Inside the Cheon Won Gung

Hyojeong Youth Academy

By Bogdan Pammer

On my last day in Korea (Feb 24, 24), we had the chance to visit the Cheon Won Gung. With about 30 brothers and sisters, I could see the finished Cheon Il Sanctum and pray there. This time, we couldn’t take pictures. But we could take a picture of us marveling at the place.

What are the Cheon Won Gung and the Cheon Il Sanctum? And why do they matter to True Mother?

Nine years ago

The first time I heard about the big new building was in 2015 when True Mother visited Europe for the first time after True Father’s Seonghwa. True Mother met with the Second Generation of Europe to kick off the Cranes Club here.

That meeting was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my life. Many conditions (e.g., 8-hour night prayer walks through Vienna) went into preparing it. We had to wrestle with the IHQ about the program to ensure it served its prime purpose: True Mother meeting the youth of Europe as directly as possible.

 It was a magic moment. When it was True Mother’s turn to speak, instead of walking to the stage, she grabbed the microphone and poured out her heart. She talked about the Heavenly Parent, pure water, and her sons Hyo-jin Nim and Heung-jin Nim. And then she said…

“I am building the [Cheon Won Gung] to fulfill that desire [a place where people learn about True Parents]. It will have the most advanced architecture and a cutting-edge design. People will forever come and enjoy it; they will be able to see it precisely as it is for the next one thousand or even two thousand years. I will use this masterpiece to introduce True Parents to the world.

That is possible with Korean artistry. How? Paintings need restoration as time goes by. However, Korea has na jeon chil gi [a jewelry box]. They paint it in various colors, lacquer it, and mother-of-pearl inlay. The lacquer is permanent, lasting a long time. Only Asian cultures have it, only Korea and Japan, but it started in Korea. If we build a masterpiece of that type, many artists and anyone curious will come to see it. I am making a place that people cannot help but visit.

Could you help me? Please develop your talents and expertise. Protect your purity. Grow up healthy and beautiful. Become the beautiful fruit of our Unification culture.”

(True Mother, May 10, 2015 – read the full speech here)

A universal house of God

The Cheon Won Gung will be opened in May 2025. It will be a universal house of God. I am not entirely sure what secondary functions the building will serve. According to some plans, there will be conference rooms, etc.

The primary functions are, however, clear. At the center of the Cheon Won Gung is the Cheon Il Sanctum. Fourteen majestic mother-of-pearl lacquer paintings depict the life of true parents. It is a journey that allowed our Heavenly Parent to settle on earth.

The room has a high ceiling and a stained-glass dome at the center. The marble floor displays a beautiful flower pattern. At the center of the room is an empty space where one can stand; in front of you is a vast, white, empty wall.

A song

The same night (Feb 24, 24), Hans Campman’s composition performed by our virtual choir was shown at the vigil prayer. The thousand or so members gathered in the hall loved it.

The lyrics:

This is a Temple where God can dwell.

1st Chorus

Build a house for the Spirit of God to dwell in,
Build a house like a Temple.
Open its doors to all those who are truly seeking
for the light that can give their lives a meaning.
We will sing many songs of glory
There is silence when the Word is spoken
And from this lovely house, from this beautiful house
God’s love shines on all the world.

Verse

There’s a spirit of love and understanding
There’s a new tradition (everybody serves each other)
There’s a feeling of peace (selfish worries will cease), and our
Spirits are uniting ’round the Heav’nly Parent

2nd Chorus:

Build a House for the grace of our Creator
Build a Temple of true love
Spreading its light from the centre of the garden
Giving new life and promise of salvation.
We will sing, we will dance rejoicing
We walk in the footsteps of True Mother
And in her precious love; in this heavenly love
All the people find their home

Bridge:
Now it seems the atmosphere is changing
There’s a friendly feeling in the town
And it’s everyone’s greatest ambition
Not to let one’s neighbour down
This is a Temple where God can dwell
Children together will serve this world well

Mantra

This is a Temple where God can dwell
Children together will serve this world well.
Praise to the Mother of Heaven and Earth
We’ll see the dawning of humankind’s rebirth.

Outro

We’ll build a House, a Temple for God.

In Awe of God

And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying:
‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people I must be glorified.’”
Leviticus 10:3

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16

God is everywhere. Yet, to experience his glory and power in our lives and to be near our Heavenly Parent requires our conscious invitation, individually and globally.

(Sermon by John Bever, The Awe of God)

At one of the vigils, when praying for the entrance into Cheon Won Gung, the following happened: I unexpectedly felt something opening within my spiritual heart. It grew and grew. It was a space like a cathedral, wide, high, and deep, filled with colorful light. That’s the best I can describe it. Our hearts are majestic spaces for the limitless God to find rest and dwell.

Supporting True Mother to build that house (yep, we donated) helps me and, hopefully, others expand that space in them. So far, over four hundred second-generation members have contributed to the Cheon Won Gung construction – some small, some big.

Mother, in her own words

True Mother’s Benediction and Word at the Cheon Won Gung Dedication Ceremony

True Mother’s Prayers and Messages During January

True Mother’s Speeches