Dear All,

After two years of intensive efforts, Barrytown College of Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) has finally been approved by the New York Board of Regents, accredited by the Middle States Commission for Higher Education and is welcoming applications from prospective students for its first class entering in the Fall of 2013, according to Barrytown College President Dr. Richard A. Panzer.

Inspired by the Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon’s desire to educate youth and to become self-sufficient by doing it, a young Unificationist couple, Jon and Shinny Jones, created a children’s book and launched their project via Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects.

Ms. Geun Hye Park, often tagged by Korean detractors as “the dictator’s daughter,” has had the last laugh. She was elected president of South Korea on December19, 2012 Park led with 51.6 percent, while her rival, Moon Jae-in, was on 48 percent, according to the National Election Commission of South Korea.

North Korea’s successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on December 12, 2012 hit its target: strengthening Kim Jong Un’s standing as a leader in the communist country and alarming the world.

Sometimes life moves so fast: the year 2012 has been an eventful one for Unificationists and for the world, and we are still in the midst of change. As the year comes to a close, we look forward to a new year and Foundation Day – the start of a historical new era. The time has come to prepare for this day and celebrate together.

The Unification Church in Korea is calling for candidates to apply to the newly created Universal Peace (UPA) by December 27, 2012.

One inheritance out of the human agricultural beginnings is the harvest festival. People gather to celebrate the earth’s abundant provision of the nutrients essential to physical health. I’d like to offer a brief reflection on the content of the harvest festival in two cultures, one in the East — Korea, called Chuseok, and one in the West — the United States, called “Thanksgiving.” At the outset, I remind the reader that as an American, I am far more familiar with Thanksgiving than with Chuseok.