True Parents in America
all photos submitted by F. Famularo
by Franco Famularo
Sept. 16, 1977:
True Parents stay overnight, Holiday Inn, Rochester, MN
True Parents watch Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers play American football on television (Monday Night Football); learn about game and rules from security staff.
True Father had said to security guard Mike McDevitt, “Mike, we want to take a trip across the country.” With confidence, Michael replied, “When and where would you like to go?”—ready to begin planning the route and schedule.
“In an hour,” True Father replied.
And so, on Friday, September 16, 1977, within one hour, Michael, Alan Cayton (another security guard), and Colonel Han set out with True Parents in one vehicle. Their journey began with a first stop in upstate New York, then stopping in Toronto, Canada, on to Chicago and eventually to Minnesota. When they stopped for the night at a Holiday Inn in Rochester near the Mayo Clinic, True Parents stayed in one room while their traveling companions took another.
Michael recalls that around 11:00 p.m., there was a knock on their door. True Mother called out quietly, “Mike, Father is calling you, we are watching American football on TV… Can you come explain the game to us?”
Mike later recalls, “So here I was with True Parents, we were sitting on the end of their bed in the hotel room watching the NFL game on TV. I was explaining every nuance about every position and what was unfolding on each play. Father and Mother knew well of my background as a college football player when I met the church in 1972. Through the years, Father and Mother grew to love American football. I shall never forget that evening in Minnesota.”
This is the simple story Mike McDevitt remembered regarding this Sept. 16, 1977
Journal Entry
This small memory reminds us how deeply blessed we are. Many Americans spent significant time with True Parents, sharing not only major events and public missions, but also quiet, personal moments. Now we are entrusted with these stories—simple and human—to share how we lived, worked, struggled, played, and celebrated alongside Them.
Where were you?
Where were They?
As we turn the pages of True Parents in America, we remember not only the great campaigns and public speeches, but also the quiet, everyday moments—learning, loving, and laughing together—as True Parents came to understand their children in America in order to share with our nation(s) the great truth of God’s Providence. These are the stories only we can tell.
True Parents in America: A Chronology, 1965-2025 is a joint project of the Sunhak Institute of History USA, the Hyo Jeong East Garden Museum, and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The chronology documents True Parents’ day-to-day activities in the United States over a span of 60 years from True Father’s first visit in February 1965 through True Mother’s visit to New York and Las Vegas in January 2025.
The scope of True Parents’ work in America is immense but includes three major emphases. First and foremost, True Parents proclaimed God’s Word. The chronology includes every recorded sermon, every speech delivered by True Parents during public speaking tours, all recorded commentaries delivered as part of daily Hoon Dok Hae gatherings for reading and study, all proclamations and all conference addresses. Second, True Parents exercised spiritual and pastoral leadership. The chronology documents the establishment of holy grounds, holy marriage blessings officiated by True Parents, holy day celebrations, Director and Leader Meetings, workshops and training sessions in which True Parents participated, visits to centers in the field, prayer conditions, fishing conditions and tournaments, declarations of milestones in the providence and their initiation of new movement traditions. Third, True Parents pursued initiatives consistent with their vision of social and cultural transformation. The chronology documents their work with scientists, religious leaders, civic officials, academics, artists, journalists and others, their establishment of organizations and federations dedicated to world peace, and their development of economic enterprises dedicated to technological equalization and alleviation of world hunger. In addition, True Parents endured public opposition and prosecution, even persecution, as recorded in this chronology.
Sources used for this chronology include Unification Church/Family Federation periodicals, books, websites, speech collections, online and print chronologies, travel and visitor records, personal journals, eyewitness accounts, and non-Unification materials, i.e., books, investigative reports and newspaper accounts. Specific citations for each entry in the chronology will be listed in an online source document.
— Michael L. Mickler, Chair of the True Parents in America: A Chronology, 1965-2025 Editorial Committee
7x10
Hardcover
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