2019 Annual Report

Highlights: Dissemination

Spreading The Urantia Book and its teachings is a task accomplished by the Dissemination Committee through several of our established programs, including readers services, book fairs, and prisoner inquiry.

Willem Jeths from Brazil, who is the Association’s leader for the Dissemination Committee writes:

It seems that all of us here have at least one thing in common. We are Truth seekers interested in meeting new Truth seekers and show them how the teachings in The Urantia Book are transforming our lives. From my vantage point in serving as the Dissemination Committee Chair, I am pleased to see that many things are being done, individually and collectively, to introduce our fellows to the revelation and the life and teachings of Jesus.

Reader Services

Urantia Association provides a reader referral service to foster study group development and local contact among readers. This service maintains a database of readers who have asked to receive news and information on The Urantia Book and Urantia Association, and who want to meet with others in their region. Presently, this program has 33 volunteers who assist new readers with questions about the teachings and worldwide Urantia community. In 2019, this program processed over 300 requests.

Book Fairs

Latin America is renowned for its many affordable book fairs where hundreds of thousands of people have an opportunity to be introduced to The Urantia Book. Donations were received to supply books for this purpose in Latin America. In 2019 book fairs were held in Bolivia, Ecuador (Guayaquil and Quito), Guatemala, Peru (Lima, Cusco), Colombia (Cali and Bogota), Mexico, and Costa Rica. Another team of volunteers has planned at least 13 book fairs in Latin America in 2020.

Esperaza Tovar Alvarado from Colombia writes of his experience at the Bogota Book Fair:

This year we had a large stand located in one of the best pavilions of the fair—the pavilion of the universities—that brought us a more intellectual audience with deeper questions than usual. We were challenged to broaden our answers and discussions, and therefore devote more time to each visitor. It was very pleasant to talk with the young university students of this city, with their outstanding thirst for knowledge and desire to understand things of a spiritual nature.

Cecilia Barreto from Peru writes of her experience at a book expo in Lima: 

ANTIFIL (an alternative expo) is entirely organized by young people. This type of event attracts non-traditional thinkers, change seekers, and those with existential questions—and around seventy per cent of them are young! We like to share with people from all walks of life and it is always a lovely journey of service as well as internal exploration. The Urantia Book teachings guide you—we never felt that we were alone.

Prisoner Inquiry Response Team (PIRT)

Since the PIRT’s inception in 2005, it has received over 4,000 inmate letters and sent over 2,000 books to inmates. PIRT averages 314 letters annually and ships, on average, 160 books a year. In 2019, the team donated and additional 153 books to 132 prison libraries (some facilities received both the English and Spanish books). More than 140 federal and state facilities in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi were recently polled for interest in placement of The Urantia Book in their libraries. The positive responses from library directors have been very encouraging.

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