the couple smiled, disappeared into another room, and returned carrying a photo album. For the next hour they shared nothing but photographs and stories from their Marriage Blessing.
They weren’t even members of our church. Yet they spoke with joy about how the Blessing had changed their marriage. The husband had become more devoted to his family. He had cut back on drinking. Their relationship had become stronger. Their children had noticed. Their neighbors had noticed. Soon other couples from their village and nearby villages were asking if they too could receive the Marriage Blessing.
Rev. Demian Dunkley
That visit has stayed with me ever since. More than anything, I remember their gratitude.
Throughout Asia I met people who possessed far less than most Americans take for granted. Their homes were simple. Their opportunities were limited. Yet many carried a joy and gratitude that was impossible to ignore.
I also found that many still looked to America with hope. Sometimes that hope came through admiration. Sometimes through criticism. Beneath both was the same belief. America still matters. Not because we are perfect, but because we still have the capacity to become a nation where people from every background can live in freedom, build a life, raise a family, and contribute to something greater than themselves.
That is also why I love New York City. Having spent much of my life living between cultures, New York feels like the one place where the world gathers onto a single city block. You hear different languages. You encounter different faiths. You meet families who arrived yesterday alongside families who have been here for generations.
Over the years, New Yorkers have shown extraordinary generosity to Family Federation. Pastors, gospel artists, choirs, congregations, volunteers, and community leaders have prayed with us, stood beside us, and shared their gifts to help bring our “Peace Starts With Me” gatherings to life.
I remain deeply grateful for that fellowship. Those friendships taught me something simple. Trust grows when people work together. Worship together. Serve together. And slowly begin to see one another as family.
That conviction is why I have dedicated my life to Family Federation. I was never drawn to the idea of building another denomination. What captured my heart was the vision of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Mrs. Moon, who believe it is not only possible, but inevitable for humanity to live in peace as one family.
The family is the one institution God Himself created. It is where we first learn trust. Responsibility. Sacrifice. Forgiveness. Love. It is where we first discover that another person’s life matters as much as our own.
Every family has a different story. Some flourish. Some struggle. Some are healing. Yet it is within that circle of trusted relationships that we first become who we are.
However, families cannot flourish alone. They need neighbors who know their names. Older couples willing to encourage younger ones. Friends who remain present during difficult seasons. Children need places where they are known. Parents need communities where they can ask for help. Families need places where people pray together, celebrate together, grieve together, and grow together.
That is how I have always understood the purpose of the church. Not as an institution competing for members, but as a movement of people strengthening the one institution God Himself created: the family.
Opening of National Youth Campus
When families become stronger, communities become stronger. When communities become stronger, nations become stronger. Peace between nations begins long before diplomacy. It begins in homes. It begins in neighborhoods. It begins wherever people learn to live for someone beyond themselves.
This is the vision that drew me to Family Federation. From the beginning, our movement has sought to bring together people across race, religion, nationality, and culture. International and intercultural families were always a core aspect of that vision, as a way to speed up the healing of humanity.
America has a unique role in that work because the world is already here. Our greatest strength is not our economy. It is our capacity to become one people without surrendering our differences. To build communities where every family has the opportunity to flourish.
Whether we realize it or not, others are watching. America is seen as an older sibling in the human family. Our freedom, our creativity, and our abundance carry responsibility. When our gifts can strengthen our families in America, our nation will truly be the hope for the world.
I often think back to that family in Cambodia. One stronger marriage changed a home. One home changed the atmosphere of a village. Several other families wanted what they saw.
That is how lasting change has always worked and that is why the American family still matters to the world.
