PA Church Holding AR-15 Blessing Near Elementary School

A Pennsylvania church is getting national attention for a controversial blessing ceremony it is planning this week that involves firearms similar to the one used during the Feb. 14 massacre at a Florida high school. World Peace and Unification Sanctuary church in Wayne County is holding a blessing ceremony Wednesday for couples with AR-15 rifles.

The event, called "Cosmic True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humanity Cheon Il Guk Book of Life Registration Blessing," will be held a half mile from Wallenpaupack South Elementary School.

As a precautionary measure, students will be moved from that school on the day of the event and transported to the district's other elementary school due to traffic concerns and "the nature of this event," Wallenpaupack Area School District Superintendent Michael Silsby said in a letter to parents.

All heterosexual couples are invited to the blessing, the church says on its website, which has a full page designated to the details about the Feb. 28 event. Couples participating are requested to bring a “rod of iron," which the church defines as an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle or equivalent, including an AK semiautomatic rifle.

Couples unable to get a “rod of iron” in time should buy a $700 gift certificate from a gun store, as evidence of their intent to purchase a “rod of iron” in the future, the church said.

The church is led by Hyung Jin Moon, the son of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon and is an offshoot of the controversial Unification Church founded in the 1950s. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, has called Hyung Jin Moon an "anti-LGBT cult leader."

"Faithful brothers and sisters under True Father’s authority can receive the grace of participating on February 28, 2018 in the Cheon Il Guk Book of Life Registration Blessing which is the final, perfection level Blessing that True Father instructed all blessed couples to complete. This ceremony will be officiated by Hyung Jin Moon, True Father’s anointed heir, and True Mother Hyun Shil Kang," the church says on its website.

The weapons represent "both the intent and the ability to defend one’s family, community and nation of Cheon Il Guk.”

The blessing follows Sanctuary Church's President Trump Thank You Dinner, which was held on Feb. 24. An AR-15 was to be raffled off at the event, the church said in a press release.

Getty Image, George Frey