Fly Me To The Reverend Moon

When American Studies student John Waite was approached in Manchester in the early 1970s and offered the chance of a free trip to America, he jumped at the opportunity.

Only once he, and a plane load of other students, actually arrived at a large estate in upstate New York, did he learn that the people footing the bill were the Unification Church, known to tabloid readers across the world as The Moonies.

Over the course of the following days and weeks John and the students were kept on the estate as the Church tried to win them over, in order that its message might be taken back to Britain with these bright young things.

John goes back for the first time to tell the story of what happened to him and the rest of the students when they were taken in by one of the most controversial religious groups of the day.

He meets up with people who went on the trip with him as well as former Church members who were active in the organisation at the time - and reflects on how the experience as a young man ready for adventure has shaped him in the decades since.

Producer: Geoff Bird

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2010.