University Daily Kansan Tuesday, May 8, 1979 7 Local Moonies struggle to build following By LAURIE WOLKEY Staff Reporter When I knocked on the door, I had no idea of what to expect. The two-story house certainly didn't look like a church and, from where I could see all the other houses on Rhode Island Street. The house was the headquarters of the local Unification Church and stories of the Moines' strange religious activities flashed through my mind as I stood on the doorstep. My knock was answered by a remarkably "normal" looking woman. I entered cautiously and told her to off my shoes and make myself comfortable. I reluctantly placed my shoes in the hallway and wandered around a tiny kitchen that smelled of fish. I was then greeted by Jim Stephens, the director of the local Unification Church and Margaret Karrick, a young woman with a broad smile and braces on her teeth. These three made up the total of the Unification "family" in Lawrence. MARGARET TOOK my coat and disappeared into another room and Jim went into the kitchen to help Donna with dinner. I took this chance to peek in the various rooms, looking for clues to the bizarre cult that had been constructed. Still, the place did not look like the student apartments and houses I was accustomed to. In a room off the kitchen, the only piece of furniture was a long board set up on cement blocks about a foot off the floor. The board was covered by a tablecloth and for dins Next to that was a very small room with no furniture, but with a long blackboard on one wall and a small picture of the Reverend W. H. Johnson in it. Unification movement, on the opposite wall. I THEN ENTERED the living room, which was furnished with tables of glass and marble and sofas of crushed velvet, giving it an appearance of wealth. While I stood gawking at the room, Margaret came in and asked me to sit down. "WHAT'S YOUR astrological sign?" she asked. Margaret continued asking me questions, pausing after each one of my answers to grin at me, until Donna called from the kitchen. I followed Margaret to the kitchen table. We sat on the floor and Jim sat at the head of the table. Margaret handed me a large song book and Jim led us in singing cheerful tunes such as "You've Got a Friend" and "He's My Brother". In later conversation, Jim told me the story of how one meal was to show the value of doing things together in a good atmosphere." According to a recently published book, "All God's Children," by Carroll Stoneer and Jo Anne Parker, "When the young recruit arrives at the Moine house, he often won't know that it's a part of the Unification Church and his new friends may not tell him about it." The same attention and attention and share dinner with him, followed by music, singing and a lecture." MY HOSTS seemed pleased at having a dinner guest. It occurred to me then that not only was the core Monoch in Lawrence very small but it had attracted even fewer But Jim, who helped move the church from Kansas City, Kan., to Lawrence in 1978, said he was not surprised by the slow growth of the local church. "Compared to the way the movement goes, I don't think it's slow here. Bad publicity always makes the progress slow at first," he said. The Stoner and Parker study said, "The group admits it is in the growth stage, devoting nearly all its energy to fundraising and working to get new members. In the fall of 1975, it was reported that Moon's church had communal living centers set up in 120 American cities and recruiting teams covering 150 college campuses." DURING THE DINNER, Jim asked me casually questions about my background, my education and interests. The conversation eventually turned around to their own backgrounds and I discovered that the three "family" members, as they call themselves, had little in common except their belief in the Rev. Moon. Donna, 20, had grown up in a wealthy suburb of Kansas City, Kan., and had met the other Moones on campaigned for her. She then previouly interested in joining the church and only agreed to a meeting with them out of curiosity. Donna moved to an orientation center where KU classes part time. Jim graduated from Northwestern KUAC to review by-laws The University of Kansas Athletic Corporation board will meet next week to discuss changes in its by-laws after a men's and women's athletic departments. Del Brinkman, chairman of the KUAC University with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and management sciences. He said he met members of the Unification Church during a trip to California and was immediately impressed by the Unification theology. board, said recently that the only changes in the by-laws would be technical ones to acce- Under the merger, Bob Marcum, men's athletic direction, will be director of men and women's athletics, but he will no longer be a member of the board. Marian Washington, women's athletic director, will be associate director. "IT ANSWERED all the questions that other religions don't 'answer'," he said. Margaret, the newest member of the Lawrence church, said she had joined the unification of the church after a job interview. Margaret, who moved to Lawrence about four months ago, said she was initially attracted to the Unification movement by the friendliness of Margaret. According to the Stoneer and Parker study, "Recruits rarely decide to become Moonies. They just evolve into Moones by putting off the decision." THE STUDY said that Unification recruiters understand and take advantage of their own skills. "Recruiters are told to watch on the streets and campuses for the lonely. Several former members say they knew the backpack and the guitar case were symbols of rodiness and therefore those carrying it were targeted for recruitment, the study said. Rabbi Maurice Davis, of the Westchester Jewish Community Center, White Plains, N.Y., profiled a cult member as "Uppermost Creator" in a book with someone a great hunger for peer approval. Someone for whom the world is a little too big, such as a college freshman away from home for the first time, or a teenager who wants to enter a profession he never really wanted." But the study indicates there are certain traits that characterize people who turn to religion. However, when I asked Jim about the local recruitment methods, he denied that members sought out the lonely or disturbed as new recruits to the church. If this were the case, I asked him, why did recruiters on the KU campus last year approach only persons who were sitting alone in Wescoe cafeteria? "I personally don't go after lonely people. We want friendly and intelligent people to have fun, be creative and think." JMI SAID the only reason members preferred approaching one person at a time was that it was easier to talk to one person than to a group of people. After we had finished a tasty dinner, Donna cleared the table and Jim offered me coffee. Then, without explanation, Jim and Margaret began setting out folding chairs in the small, empty room next to the dining room. Jim then proceeded to give the three of us a presentation on "The Dawn of Creation." He drew detailed illustrations of the theories on the blackboard. We all shuffled into the room and Jim stood up in front of the blackboard. Again I was given a song book and had to raise my voice with theirs. had heard this lecture many times but when he saw them both seemed engrossed in him. In a presentation The lecture, which lasted about 30 minutes, was based on God's creation of life. The Rev. Moon's name was never mentioned. OF COURSE, MARGARET and Donna Stoner and Parker said a new recruit often was unaware that the church was not a place of worship. "During introductory lectures we've attended, the name of Reverend Moon is never uttered. The recruit only knows that he's a met bunch of very nice kids, he likes them, they seem to like him and he has been lonely lately," they said. In a later conversation, Jim said the major theological difference between Unification principles and Christianity was that "we believe that Reverend Moon is a chosen prophet because of the teachings themselves." JIM STRESSED that the Unification Church was not a cult that followed one man and could not accurately be classified as a personality cult. "It is a religious reformation movement, based on a substantial theological docu- mentary." None of the three local members have However, dim sime, he did not feel guilty about paying his bills with other peoples' hands. even a part-time job, they said. Jim said their rent, annual expenses and other expenses from fund raising have been "We are full-time missionaries. People contribute because they want to," he said. represent a cross-section of the national character, or lack of character. This usually determines the sort of men God puts in power over the people of the nation. β€” We read in Psalm 75.6.7 β€œFOR PROMOTION COMETH NOTHEN FROM THE GOUGH, BUT GOD IS THE JUDGE; PUTTET DOWN ONE, AND SETTETH UP ANOTHER.” While we sat drinking coffee, the three members explained that many of the accusations against the Unification Church and its members were false. ACCORDING TO a recent television interview of Rabbi James Rubin, a member of the American Jewish Committee, "The Unification Church tells members that their natural parents are agents of Satan and that Rev. Moon is the new parent." However, local members denied that the church encouraged members to abandon their family or friends, but added that some of those could be traumatic for a new member. "I usually call new members and tell them about the stress they will encounter from family and friends. I encourage them to meet it on head and explain their commitment. It can be painful for new members." Jim said. perienced resentment and discouragement from their families when they joined the church. But they said they still visited their parents and loved them the remnants of the positive aspects of the church. "All ye that fear God, give audience"; Are we not as a man who has been called "Lord God Our Maker"? A ragged argument is about all of our Commandments? Crime is coming in like a food, and to drown us! There is greatrage against God's Commandments to HONOR THEM. Why do you have no respect for EVERY MAN, the POSSESSIONS, THE GOOD NAME, AND TO COVET NOTHING that BELONGS TO YOUR SACRED HEART?" According to local members, the positive aspects of the church are numerous. Jim said none of the Unification members used drugs and the divorce rate among members is high. All three members said they had ex- THE DIVORCE RATE is low, Jim said, because the recommended age for marriage among members was 24 for women and 26 for men. Jim also said that, contrary to reports from Unification investigators, members did not attempt to confine new recruits to the church. According to the Stoner and Parker study, members and ex-members of the Unification Church disagree about the merits of the movement. "Almost without exception," the study said, "members of the Unification Church claim that finding the Rev. Moon was the single most important event in their lives. Also without exception, former members say they were deceived and duped into contributing to one of the biggest con jobs in history." Jesus Christ came down from heaven and lived thirty three years on earth, obeying God's Law perfectly. His life of perfect obedience so enraged the kings, rulers, and people that they gathered together against him. They formed a circle around The Cross β€” one of the cruelest deaths ever devised! The Psalm warns the ragers of the "laughter and derision" of The Almighty at their foly, and then in mercy invites them to submit to God's King and be blessed. The psalm declares: "When the WHEEK is WEAKNED but DILLED A LITTLE!" Men and women who have the true "ear of the Lord" in their hearts, and are righteous in His sight, do more to protect a people, and procure peace and blessing to a throne, than all their great statesmen, soldiers, and armamented men. You must SO PHINEY YOUR FATHER SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN! "WHY DO THE HEATHEN RAGE?" Psalms 2:1 and Acts 4:25 Our nation is in open rebellion against 'THE LORD GOD MOMOIPENTOT, KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS, AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND EVER. WE SHALL REIGN FOREVER and EVER. We shall rejoin the past three or four decades should not bear all the blame, for they probably The above question is the opening words of the Second Palm of God's Almighty Book, The Bible, making Himself known to man. The sum of the Palm adds up in the first two chapters, because Jesus and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who don't like God and His Commandments, rage against Him and His Annotated, Jesus and the people of the earth who doesn't like God and his Commandments, rage against Him P. O. BOX 405 DECATUR, GEORGIA 30031 STUDENTS disconnect your cable and/or HBO service to avoid unnecessary charges! Call today for an appointment at 841-2100 The LAWRENCE OPERA HOUSE wishes to Thank Everyone for their patronage this year. Also Good Luck Graduates! Thanks to all the fine bands who have performed during the year.