Tidings – September 2018
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In This Issue
- President’s Message – September 2018 – Chris Wood, USA
- Farewell to Sue Tennant – Gaetan Charland, Quebec
- Finnish Summer Conference Report, 2018 – Laura Suominen-Raatikainen, Finland
- Donating via AmazonSmile
- Why Do We Study The Urantia Book? – Mark Kurtz, USA
- 2nd Latin American Conference — São Paulo, Brazil – Regras Enrique Traver, Brazil
- Italian-French-Spanish Conference 2018 – Danielle La Scala, Italy
- ANZURA Conference Queensland 2018 – Graeme Chapman, Brisbane
- Vancouver 2020 – North America Urantia Conference – Vancouver 2020 Conference Committee
- Private: Pacific Rim Regional Conference – Hawaii – Marian Hughes, Hawaii
- 2021 – International Conference in Peru – Conference Committee
- Testimonials from Book Fair Attendees – Dissemination Committee
- Upcoming Events
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Chris Wood, USA  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 everything with this new definition in mind.
One recent example of this is “personality,” which in a book that has personality survival as one of its main plot points, I feel like I should know what personality is. And walking around in my limited vocabularic bliss I would think that “personality” would be defined as… what? … as a person’s distinctive character, perhaps? A Solitary Messenger tells us that:
…it would be presumptuous to attempt the definition of personality… [Paper 112:0.2, page 1225.2]
but then randomly in the Sojourn at Rome, a midwayer decides that it’s apparently not presumptuous, it’s just, umm… sumptuous? … for us to be told that:
The presence of goodness and evil in the world is in itself positive proof of the existence and reality of man’s moral will, the personality… [Paper 132:2.8, page 1458.5]
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Gaetan Charland, Quebec  Sue Tennant, long-time supporter of the Urantia revelation and a dear friend of mine and to many reading this, left this world for the mansion world adventure in March this year.
I meet Sue in 1999 at her home in Silver Springs for a meeting with other readers for the chartering and inauguration of the Urantia Association of Canada. From that first meeting, I knew that Sue Tennant was one of those people dedicated to the welfare of humanity; she was generous, humble and hardworking, and was a woman driven by her love for her fellow brothers and sisters and by her faith in God and his plan.
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Laura Suominen-Raatikainen, Finland  Theme: We Have Been Summoned to Eternal Life
Once again, the Finnish Urantia Book readers held their annual summer conference, hosted by the Urantia Association of Finland 9–10 June 2018 at the Lautsiala Resort, Hauho. Over 30 of us gathered, the weather was lovely and the resort was a beautiful place to hold the meeting. The weekend began with touching live music and singing.
There were several presentations. Ben, aged over 90, reflected on the last 100 years in Finland tying its history to The Urantia Book. He ended his presentation saying, “Whenever we want we can move to a time of life and light.”
There were presentations on “Eternal Life in the Universe” and “Belief and to Believe” concentrating on the personal relationship with the Father.
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Urantia Association International is a registered charity with AmazonSmile… therefore shop with AmazonSmile and send a portion of your shopping dollars to the Association.
What is AmazonSmile?
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Urantia Association International every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at AmazonSmile you’ll find the exact same prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to the Association.
Can I use my existing Amazon.com account on AmazonSmile?
Yes, you use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile. Your shopping cart, wish list, wedding or baby registry, and other account settings are also the same.
How do I select the Association to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?
On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you need to select “Urantia Association International” to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. AmazonSmile will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make thereafter will result in a donation.
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Mark Kurtz, USA  The key word is WHY? May we address its profundity? Here are some thoughts:
Because we seek clarity of our life purposes in harmony with divine plans.
Because we seek a better understanding of origins and destinies as we prepare to lift ourselves and others to new clarity.
Because we seek truth to undergird our desires to know God and His children better.
Because we seek inspiration from the upgrading and clarifying teachings from celestial beings who shared their superior knowledge. They know us better than we know ourselves. We seek their sharing to reduce our confusion.
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Regras Enrique Traver, Brazil  Only 60 days to go for the 2nd Latin American Conference being held 1 – 4 November 2018 in Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brazil.
We are happy to report that so far 115 participants from 15 countries have registered for the event. This is a positive response from The Urantia Book reader community and we believe our target of 150 participants will be easily surpassed. Even more promising, 21 young Urantia Book students aged between 14 and 30 have registered and are excited about participating and engaging with others about the fifth epochal revelation.
Everything you need to know about the conference can be found at the conference website at https://www.urantiaconference.com. You can also register there.
The theme will be “Living the Teachings,” so this conference will provide a unique opportunity for students to come together in friendship and expand their understanding of the Urantia teachings as they explore ways to integrate them into day-to-day living.
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Danielle La Scala, Italy  Students of The Urantia Book in Italy are holding their fourth Italian-French-Spanish Urantia Book readers’ conference in northern Italy at the Confine Hotel in the city of Lazise (province of Verona) 5 – 7 October 2018.
The theme for this conference is: “Teachings of Jesus” and the focus will be on the doing of Fathers’ will.
This conference is open to all people interested in The Urantia Book. (It will help if you can speak Italian, French or Spanish.) We look forward to welcoming last year’s participants, as well as meeting new friends.
Click here for more information.
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Graeme Chapman, Brisbane
 On the Cosmic Background: “God Does Not Play Dice”
If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still space available at ANZURA’s upcoming annual conference that’s being held on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia 5 – 8 October 2018.
THEME UPDATE
The theme for this conference is inspired by that ever-topical question by Albert Einstein, "Does God play dice with the universe?" which was raised in response to scientific developments that were playing out even as The Urantia Book was coming together. Remarkably, the prevalent materialism of contemporary science was dissipating just as The Urantia Book was urging that it should. What follows is a preview of where such lines of thought might take us during the conference.
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Vancouver 2020 Conference Committee  Lifting Together — United in Purpose, Serving God the Supreme
The Urantia Association of Canada and the Urantia Book Fellowship will be hosting a combined North American conference in Vancouver 15 – 19 July 2020.
Everyone is invited to come together to serve the global community, to work and lift together in spiritual consciousness, to love our neighbors as God loves us, and to expand and promote the comprehension and appreciation of cosmic citizenship.
We envision an atmosphere of gratitude in which we will actively explore constructive ways to contribute to the spiritual growth of all peoples of the world and thereby participate in the evolution of God the Supreme.
Click here for more information
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Marian Hughes, Hawaii  The Hawaii Urantia Local Association (HULA) in conjunction with Urantia Association of The United States (UAUS) is holding a Pacific Rim Regional Urantia Conference on the Big Island of Hawaii 20 – 23 August 2020. The theme of the conference will be “Nurture Your Soul” in Nature featuring Dr. Ralph Zehr who has found over nine hundred references to the soul in The Urantia Book. He will be condensing his recent 10-week UBIS course over this Jesus Birthday weekend for the attendees.
There will be ample time-out in nature to fraternize with fellow Urantia Book students from all over the world. The aim is to provide a unique soul-filled experience for all which will include magnificent star-gazing evenings in the setting of the beautiful Hawaii Volcano National Park.
Click here for more information.
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Conference Committee  The next International Conference for Urantia Association International will be held 22 – 25 April, 2021 in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Urubamba, Cusco, Peru.
The Urantia Association of Peru will be hosting the conference and members are promising to make this event unique and special for all. The theme will be “Towards Cosmic Citizenship” and workshops will be held at the nearby archaeological sites, which are the most beautiful and famous sites of the Incas.
The Sacred Valley is a region in Peru’s Andean highlands. Along with the nearby town of Cusco and the nearby ancient city of Machu Picchu (one of the new Seven Wonders of the World), it once formed the heart of the Inca Empire.
If you always wanted to go to Peru, then 2021 is the year to do it! This is a conference that should not be missed.
Click here for a video tour.
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Dissemination Committee  The number of people who are exposed to the word “Urantia,” as well as the book and its teachings year after year at book fairs is staggering. The impact on lives—priceless.
Global seeding of The Urantia Book and its teachings at book fairs is changing lives. Lives are changed when students learn how to work together as a team, and how to share their spiritual inspiration with others. Truth-seeking individuals are exposed to the soul-satisfying truths of the fifth epochal revelation. And our unseen friends gain expanded opportunities to lead mortals to the understanding of humanity’s status as beloved children of our Heavenly Father… all of us brothers and sisters.
Following are two stories of people whose lives were changed after finding The Urantia Book at a book fair:
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Check out Urantia Association International’s Events Calendar at http://urantia-association.org/events-list. Upcoming events can be viewed in a List or Calendar view.
Urantia Book reader events provide opportunities for students to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas and concepts presented in The Urantia Book and help to facilitate a personal commitment to the ideals of spiritual living. We hope you can make it to some of these events and experience the joys of meeting and studying with fellow readers.
If you’re planning a Urantia Book reader event in your region and would like help in promoting it, please send us your information and we’ll consider it for our Events Calendar.
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