Contributed by Rev. David Kasbow
Our Metro Detroit Family Church hosted John Abelseth, BFM representative and head of the BFM in Canada, to present the Matching Preparation Seminar on Saturday, September 15 and Matching Supporter Training on the following day, September 16. Detroit was his first stop on his second tour of ten cities for this year.
The 32 participants for the Matching Preparation Seminar on Saturday included both first and second generation members. To help our Japanese members really catch the details of the content, we asked one of our young members to translate for them.
Based on his years of experience in supporting families in the matching process, and having matched and Blessed five of his own children, he had a wealth of information to share. We appreciated his fine ability in lecturing and his patience in explaining the many details of the many types of situations that may come up in the matching process.
The testimonies of our members were also very helpful. We happen to have a matching and Blessing between two families in our community. They shared together how they navigated the process. We also had one young man who just returned from Korea share his experience of the whole process. In addition, one couple shared on their experience with an international match.
A side benefit of the workshop was that the event brought together our community to share. It really brought us to a new level.
On Sunday, we continued after service and after lunch with a Matching Supporter Training. Seven families took part in the training. It was very valuable to help us know the “do’s” and “don’t’s” of supporting families through the process. One of the most moving moments was when the new Matching Supporters viewed some of the restricted candidate profiles. It reminded us of how precious our young people are. To see them put their trust in True Mother and our church for their future marriages was quite moving. Now we have a team of seven families who can help others in our community and beyond in the process. As John said, these families are the largest volunteer group we have in the church. It’s a wonderful public service.
