30th Anniversary of WFWP and a Bridge of Peace between Austria, Hungary and Slovakia (WFWP Slovensko)

Written by: Ľubica Magnusson

A joint program was organized by three WFWP chapters – Slovakia, Austria and Hungary on May 28, 2022 in Bratislava, Slovakia. The program was dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of WFWP and the Bridge of Peace between Austria, Hungary and Slovakia.

The event in the afternoon took place in the beautiful new Peace Ambassy of Bratislava. Mrs. Katsuyo Bendzsa, WFWP President from Hungary, had a welcoming address.
It was followed by the presentation of the President of WFWP Slovakia, Mrs. Ľubica Magnússon about the roots of WFWP founded by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late
husband Rev. Sun Myung Moon and about the life and accomplishments of Mother Moon. Renate Amesbauer, WFWP President from Austria, spoke then about the UN dimension of WFWP activity in Vienna. After that, we celebrated WFWP’s 30th Anniversary by cutting anniversary cakes prepared and decorated beautifully by Viktoria Savčenko from Slovakia.

The Bridge of Peace ceremony in the second part of the program was dedicated to peace in all of Europe. Slovak and Hungarian songs were sung by our volunteers, Miriam Alexy, Dorota Šimeková and the whole Hungarian team as well as the poem written by an Austrian brother helped to prepare the atmosphere. Dr. Maria Riehl explained the meaning of the Bridge of Peace and the importance of reconciliation to heal the wounds of history, in order to move forward to lasting peace in the future.

17 triplets were made with one woman from each country and two more couples. Also, 2 triplets of men joined together after some encouragement from the ladies! Everyone was moved and excited about new sisters and brothers and many found a deep meaning in why they had come together with those two people in their group.

As the conclusion of the ceremony, we sang the song “Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me…” with a prayerful heart - two times while holding each other’s hands, thinking and praying especially for peace in Europe established again! It was a wonderful ceremony, a day which was blessed with good weather and was filled with excitement when all the participants were pleased. We pray for the hope that our neighboring countries will continue to be connected with good exchanges and have a relationship centered on true love.

We would like to express our gratitude to the WFWP Slovak team for inviting us at this time
for the program in Bratislava.