American Family Church

4 West 43rd Street     New York, New York 10036
(212) 997-0050 Fax (212) 768-0791

July 8, 1999

TO: American Family Church members who hold a bachelor's degree
FM: Dr. Chang Shik Yang, Dr. Tyler Hendricks

RE: Enrollment at Unification Theological Seminary

Greetings from National Headquarters!

We are so blessed, brothers and sisters, because our True Parents have been
with us in America for a longer stretch that they have been in many years.
We are happy they feel at home here.

In our True Parents1 current stay here in America, True Father has turned
his attention to the Seminary. He recalls how he invested to build the
seminary in the early 70s at a great sacrifice to the rest of the church in
America.

AMERICAN HERITAGE

His love for the school was so great that he would visit there constantly.
Once he arrived with a car trunk full of fishing net materials and proceeded
to demonstrate how to fashion shallow-water nets. Once he started, he didn1t
stop. He didn1t stop for meals. He didn1t stop when it started to rain. He
didn1t stop all night. A small group of students stayed up all night working
on the nets with him. That was the foundation for the carp fishing in the
lagoon, in which many of you may have participated.

Father desires that all members in America connect with this heritage.
Therefore he has asked that all members in America who hold a bachelors
degree or its equivalent enroll at UTS this fall. In other words, Father
sees UTS as a standard feature of Unificationist life. The tradition and
education provided there unlocks a special realm of True Father1s heart.
There is, according to Dr. Shimmyo, capacity for 500 new students at UTS,
and Father would like to see us exceed that capacity this fall.

Enrollment ideally means being a full-time student on campus. However, the
seminary has a number of options for those of us for whom that is
impossible. Those options include a commuter student program (excellent for
those living in the New York area) and a correspondence course. (Please see
Dr. Shimmyo1s letter, below, for an outline of the various options.)

CHURCH LEADERS

As one example of True Father1s seriousness here, he personally directed
that the Regional Directors in America who did not have Seminary degrees
transfer from their church leadership position and enroll in the Seminary.
All the incoming Regional Directors, as well as the incoming Continental
Director and FFWPUI President, are seminary graduates.

There are many State Leaders who have not attended UTS. I am asking that
these people enroll as correspondence students until True Parents1 Birthday
next year. After that, I ask that these leaders become full-time resident
students at UTS. Please discuss the feasibility of this with your Regional
Director.

In considering who will replace these State Leaders next year, Father1s idea
is that UTS alumni should take on the church leadership. True Father was
inspired by the spirit of the 250 UTS alumni who attended his three-day
workshop last month, and he is confident that you will make excellent State
Leaders. While many UTS grads already are in church leadership positions,
may are not, and we encourage alumni to prayerfully consider your calling
for the church life.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

To make a transition to student life is most challenging for people in
mid-life. But I expect that everyone will sincerely do his or her best. In
particular, I ask that those members under thirty years old who have not
started their family life make plans to begin full-time student life on
campus according to Father1s plan. I would like to share a letter I received
from Dr. Theodore Shimmyo, President of UTS, concerning the methods by which
we can respond to Father1s inspiration.

"Given Father's strong direction that all college degree holders in America
attend UTS right away, I want to explain that we at UTS can offer our two
degree programs (M.R.E. and M.Div.) with the flexibility which members need
in order to complete their education with minimum disruption to their lives.
 We are concerned that some members avoid enrolling in UTS because they
think in absolute terms that it will require uprooting themselves and their
families for 2 or 3 years.  It is true that most students earn more than
half of their credits while in residence.  However, there are ways for a
resourceful student to complete the program while spending as little as one
10-week term on campus (the theoretical minimum residency requirement) plus
a few short visits for intensive courses.  We will work with students to
show them how they can take advantage of the flexibility of our programs.

"Consider these flexible ways in which students can earn many of the 72
credits for the M.R.E. (or 111 credits for the M.Div.) required for
graduation:

1) Up to 18 credits can be taken by Distance Learning.
2) Up to 24 credits can be transferred from similar courses taken at other
seminaries or graduate schools.
3) Up to 13 credits (16 credits for the M.Div.) can be earned through
supervised fieldwork at a local church or CARP center.
4) Term-time or intensive classes can also be offered as evening classes at
extension sites in other cities, if there is sufficient demand for them.
5) The M.Div. thesis (6 credits) can be written entirely off-campus.
6) We intend to offer 2-week intensive classes (3 credits each) during the
summer and winter breaks.  For example, by taking 6 weeks of intensive study
each year over 3 years, a student can earn 27 credits.
7) Commuter classes are offered for members in the New York area.
8) Students can frequently arrange to take a full course load while being on
campus only 3 days a week.
9) Gifted students may take 15 or even 18 credits in a single 10-week term,
provided they have enough financial resources that they can use to focus
completely on their studies.
10) Students may take leaves of absence to space their time of residence on
campus into several terms over several years.

"Furthermore, gifted members without college degrees should still be
encouraged to apply to UTS.  Some can be accepted as special students;
others can quickly earn their undergraduate degrees through various special
degree programs established by state universities around the country.

"I think that if members know the above ten flexible ways, they will find it
much easier to enroll in UTS than expected.  So, I want to suggest that
these ten ways should immediately be sent out to all the college degree
holders in America.

"Again, thank you very much for your heart and desire to work together.
 People at UTS, too, are willing to work together with you to save this
nation.

"Sincerely Yours, ITPN,

"Theodore Shimmyo"

ETERNAL CONNECTION

The UTS registrar, Gillian Corcoran, has sent enrollment and correspondence
course information to all church centers. I hope that all members can
appreciate the value of God and True Parents1 investment in UTS, their
vision for the Unificationist theological endeavor, and their love for
America.

Recently, True Parents convened a three-day workshop for UTS alumni at East
Garden, which they personally led. Through that experience there was a big
exchange of love and heart between the mostly American alumni and our True
Parents. This gave Father so much hope for America and it helped us to
connect more deeply with our Parents. Father wants everyone to have this
great foundation. It is up to us to make the seminary experience a shining
light that will illuminate our lives, our church, our nation, world and
cosmos.

Thank you for your concern and effort in this and all aspect of the path of
heaven,

In True Parents1 Love,

Dr. Chang Shik Yang    Dr. Tyler Hendricks