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17, 2000).
Clergy split
over controversial Moon's visit Unification leader
on 50-state tour to push unity among all faiths
Moon visit The Rev. Sun Myung Moon,
controversial leader of the Unification Church, will visit Metro
Detroit on Wednesday as part of a 50-state "We Will Stand" tour.
His visit here is the half-way point of his
tour, and falls 28 years after his last visit.
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Little Rock Baptist Church,
9000 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Why: To
encourage clergy to work across denominational and racial divides
to address the community's social problems.
Who: The speech is open to the
public.
By Kim
Kozlowski / The Detroit News As a Baptist pastor, the Rev. William Revely doesn't
agree with the theology of many faiths, including that of the Rev. Sun
Myung Moon. But that doesn't mean he can't get
behind the message of unity that the controversial leader of the
Unification Church is slated to bring to Detroit on Wednesday.
"This disagreeing with folks' theology is not
accomplishing anything," said Revely, of the Messiah the Mission Baptist
Church in northwest Detroit. "We have to find some middle ground."
Moon, 81, is on a 50-state tour promoting unity
among all people of faith so they can "rebuild the family, restore the
community, renew the nation and the world." At 6 p.m. Wednesday, he
makes his 25th stop in Detroit at Little Rock Baptist Church, where he
will speak on clergy working together beyond denomination and race to
diminish the city's ills. This is Moon's first
visit to Detroit in 28 years, and will fall on the exact anniversary of
his last visit. Known for declaring himself a
messiah and performing mass wedding ceremonies, Moon has stirred up some
controversy during his tour. In Oakland, Calif., Moon said that only
when men and women procreate are they fully human, which some
interpreted as a slam on homosexuals and women without children.
Moon also came under fire in Detroit last week by
two Baptist pastors, who incorrectly were listed as co-sponsoring his
visit. But Art Roselle, a coordinator of Moon's
visit, said the leader is coming to unite the faith community, not
divide it. "He is going to be talking about how
this is an important time in human history for breaking down barriers of
religion and nationality," Roselle said. "His belief is God is going to
restore this world through the religious leaders. If religions are
fighting, it dilutes the effort." A conference is
tentatively planned in May to continue Wednesday's discussion. It will
include faith leaders and other community pillars gathering to discuss
problems plaguing the community and solutions to address them.
News Talk
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