Tidings – June 2023
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In This Issue
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Enrique Traver, Brazil 
Urantia Association International exists because we believe that the teachings of the 5th revelation have the potential to rejuvenate spirituality worldwide, increasing the comfort, well-being, and happiness of every person.
We want to reach each person, every individual, for whom we hope to create opportunities to help them connect to God by sharing the teachings of The Urantia Book.
What is meant by create? Opportunities often come out of the blue, or are prompted by the spirit, or just occur suddenly - and often we don't even notice them, we just let them pass by. The act of seeking to create keeps us connected, aware, so we won't let any opportunity pass by, even those we do not create but have been given to us.
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Phillip Marriott, AUS 
Dear Urantia Book Students,
To better serve study groups all over the world we are launching the latest global study group survey. It will enable us to feel the pulse of students’ needs and expectations. The results will also help us gauge the current status of study groups.
Another benefit is that your responses can help us to find you a study group that suits your needs or help you in starting your own. We will share our report with you in the next issue of Tidings.
If you have not already done so, please use this link to access and fill out the survey:
Study Group Survey
Once we finish our survey, we will publish the results in Tidings.
Thank you for your cooperation and assistance!
Urantia Association International
Study Group Committee
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PIRT Volunteer, USA 
Jim has been a "breath of fresh air" – the unexpected jewel among all of the great inmates (185) that I have heard from over the past few years.
I heard from Jim for the first time in early 2021. I already had over a year of experience working with the Prison Inmate Response Team (PIRT) and had read many nice letters requesting a free copy of The Urantia Book along with a few testimonials by that time, but there was just something special about his letter...
As you may know, the PIRT team communicates with inmates by using an alias; Jim and the others know me as a fellow named Evan Todd. I have to say that, since I first began receiving letters in late 2018, I have never received a letter that was rude or crude from anyone (as one might initially have been concerned about); so for any inmate to stand out and distinguish himself among all others who are behaving like gentlemen says something very powerful about Jim.
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James Woodward, USA
Living and Dying
“I declare that you must be reborn.” (140.6.2, 1576.2)
This command is very important. To be reborn means that you first must die. Of course, this teaching invokes the spiritual meaning, not the cessation of physical life. Since the body and mind do not die with this rebirth in the spirit, what exactly does? What must die before something new can be reborn?
If it’s not the physical self that must die to be reborn, perhaps then it’s our preoccupation with the material self, endless thoughts about ourselves. When a spiritual aspirant is told that to see nirvana, discover their soul, or achieve union with God, that he must be reborn—the fear of death is inevitably triggered. It’s a natural fear, though God has told us that we live again, even proved it one Sunday morning. Yet even a unique and holy resurrection may fail to stifle our preoccupation with self since deep instinct repels us from death and dying. We may believe our spirit self transcends time and space, but death remains a powerful mystery for the living. The rebirth teaching is one more spiritual paradox for us tadpoles; for us to progress, something of us must die, anathema to a fearful self.
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Mark Blackham, Canada
Written by a Urantia Book Student
The God Experience is founded on the concepts, values, and ideals portrayed in The Urantia Book. With those matchless teachings woven throughout its pages, it is a welcoming and approachable guide to embracing God and spirituality. And while it only mentions The Urantia Book briefly in the first chapter, it does include many short quotations, an appetite-whetting feature that will lead the curious reader to the original source.
A Booklife Review – “Putting aside all religious affiliations, 80 percent of Americans say they still believe in some notion of God or a greater spirit being," writes Bonair in this thoughtful guide to using mindfulness, meditation, and prayer to seek a true connection to the Spirit of God. While Bonair acknowledges that using the term “God” can be limiting, he aims to help those who are “spiritual but not religious” understand the divine nature of a “universal Creator” by exploring religious misconceptions and developing a fresh understanding of God’s character. That character, according to Bonair, is compassionate and gracious, the opposite of the angry and unforgiving deity often depicted in organized religion.
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Collins Lomos, Ghana  | | Delae Sowu (center) |
For many of us, the search for truth has been a life-long affair; a journey which has taken us to many places and sometimes through many trials and unforgettable moments. “All of life’s toughest questions were answered when I discovered The Urantia Book.” This is the testimonial of quite a number of readers who have discovered the Fifth Epochal Revelation, and for me, it pretty much did so but it also left me searching for more to know in this vast creation.
Although the search for truth is a never-ending quest, the journey becomes exhilarating when one discovers friends and fellow truth seekers who share the same light and energy and seem to be connected by a universal purpose. Delae Sowu is one such truth seeker who I describe as “a friend to everyone.”
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The Tidings newsletter is a quarterly on-line publication that serves as Urantia Association International’s primary communication tool for reaching out to the Association’s membership, supporters, donors, volunteers, and general readership friends. It provides news and information on the many activities and events of the National or Affiliate Urantia Associations around the globe as well as information and announcements from Central Office, the International Service Board (ISB), and the Representative Council (RC). It serves to keep members in touch with one another and gives readers a sense of belonging—of being an integral part of a truly international movement that is designed to promote the Urantia revelation to all corners of the world.
Note: Tidings also occasionally provides news of other Urantia-related activities and events that may be of interest to our supporters and friends. Please note that any interpretations, opinions, conclusions, or artistic representations, whether stated or implied, are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Urantia Association International, the National or Affiliate Urantia Associations, or the editorial team of the Association’s Tidings.
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