FFWPU Grammar Practices

This section deals with grammar rules and guidelines specific to FFWPU USA’s brand. These guidelines are used across all FFWPU USA platforms and are meant to serve the writer, copy and line editors in the creation of a deliverable in hard copy and online. Please learn the grammar style and guidelines before going forward to the other editorial menu items.

How to use this section

The arrow → means “use instead of”

Copy

Copy refers to the text in a written piece, advertisement, or any other publication.

Proper Nouns

A proper noun is a noun directly associated with an entity and primarily used to refer to that entity. This section will cover how to write the names and acronyms of the organizations associated with Family Fed, church properties, titles, as well as common grammatical errors and how to correct them.

  • Organizations

  • Places

  • Church properties

  • Positions and titles

Grammar

  • Lists

  • Modifiers

  • Numbers

  • Punctuation

  • Capitalization

  • Hyphenation

 For vocabulary, see Writers’ Guidelines.

PROPER NOUNS

Organizations

Rule of thumb: spell out and then place acronym in parentheses for first mention. Use acronym for all other references. Do not use “the” before an organization name or acronym (“The Generation Peace Academy went to Korea.”) Email info@unification.org if you know of other acronyms that are not listed here.

  • ACLC—American Clergy Leadership Conference

    • ALC—American Leadership Conference

    • AMP—Ambassadors for Peace

    • ACC—American Constitutional Committee ACLC – American Clergy Leadership Conference

    • AFC—American Freedom Coalition CARP – Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles

    • CARP—Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles

    • CAUSA—Confederation of the Associations for the Unification of the Societies of the Americas

    • CIG Missionaries—Cheon Il Guk Missionaries

    • Family Federation International

    • Family Federation for a Heavenly Korea/Japan/Europe/etc.

    • FCNWP—Federation of Continental Nations for World Peace

    • FFWPU—Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (do not use Family Federation for a Heavenly USA)

    • FEEF—Family Education and Empowerment Foundation

    • FICA—Filipino International Community of America

    • FINWP—Federation of Island Nations for World Peace

    • FPNWP—Federation of Peninsular Nations for World Peace

    • GPA—Generation Peace Academy

    • HSA-UWC—Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity

    • ICC— Interdenominational Conference for Clergy

    • ICRF—The International Coalition for Religious Freedom

    • IEF—International Educational Foundation (this mostly was in the former Soviet Union and produced Principle-based character education curricula for public schools)

    • IFWP—International Federation for World Peace (these two were originally separate)

    • IIFWP—Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (predecessor of UPF)

    • ISCP—International Summit Council for Peace

    • IOWC—International One World Crusade

    • IRFWP—Interreligious Federation for World Peace

    • IPEC—International Peace Education Center

    • IRFF—International Relief Friendship Foundation

    • KEA—Korean Evangelical Association

    • MEPI—Middle East Partnership Initiative

    • PWPA—Professors World Peace Academy

    • RYS—Religious Youth Service

    • SFP — Service for Peace

    • UTS—Unification Theological Seminary (never say Barrytown College)

    • UPF—Universal Peace Federation

    • WFWP—Women’s Federation for World Peace International

    • WFWP—Women’s Federation for World Peace

    • YFWP — Youth Federation for World Peace

    • YAYAM—Youth and Young Adult Ministry

    • YSP—Youth and Students for Peace

Places

  • Belvedere/Belvedere Church

  • BonHyang Won

  • Camp Mazumdar Retreat Center

  • Cheon Bok Gung (Unification Peace Temple)

  • Cheon Hwa Gung – West Garden, Las Vegas

  • Cheon Jeong Gung (The Peace Museum) – Officially, this translates to: “Dwelling Place of Heavenly Righteousness”. We cannot legally call it a dwelling. Never refer to it as “Peace Palace”. It can be referred to as the Peace Museum.

  • Cheong Shim Peace World Center – Stadium

  • Cheonghae Garden

  • Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center

  • CheongShim International Youth Center

  • CheonJi SunHak Won

  • CheonShim Won

  • East Garden Conference Center and Museum

  • Geomundo Ocean Cheon Jeong Gung

  • Han Nam Dong Estates in Seoul, Korea

  • Hyojeong Cheonwon or HJ Cheon Won – True Father named the holy grounds surrounding Cheongpyeong Lake Cheon Won, or “Heavenly Garden,” on January 19, 2002, the seventh anniversary of the opening of the Cheongpyeong Training Center. In 2016, True Mother added Hyojeong, or “Heart of Filial Piety,” to the name. Hyojeong, often abbreviated as “HJ,” expresses the value of cultivating a heart of filial piety for God and True Parents.

  • King Garden

  • International Peace Education Center (IPEC)

  • Manhattan Center

  • Morning Garden Retreat Center

  • New Yorker Hotel

  • North Garden

  • Paju Weonjeon

  • Pasadena House

  • Queen Garden

  • Windermere Worship Center

  • Region (never use subregion or numbers)

    • Northeast/Southeast/Midwest/Southwest/West Region

Church Properties

Only legally owned church properties can be referred to as Unification Church property. All church properties are public and should not be referred to as a dwelling of any kind for anyone.

Positions and Titles
International

  • Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, founder of Unificationism and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, co-founder of Unificationism and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Daemo-nim, True Mother's Mother, Soon-Ae Hong

  • Dr. Sun Jin Moon, Senior Vice-President, Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI), Europe and the Americas

  • Prof. Yeon Ah Moon, President, Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Korea; President of Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI) and Korea

  • Julia H. Moon, President, Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI)

  • Mrs. Young Sun Choi, President, Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) Korea  

  • Mrs. Wonju McDevitt, Chief of Staff for True Mother’s Secretariat

  • Dr. Young-Ho Yun, Secretary General of Family Federation International

  • Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Vice President of Family Federation International

  • Dr. Chang Shik Yang, Special Emissary to the Americas

  • Dr. Michael Balcomb, Regional Chairman of Family Federation Europe and Middle East

National 

  • Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, Regional Chairman, Family Federation North America

  • Rev. Demian Dunkley, President, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Rev. Demian Dunkley, Northeast Subregional Director, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (use appropriate title based on context & story)

  • Rev. Demian Dunkley, Co-pastor, Family Church of New York City

  • Rev. Richard Buessing, President of the Senior Pastors’ Association of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Rev. Ernest Patton, Southeast Subregional Director, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Rev. David Rendel, Midwest Subregional Director, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Rev. John Jackson, Southwest Subregional Director, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Rev. Larry Krishnek, West Subregional Director, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Rev. Miilhan Stephens, Secretary General of Northeast Subregion, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification

  • Dr. Thomas McDevitt, President of HJ Magnolia Foundation USA, a branch of the International HJ Magnolia Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Directors, The Washington Times

  • Dr. Ki Hoon Kim, National Co-Chairman of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC)

  • Dr. Luonne Rouse, National Co-Chairman of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC)

  • Dr. Luonne Rouse, Co-pastor, Family Church of New York City (FCNYC)

  • Archbishop Sulanch Lewis Rose, Co-President of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC)

  • Rev. Mark Abernathy, Co-President of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC)

  • Dr. Michael Jenkins, President, Universal Peace Federation (UPF) International

  • Dr. Michael Jenkins, Chairman, Universal Peace Federation (UPF) USA

  • Dr. Thomas Walsh, Chairman, Universal Peace Federation (UPF) International

  • Archbishop George Augustus Stallings, Jr., Chairman International Association for Peace and Development (IAPD)

  • Rev. Bruce Grodner, American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) National Executive Director

  • Rev. A. Curtis Farrow, President and CEO, Irving Street. Please note that any reference to him must be worded as “Emmy Award winning producer A. Curtis Farrow ...etc."

  • Bishop Jesse Edwards, Chairman, American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), NYC 

  • Rev. Tom Cutts, Chairman, American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), Atlanta

  • Ricardo De Sena, Secretary General for the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), North America

  • Hiroshi Inose, Director of Kodan USA

  • Angelika Selle, President of Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), USA

  • Katarina Connery, Vice President of Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), USA

  • Mike McDevitt, Director of the Hyojeong East Garden Museum

  • Nancy Jubb, Director of Communications, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), USA

  • Mari Curry, Director of Education, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), USA

  • Kaeleigh Moffitt, National Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (YAYAM), Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), USA

  • Jinil Fleischman, National President of the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP), Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), USA

  • Yun-A Johnson, National Director of Blessing & Family Ministry (BFM), Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), USA

  • Dr. Thomas Ward, President, Unification Theological Seminary (UTS)

  • Rev. Andrew Compton, Director of Education, International Peace Education Center (IPEC)

  • Roland Platt, Director of Generation Peace Academy (GPA)

  • Akira and Makiko Watanabe Director of the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP), Las Vegas

  • Taj Hamad, Secretary General of World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)

  • Rev. Soichiro Nakamura, long-time education director for Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), Japan

  • Rev. Masayuki Kachi, long-time Divine Principle Educator for Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), Japan

*For a full list of FFWPU USA leaders, visit familyfed.org/directory.  

GRAMMAR

Modifiers

  • Don’t use “that” needlessly

  • Use “his or her” when an individual general subject was referred to, and either “his” or “her” with recurring, specific examples. Use plural construction or recast sentence whenever possible to avoid this issue.

  • Adjectival Phrase Modifying a Noun:

    • Adjective-noun noun (high-school student, second-generation Unificationist)

    • Noun-noun noun (steak-cheese omelet)

  • Adjectival Phrase for Ages:

    • Francis, who is 21 years old…

    • Francis, a 21-year-old student…

    • Avoid starting sentences with ages (Twenty-one–year-old Francis)

Numbers

  • Spell out numbers from 1-9 (one, two, three…) – except when referring to purely numerical measures (e.g., $8.00)

  • Always spell out percent (e.g. six percent, 50 percent)

  • Use numerical symbols for two-digit numbers (10+) – except at beginning of sentences

  • When referring to two measurements in the same context use numerical digits with an en-dash (8–10) unless both are between 1 and 9 (ex: two to five)

  • Age: numerical digits with preceding and following commas (Bob, 6, is…), spell out ages from 1-9 (the four-year-old boy / my four-year-old / he was four years old).

  • Month, day, year (April 2, 2012)

  • Always writes times with : and either a.m. or p.m. (4:00 p.m. 11:27 a.m.)

  • Denote decades as 1960s, not 1960’s

  • Rule: If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other. Example: Given the budget constraints, if all 30 history students attend the four plays, then the 7 math students will be able to attend only two plays. (Note that students are represented with figures and plays are represented with words). Examples: I asked for 30 pencils for my five employees / I have 10 toes but only one nose.

  • $ – use symbol (#,@, % – NEVER USE these symbols)

  • Spell out “inches”, “feet”

  • Keep consistent dating convention (Ex: using “to” or “-”, the number alone or “_th,_nd”, “and” or “&”, etc)

  • 21-bow devotional commitment

  • a hundred, a thousand, a million (NEVER USE numerical for these, and use ‘a’ instead of ‘one’ before each)

  • 2,000-year

  • 2,000 (but 1800, 2075, 1275, 6000 couples)

  • twentieth century, twenty-first century, nineteenth century

  • 1980s, 80s (no apostrophe)

  • 430 families (= 430 couples)

Punctuation

  • ….., but……. (comma before “but,” NOT a period)

  • …..; therefore/however, …… (semi-colon before these words)

  • When starting a sentence with “So” or “Well” follow with a comma

  • Use quotation marks for chapters, course names, workshop themes

  • (:) insert colon after “…we read: …”

  • (–) insert “en dash” to connect two-part words (“a David Letterman–style of TV show”)

  • (—) insert em dash to connect thoughts & sentences

  • Use serial commas: a, b, and c

  • Major cities do not need the state (“Chicago; Las Vegas; Miami”)

  • Small towns/cities need states spelled out (“Omaha, Nebraska; Tarrytown, New York; Shaumburg, Illinois”)

  • The period follows parentheses if parentheses ends a sentence

  • The ellipses: “word … word”

  • U.S. (not US) for titles [U.S. Marines]

  • Use quotation marks for: chapter titles (not chapter numbers), articles titles for newspapers or magazines, song titles, poem and short story titles, plays, television and radio episode titles, special phrases (“let them eat cake”), words, or sentences

  • Bullet points with complete sentences require periods

  • Bullet points with incomplete sentences don’t require ending punctuation

Capitalization
(Also see Korean Words)

When to capitalize:

  • As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen

  • Danbury Prison

  • Divine Principle (the main teachings of the Unification movement)

  • Earth – in reference to the planet

  • Foundation Day

  • Heaven

  • Heavenly Tribal Messiah (no acronym)

  • Hell

  • Human Fall (not “the Fall”)

  • John the Baptist

  • Kingdom of Heaven (on Earth/in Heaven)

  • Lord/Lord of Creation

  • Lucifer

  • Marriage (Supper) of the Lamb

  • Messiah

  • Only Begotten Daughter/Son (in this context only: “I, the Only Begotten Daughter of God”/”… As the Only Begotten Daughter of God, True Mother…”/”Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God…”)

  • Original Divine Principle

  • Peace Road

  • Son of Man

  • Tribal Messiahship

  • True Daughtership/Sonship

  • True Parenthood

  • Unification Principle

  • Unification Thought (in reference to the book)

  • Vision 2020

  • Proper Nouns (God’s Will/Providence/Hand/His/He/our Heavenly Father, pre-2012/our Heavenly Parent, post-2012)

  • All subheadings have initial caps (except “small” words), no punctuation

  • Specifically named churches or center, ex. Clifton Family Church, no caps ex. “the family church of/in Clifton”

When not to capitalize:

  • age of indemnity

  • ancestor liberation

  • archangel 

  • articles (a, an, the, for)

  • coming of the Lord

  • coordinating conjunctions

  • cross

  • crucifixion

  • culture of heart

  • fallen

  • foundation

  • four great realms of heart

  • four-position foundation

  • heavenly/fortune/kingdom

  • holy wine/salt/water/ground/candles (unless referencing a ceremony)

  • humankind/humanity

  • interreligious peace Blessing

  • king

  • missionary

  • peace ambassador

  • pledge service

  • prayer breakfast (unless in a title)

  • prepositions

  • president

  • principle

  • providence

  • realm of brothers/sisters/siblings

  • reunification

  • spiritual conditions

  • spirit world

  • Sunday service/school

  • three great blessings

  • tribe

  • trinity

  • true love/leader/owner/life/lineage/family movement

Hyphenation

  • Hyphenate connected words (small-minded, well-developed)

  • “well-xxx” (hyphenated before the noun: well-regarded, well-edited, etc.)

  • brand-new

  • e-mail

  • fractions: hyphenate (one-third, one-half, etc.)

  • noncompliance (all “non-” words no hyphen, unless needed for clarity)

  • predetermined (no hyphen)

  • predefined (adj.) (no hyphen)

  • pre-qualify (v.)

  • problem-solving

  • reconfirm (no hyphen)

  • reassign (no hyphen)

  • second-guessing

  • third-party (adj.)

  • subregion (no hyphen)

editorialManish Saluja