American Family Church
4 West 43rd Street New York, New York 10036
(212) 997-0050 Fax (212) 768-0791
Dear Church Leaders and all parents of high school age children,
I strongly support the STF program, for reasons obvious to us all. Our U-Youth need to meet God personally and the best place to do so is on the frontline of team witnessing, fundraising, prayer and study.
I think that STF should be referred to as Standard Task Force. This is because True Parents expect that all blessed children will participate in STF after finishing high school. I strongly encourage church leaders to talk with the parents in your church, and parents to talk with your children about True Parents1 expectation in this area.
I have heard nothing but positive testimonies from the young people on STF. Thus far, all those who joined completed the program with flying colors. In addition, these young people have a good impact on our local church life. STF members are at the core of the PLA activism, which is having such success for God and America, and they bring in new members through witnessing and teaching. STF is the best foundation for our young people to receive and make the most of the matching and blessing.
We owe a debt of gratitude and appreciation to Jin Hun Nim for creating the STF. It was not created in Korea or Japan, where the first wave of U-Youth passed through their late teens and twenties. A member of the True Family created it in America. But it is the hope for our church/federation throughout the world.
Time does not stand still. No religion, no culture, can rest on its laurels. This is true in particular for new groups attempting to establish themselves in an established culture. The culture clash takes place in the minds of the offspring. Some groups withdraw into isolation. But even the Amish, the most withdrawn of groups, are now having serious alcohol and vandalism problems with their teenagers. We are not going into isolation. Therefore we need to equip our youth with a deep faith based upon religious experience. In our offspring will our tradition be renewed naturally. It will take shape in their lives as they take True Parents' movement into the future.
Within two years the blessed families of our American church will have approximately 700 young men and women graduating from high school. It is essential that we expand and solidify STF throughout the nation now, before these young people hit the scene. This is of the highest priority for our church.
I ask that each region have your membership database include separate records for members of all ages. There will be increased need for the production of lists of young people as they move through high school. If you include the birth date of the young person, you can easily print out a list of all upcoming high school graduates.
Please encourage all Unification parents and youth to participate in STF. The following four-page document was prepared by the STF staff to provide you the basic information. We sent this out a week ago and are re-sending it now.
To sign up for the STF or get more details, call Irina or Mo Sook at the World CARP office (212) 382-2402 ext 200 (fax 382-2005).
I enclose a registration form for the PLA Training Workshop. I encourage each Region to send at least one member to this workshop.
World CARP Special Task Force Program
The World CARP Special Task Force (STF) has become a proud tradition of the Unification Movement. Through the STF, the Second Generation makes a precious collective offering each year to our True Parents. By following the example of True Parents' tradition of public service, the STF is continuously creating a heavenly history.
The following is a brief introduction to The STF program.
Goals for participants of STF:
1) Inherit the foundation of parents and the tradition of True Parents
2) Prepare for a life of public service through "frontline" experience
3) Establish a strong foundation for a successful Blessing
History!
"STF" stands for Special Task Force. The first STF program was begun in 1994 by Jin Hun Nim and was quickly endorsed by True Parents. STF combines the activities of fundraising, witnessing, Divine Principle study and teaching, campus programs, Pure Love Alliance educational programs and rallies, outings and True Parents' speech tour preparation responsibilities. It was designed for young CARP members and invited Second Generation participation.
From 1994 to 1999 the number of Second Generation participants has doubled every year. In the 1998/99 year, over 40 Second Generation participated in the STF program. STF members have taken major roles in the development of the Pure Love Alliance in the past 4 years including the launching of the 1997, 1998 and 1999 PLA tours and the breakthrough in public school purity education in Chicago and other places.
Scheduling!
The program of the STF is designed to engage in activities that not only train participants for their own growth, but also support True Parents and the Providence directly. As the Providence is constantly changing and developing, the schedule needs to remain flexible in order to respond properly to its needs.
Developing the ability to re-focus and re-determine according to a providential need is training in itself. Therefore, each year of the STF offers exciting new possibilities for the participants. Certainly, the schedule for the providential year of 2000 will be different from all past years for the STF.
Time Period!
The STF programs last for one or two years, but not longer than two years. Participants usually join the STF right after high school or after their first year of college. After a year of challenges in building a personal relationship with God and learning what it means to live the Divine Principle, many STF members opt to continue for a second year.
The STF year usually runs from the beginning of September with a kick off workshop to the end of July or the conclusion of the annual Pure Love Alliance Tour.
For those continuing a second year and those who are preparing for a first year, there may be a transitional program during August. For example, fishing/witnessing programs are being held this year in the Gloucester / Boston area. It is strongly recommended that once STF members join the program, they continue uninterrupted until the end of the year.
Location!
Los Angeles and Chicago have hosted the main STF programs over the last 5 years. However, we will remain flexible as to location especially with the development of Pure Love education and the possible need for young PLA educators in various parts of the country.
Activities!
The purpose of every organized activity in the STF program is for members to meet God through practicing Divine Principle. Many blessed children have testified to having deep experiences with God through their frontline experiences where they can put the Divine Principle they have been taught into practice. All STF activities are meant to challenge their ability to consistently practice spiritual principles as the method to personally meet the living God.
Workshop: The STF year usually begins with a 3 or 4 day workshop. The purpose of the workshop is to:
1) Clarify the purpose of the STF
2) Clarify participants1 purpose and goal for joining the program
3) Clarify the rules of the program
4) Allow participants time to build relationships with one another
5) Allow participants time to build relationships with the staff
6) Teach basic Divine Principle lectures about the purpose of life and goal setting
7) Prepare for their first mission
Fundraising:
STF members usually start the program with a 21 or 40 day fundraising condition right after the kick off workshop. Although many STF participants had not had any prior experience with fundraising, almost all members testified later that through fundraising they experienced the most potent and meaningful education in developing themselves and building a genuine relationship with God. As True Father taught, fundraising is the foundation for all other restoration activities.
Education:
Divine Principle, Father's words and Hoon Dok Hae are a daily part of the fundraising and overall STF experience.
Throughout the year, members will be challenged to speak publicly and teach the Divine Principle.
Internal guidance through morning service, workshop lectures and relationships with STF staff will spiritually support members in striving for their personal and public goals.
Adherence to public schedules and corresponding "public" attitudes are stressed both on fundraising teams and in STF centers.
Witnessing:
In addition to doing traditional witnessing, Second Generation STF1ers also reach out to younger Second Generation children, sharing with them experiences of God, True Parents and Divine Principle. It is common for STF members to staff locally organized Second Generation workshops for high school or middle school students.
Campus or street witnessing is usually pursued by particularly desirous first year participants or second year participants.
God's Day workshop!
Traditionally, a one-week ski workshop is held over True God's Day in Boulder, Colorado. This workshop has a strong emphasis on education as many of the STF members have a much deeper foundation to receive Divine Principle after their experiences with public work. There is usually an invitation to blessed children from around the nation for this workshop and separate education offered for them, taught by STF graduates.
Leadership!
All participants are encouraged to become models for their younger brothers and sisters and literally guide them as loving elder brothers and sistersdo.
It is one of the goals of the STF program to have the participants leading all the programs and activities by the close of the year. In the event that members would stay for a second year, they would initiate and create the following year's programs themselves.
Pure Love Alliance!
STF members participate in almost all PLA activities. STF members manned, coordinated and led a great part of the 1999 PLA "Pure Love" National Tour. STF members will teach the Pure Love abstinence education curriculum in Chicago and other cities' schools this fall. STF members participated in the writing of the curriculum itself.
The conclusion of the STF year traditionally culminates in the PLA national or international tour.
O Yes: Tuition!
The tuition fee is $200 per month. An STF candidate who participates in the most recent PLA tour prior to joining STF will receive a one-month tuition fee waiver. Tuition fee is paid by semester (1st: September - January, 2nd: February - July) and is due by the end of the first month of each semester (September 30 and February 29).
What to bring! Bare necessities only!
... Clothes for all seasons.
Sleeping bag
Divine Principle
God's Will and the World are the basic texts needed. Any other desired Unification publications are also encouraged.
A minimal amount of money for extra clothes, stamps, phone cards, birthday cards etc.
Don't bring anything that will distract from building relationships with people, staff and God and cause undue temptation such as: video games,CD players, walkmans, an excess of cash, etc. STF is also training in humility and thrift.
Finally, all parents have a natural concern for their children's education. STF graduates report that they feel much better prepared for the strains of university life after they have the spiritual foundation of one or two years of public service through the STF.
Pure Love Alliance
305 Madison Ave, PMB 1166, New York, NY 10165
Tel (212) 382-1634
pureall@aol.com
Fax (212) 382-2005 www.purelove.org
The PLA Training Workshop
August 21 - 22, 1999
Chicago, Illinois
You are invited to PLA Training Workshop to
* learn basic techniques to put together successful rallies and marches, and attract local media coverage;
* review the new, updated version of the CLUE 2000 (Creating Love Uplifting Esteem) curriculum;
* discover the most effective approaches for introducing the CLUE 2000 curriculum to the public schools in your local area;
* learn methods of obtaining financial support from the state and private funds (sample grant proposals will be given)
The Application Form
Name: _________________________________________________________________
Title: __________________________________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________________
City____________________________ State: _________________ Zip: ____________
Phone: (h) _____________________________ (w)___________________________
_
Fax: ___________________________________ email: __________________________
Registration fee: $150
It includes accommodation, meals, and educational materials.
Payment method:
__ Check payable to Pure Love Alliance,
__ Credit card: #__________________________Exp. Date ____________
__ Cash
Signature_____________________________________________________
Registration begins on August 20th at 5 pm.
Please fax your application forms to (773) 285-2431.
If you have any questions, please contact Yeqing Li at (773) 624-0752
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