There is a true story about Eratosthenes, a scholar in the ancient Mediterranean world who became chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria in Egypt around 240 BCE. Eratosthenes had learned from travellers that, in the far southern town of Syene, the shaft of a well did not cast a shadow at noon on the summer solstice. Eratosthenes then measured the shadow cast by a stick in Alexandria … read more of President’s Message – September 2020.
As a society, we began as families and slowly grew into tribes, clans, cities, and nations. As we travel and exchange languages, thoughts, literature, and culture, we come to realize the folly of sectarian divides. We are a global family of brothers and sisters united by our material origin and our spiritual destiny. Read More of President’s Message – June 2020.
A Solitary Messenger tells us that: The doing of the will of God is nothing more or less than an exhibition of creature willingness to share the inner life with God… [Paper 111:5.1, page 1221.2 emphasis added] In that spirit, I would like to share a little story about my life. My time with the … read more of President’s Message – March 2020.
In the early days of the Urantia community, we were challenged to address six basic tasks: translate The Urantia Book, publish it, distribute it across the world, foster the study of the book, train teachers, and train leaders. Today Urantia Association International and Urantia Foundation work hand in hand to accomplish these six tasks. The … read more of President’s Message – December 2019.
Religionists, as a group, must never concern themselves with anything but religion, albeit any one such religionist, as an individual citizen, may become the outstanding leader of some social, economic, or political reconstruction movement. [Paper 99:3.15, page 1089.7] Indirectly, cultural civilization is influenced by the attitude of these individual religionists as they become active and influential … read more of President’s Message – September 2019.
This summer, the European Continental Conference will be hosted by the Estonian Association in Tallinn. The theme of the conference is: “Sowing Seeds—Qualitative Internal and Quantitative External Growth” and the conference will focus on the relationship between the internal growth of the individual and our external growth in service. In our local study group recently, we … read more of President’s Message – June 2019.
“What is Urantia?” It’s not a trick question. It’s one we have encountered ever since we started keeping a copy of The Urantia Book on our shelves. It’s a question we get asked when our friends and families find out that we take our precious vacation resources and spend them on Urantia conferences. The same … read more of President’s Message – March 2019.
Brotherhood is impossible on a world whose inhabitants are so primitive that they fail to recognize the folly of unmitigated selfishness. There must occur an exchange of national and racial literature. Each race must become familiar with the thought of all races; each nation must know the feelings of all nations. Ignorance breeds suspicion, and … read more of President’s Message – December 2018.
One of the many reasons I love The Urantia Book and I am continuously re-reading it is because it utilizes words which I think I understand, but then in some random paragraph in some random paper, it will define a common word in an uncommon way and suddenly I need to go back and re-read … read more of President’s Message – September 2018.
I was recently reading Paper 44 of The Urantia Book, studying the Celestial Artisans. We are informed about the “harmony of associated spirits” which is the arrangements of various and different beings so that they produce “majestic melodies.” This idea of the harmony within a group captures so well what I have witnessed across the … read more of President’s Message – June 2018.
In January representatives of Urantia Association International and Urantia Foundation met to update each other on our current projects, discuss issues of mutual interest and to plan for the future. Many issues were discussed but two themes stand out as highlights. First is the need for succession of leadership within both organizations. A successful community … read more of President’s Message – March 2018.
The Association’s Education Committee organized a live Webinar titled “Lifting Together: The Future of Urantia Association” presented by President, Chris Wood. This presentation was developed to share with the growing Global Urantia Community the goals, plans and vision for the Urantia Association International for the next three years and beyond. The Webinar was held on … read more of Lifting Together: The Future of Urantia Association.
When we are tempted to magnify our self-importance, if we stop to contemplate the infinity of the greatness and grandeur of our Makers, our own self-glorification becomes sublimely ridiculous, even verging on the humorous. One of the functions of humor is to help all of us take ourselves less seriously. Humor is the divine antidote for exaltation … read more of President’s Message – December 2017.
There has never been a busier, more productive time to be in service to the Urantia Revelation! The Urantia Book tells us that: Service—more service, increased service, difficult service, adventurous service, and at last divine and perfect service—is the goal of time and the destination of space. [Paper 28:6.17, page 316.4] That’s all fine … read more of President’s Message – September 2017.
I taught university courses for a few years and my favorite course to teach was Introduction to Philosophy. Introductory courses translate a subject’s ideas into common language, while in-depth courses teach you a new language to better develop these ideas. I liked the idea of taking what might literally be a lifetime of work and … read more of President’s Message – June 2017.
The Pay-it Forward Conference Model Last summer, Lone Star Urantia Association was tasked with hosting the first united conference between Urantia Association of the United States and The Urantia Book Fellowship. This was a challenge of unknown proportions simply because we had never attempted it before! But they were ready and produced a wonderful event … read more of President’s Message – March 2017.
As I write this, I am traveling to Frankfurt, Germany to celebrate Urantia DACH joining our International Association. This German-speaking group has been meeting for years and has been highly active in organizing events throughout Germany and its leaders have also been working with all of Urantia Europe with the Blue Club. There are at … read more of President’s Message – November 2016.
I have been thinking lately about the Nodites and the Amadonites. The Nodites descended from the rebellious group of Dalamatians, while the Amadonites descended from the loyal Dalamatians. Cousins really. But animosities between the two groups were passed from generation to generation long after the original split. We are told, There existed a traditional enmity … read more of President’s Message – September 2016.
The next six months will see three tests of the unity of our Urantia Community. The first test shall come in June in San Antonio where, for the first time, the Urantia Association of the United States (UAUS) and The Urantia Book Fellowship will co-host a conference. Registration has already exceeded expectations and the community … read more of President’s Message June 2016.
I am a conference fanatic. One of my first experiences with the Urantia community was piling into a car with four other young Urantia Book students and driving from Chicago to Vancouver, Canada for a conference. Over the years, these UBYouth Tours took us from Colorado to New York to Silver Springs to Kansas City … read more of President’s Message March 2016.
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