Members of the International Service Board (ISB) are elected by a vote of the Representative Council (RC). The officers and committees of the ISB and the Executive Administrator plan, coordinate, and carry out the activities of Urantia Association that are international in scope and have been authorized by the Representative Council. They also serve as an information resource for the constituent associations by compiling and sharing information and experiences of other associations. Read on for the list and functions of the current ISB personnel.
Journal Editorial—May 2020
Greetings fellow Urantians, and welcome to the first edition of Urantia Association International’s 2020 Journal. These are truly trying times during the coronavirus pandemic and I’m sure the following insight and wisdom offered in the five incredible essays will provide guidelines for living in the 21st Century and will bring peace and enlightenment to your corner of the world at this time. “Such a life on such a planet!”
Our first contributor is Luis Garcia-Bory (Switzerland), who champions a new way of living on such a planet by reflecting on what he calls, A Positive Shift in Planetary Consciousness. Using the current worldwide spread of the coronavirus as a case in point, Luis summarizes the affect that this virus and the media-driven hysteria has had on the people of the world. He offers some encouraging remedies to help cure the side effects for everyone, not just those with the virus, as he states, “A conscious move from fear, inertia, and inaction might be required from each one of us so that we faithfully elevate our planetary consciousness and leave the individual selfhood-based realm of thinking in this pandemic and start reflecting on what The Urantia Book calls a ‘brotherhood ministry’ that focuses on unselfishly yielding fruits the spirit. That might require the enhancing of our mindsets from the question ‘How is this pandemic going to affect me and my loved ones?’ to ‘What can I do myself and how can I collaborate with others to be helpful to a larger number of people around me, especially the most vulnerable?’”
Read MoreA Positive Shift in Planetary Consciousness
(Transcribed and edited from an online presentation given at the 24-hour Online Urantia Event, March 21, 2020)
The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 is likely to go down in the history of our planet as the moment in which most of us were urged to understand that Urantia is a self-contained living ecosystem, where anything occurring in one part of the web will impact, at varying degrees, all of us and the biological environment in which we all co-exist. This understanding, however, is not happening quietly. Struggle, pain and suffering are present in many corners of our world. And the most grievous aspect is of course the loss of thousands of lives we are already witnessing.
In many countries affected by the pandemic, millions of people are instructed to stay home as hospitals and health services are stretched to their maximum capacity. Many poor countries struggle to even start the basic efforts needed to protect their people. Hysteria bubbles up and misinformation becomes rife. Panic dominates reason and irrational fear becomes commonplace. We empty grocery shelves and become obsessed with separation and individual safety. Our global supply of goods clogs up and economic calamity ensues. We start to understand that we are likely to witness the most severe economic depression of our lifetimes.
Read MoreThe Benign Virus of Love
(Transcribed and edited from an online presentation given at the 24-hour Online Urantia Event, March 21, 2020)
The name of my presentation is The Benign Virus of Love, which I thought was fitting since we are here in large part due to another type of virus. We are certainly not making light of the seriousness of the Covid-19 coronavirus but rather, we are trying to find comfort in the analogy and security in these teachings. We have seen how quickly a harmful virus can change the world. A benign virus can do the same but in a positive way and even more so.
First, let me thank Chris Wood, Antonio Schefer, Urantia Association, the angels, and my Indwelling Spirit for this opportunity. I really like the idea of an around-the-world 24-hour study group because this revelation is a worldwide gift and people of all faiths, races, cultures, and demographics are studying and living these teachings 24/7. The sun never sets on the Urantia community.
Read MoreThe Beatitudes Revisited: A Philosophy of Living
(Transcribed and edited from an online presentation given at the 24-hour Online Urantia Event, March 21, 2020)
It was early afternoon in mid-January, A.D. 27, when Jesus called the apostles from their fishing nets near the shores of Galilee and led them into the highlands north of Capernaum. The chosen twelve were about to be ordained as public preachers of the gospel of the kingdom. As Andrew, Simon Peter, James and John Zebedee, Philip, Nathaniel, Matthew, Thomas, James and Jude Alpheus, Simon Zelotes, and Judas Iscariot were seated about Jesus, he told them,
And it will not be so much by the words you speak as by the lives you live that men will know you have been with me and have learned of the realities of the kingdom [Paper 140:1.7, page 1569.4]
Then the twelve knelt in a circle about him and he ordained each one in a solemn and sacred ceremony placing the affairs of the divine brotherhood of man under the direction of human minds [140:2.3].
Jesus then spoke to them saying:
Read MoreSoul Rebirth and Morontia (Soul) Mind
The phenomenon of mortal death—that transaction on the borderland of the physical and morontia realms—remains a supernal mystery to humankind. Clearly, the revelators of truth have been restricted by the celestial governing authorities of Urantia from disclosing to us its full exposition in The Urantia Book:
There are many interesting details which might be presented, but I withhold them upon the advice of your immediate planetary supervisors [Paper 112:5:11, page 1234:0]
The reassembly of a surviving being takes place in the resurrection hall of the first mansion world, which serves as the rendezvous point for the seraphic destiny guardians, the Thought Adjusters, the archangels of the resurrection, and the Life Carriers. The first step in the reassembly of the constituent parts of a onetime material personality begins with the fabrication of a suitable form, a morontia energy pattern, which the seraphim of assignment “provides” as the new life vehicle for the immortal soul and for the indwelling of the returning Adjuster. The attending seraphim provides, with the assistance of the Morontia Power Supervisors, the undifferentiated morontia material wherein the new morontia life can be initiated. It is within this suitable morontia form, as projected by the guardian of destiny, that …the new survivor can make contact with nonspiritual reality, and within which the morontia variant of the cosmic mind can be encircuited [Paper 112:5:17, page 1234:6]. This morontia mind individualizes the morontia form for all mortal survivors, being of the same creature mind-matrix and passive potentials of identity that were entrusted to the keeping of the seraphic destiny guardians.
Read MoreManaging Your Model
I feel like sharing a concept heard from a Sunday school teacher about 30 years ago. Not recalling the topic, I do remember the concept—people develop a personal model of life and relationships, including religion, financial management, child rearing, jobs, free time, food, sex, well… everything. Many live according to what parents and grandparents modeled and according to what is perceived as community normal. This model contains the acceptances, decisions, priorities, and motives that drive everyday life. The teacher asked us to think about what we would do if something comes along that doesn’t fit our model. He said there are only two choices: 1) accept it, which is a revision, or 2) reject it and leave the model unchanged.
True, we can delay a decision, which doesn’t change the model, but the choice may bother a person until a decision is rendered. And perhaps many years are needed to move on a decision.
Read MoreAbout the Journal
The Journal is produced twice yearly and contains essays, articles and study aids by readers and for readers of The Urantia Book. To read current and past issues click here.
Subscriptions
The Journal is available electronically free of charge for anyone with an email address. Join our mailing list to receive free electronic copies.
To receive hard copies, you may subscribe to the Journal at the annual rate of $10.00 USD via any of the following methods.
- To subscribe on line click here
- To subscribe by telephone call: +1-773-572-1180
- To subscribe by check or money order, please send in $U.S. dollars only and make payable to “Urantia Association International”. Mail to:
Urantia Association International
4000 W Montrose Avenue #606
Chicago, IL 60641
Program – Another 24-Hour Online Urantia Event
We’re In This Together!
Here is the Program for the second 24-Hour Online Urantia Event which will take place starting this Saturday May 2, 2020. (If you live in the United States it actually starts on Friday 1 May at 8:00pm EDT.) Here are the times in 3 major cities of the main regions of the world to help you adjust to your own time zone:
New York: Friday 8:00pm to Saturday 8:00pm
London: Saturday 1:00am to Sunday 1:00am
Sydney: Saturday 10.00am to Sunday 10:00am
This Program is still in development so is incomplete. We will update it as more details emerge.
| London | New York | Sydney | Presenter | Presentation Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 AM | 8:00 PM | 10:00 AM | David Kulieke | The Affirmations of a Friendly Universe |
| 2:00 AM | 9:00 PM | 11:00 AM | Tim Duffy | Discerning the Father’s Will |
| 3:00 AM | 10:00 PM | 12:00 PM | Benet Rutenberg | “God is no Respecter of Persons.” How do we understand this today? |
| 4:00 AM | 11:00 PM | 1:00 PM | Ben Bowler, Pato Banton, Antoinette Rootsdawtah | The World Unity Movement & its Inspiration from Revelation |
| 5:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 2:00 PM | Geri Johnson | “Of all human knowledge, that which is greatest to know…” |
| 6:00 AM | 1:00 AM | 3:00 PM | Robert Coenraads | Evolutionary Timeline (Part 2) |
| 7:00 AM | 2:00 AM | 4:00 PM | Sandra Burga- Cisneros | A First Step Towards Compassion |
| 8:00 AM | 3:00 AM | 5:00 PM | Sebastian Nozzi | Assertiveness “Jesus Style” |
| 9:00 AM | 4:00 AM | 6:00 PM | Ina Terra | Jesus’ Teaching Methods |
| 10:00 AM | 5:00 AM | 7:00 PM | Guy Perron, Agnes Lazar | The Most Intriguing & Challenging Partnership |
| 11:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 8:00 PM | Ade Awoyinka | Sharing the Inner Life |
| 12:00 PM | 7:00 AM | 9:00 PM | Enrique Traver | God’s Time |
| 1:00 PM | 8:00 AM | 10:00 PM | Barry Culligan | Becoming Godlike |
| 2:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 11:00 PM | Aprilhelen | Communing in Community |
| 3:00 PM | 10:00 AM | 12:00 AM | Merritt Horn, Andre Radatus | Is The Urantia Book Scripture? |
| 4:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 1:00 AM | Georges Michelson-Dupont | A Liberating Perspective on Death |
| 5:00 PM | 12:00 PM | 2:00 AM | Mark Hutchings | Serving the Revelation Through Serving Community |
| 6:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 3:00 AM | Dr James Perry, Sherry Cathcart Chavis | Brotherly and Fatherly Love During Covid-19 |
| 7:00 PM | 2:00 PM | 4:00 AM | Marilynn Kulieke | Cultivating the Habit of Service |
| 8:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 5:00 AM | Victor Garcia-Bory | Education in The Urantia Book: Purpose, Origin, and Destiny |
| 9:00 PM | 4:00 PM | 6:00 AM | Luis Morales | Self-control, the Path to Divinity |
| 10:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 7:00 AM | Gard Jameson | Planetary Angelic Support During Covid-19 |
| 11:00 PM | 6:00 PM | 8:00 AM | Elisabeth Callahan, Marvin Gawryn | Religious Institutions & the “Living Organism” that Jesus Envisioned |
| 12:00 AM | 7:00 PM | 9:00 AM | Mo Siegel, Chris Wood, Geoff Theiss | “Presidents’ Hour” hosted by Gard Jameson |
Please join us during any of the above time frames by following this Zoom link:
Topic: 24 Hour Event
Time: May 1, 2020 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6174949574
Meeting ID: 617 494 9574
or via our Facebook site facebook.com/urantia.association
Short Promotional Video:
In service,
Chris Wood
President
Urantia Association International
Another 24-Hour Online Urantia Event
We’re In This Together!
As the world continues to practice social isolation to help slow the effects of the Covid-19 Corona virus, the Urantia Community is coming together to offer another extraordinary online event to help bring people together.
For this 24-Hour online Urantia Event—We’re In This Together!—Urantia Association will be joined by the Education Committees of Urantia Foundation, the Urantia Book Fellowship, and Urantia University Institute to bring 24 unique presentations from around the world. The final presentation will be a jointly held open meeting of the three Presidents of the Association, Foundation and Fellowship to discuss our visions for the future of the Urantia Community and to answer questions for attendees.
This event will take place starting this Saturday May 2, 2020. (If you live in the United States it actually starts on Friday 1 May at 8:00pm EDT.) Here are the times in 3 major cities of the main regions of the world to help you adjust to your own time zone:
New York: Friday 8:00pm to Saturday 8:00pm
London: Saturday 1:00am to Sunday 1:00am
Sydney: Saturday 10.00am to Sunday 10:00am
Like the last one, this conference will be interactive via Zoom and will be live-streamed to Facebook. It will include presentations, discussions, and group studies of The Urantia Book. It will also be recorded and available on Urantia Association’s YouTube channel for those who want to catch up outside of the scheduled times.
Program:
Read MoreProgram for A Reward of Isolation!
An Extraordinary 24-Hour Urantia Event
Here is the Program for the 24-Hour Online Urantia Event being held 21 March 2020 from midnight to midnight UTC time (i.e. Greenwich mean-time.) This schedule is still in development so is incomplete. We will update it as more details emerge.
| London | New York | Sydney | Presenter | Presentation Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 8:00 PM | 11:00 AM | Jeffrey Wattles | “Gospel for Beginners” |
| 1:00 AM | 9:00 PM | 12:00 PM | Rick Lyon | “Benign Virus of Love” |
| 2:00 AM | 10:00 PM | 1:00 PM | Susan Lyon | “PIRT – Prisoner Inquiry Response Team” |
| 3:00 AM | 11:00 PM | 2:00 PM | Julian McGarry | “Fear Not” |
| 4:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 3:00 PM | Chris Wood | “Preparing for Spontaneity” |
| 5:00 AM | 1:00 AM | 4:00 PM | Nigel Nunn Video Presentation | Video Showing |
| 6:00 AM | 2:00 AM | 5:00 PM | Sandra Burga- Cisneros | “Worship & Meditation” |
| 7:00 AM | 3:00 AM | 6:00 PM | Gabriel Rymberg | “The Power of Now” |
| 8:00 AM | 4:00 AM | 7:00 PM | Robert Coenraads | “Evolutionary Timeline” |
| 9:00 AM | 5:00 AM | 8:00 PM | Ivan Stol | “The Power of Spiritual Fraternity” |
| 10:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 9:00 PM | Olga Lopez | “Reflections of Teachers & Believers in the 5th Epochal Revelation” |
| 11:00 AM | 7:00 AM | 10:00 PM | Sebastian Nozzi | “Christianity as a Chance” |
| 12:00 PM | 8:00 AM | 11:00 PM | Luis Garcia Bory | “A Positive Shift in Planetary Consciousness” |
| 1:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 12:00 AM | Alice Wood | “Worship” |
| 2:00 PM | 10:00 AM | 1:00 AM | Ralph Zehr | “Your Soul, the Real You” |
| 3:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 2:00 AM | Jay Peregrine | “The Seraphim” |
| 4:00 PM | 12:00 PM | 3:00 AM | Patty McGrath | “The Beatitudes: A Philosophy of Living” |
| 5:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 4:00 AM | Gaetan Charland | “On Study” |
| 6:00 PM | 2:00 PM | 5:00 AM | Angie + Claire Thurston | “Join Us in Being with Michael Together” |
| 7:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 6:00 AM | Bruce Johnson | “Sharing Urantia Book Teachings – Attitude Matters” |
| 8:00 PM | 4:00 PM | 7:00 AM | Gines Aviles | “Faith, Much more than it Seems” |
| 9:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 8:00 AM | Gard Jameson | “On the Beatitudes” |
| 10:00 PM | 6:00 PM | 9:00 AM | Marjorie Ray | “Comfort” |
| 11:00 PM | 7:00 PM | 10:00 AM | Richard Jernigan | “The Will of God” |
Please join us during any of the above time frames by following this Zoom link:
Topic: 24 Hour Urantia Event
Time: Mar 21, 2020 12:00 AM Universal Time UTC
https://zoom.us/j/6174949574
Meeting ID: 617 494 9574
or via our Facebook site facebook.com/urantia.association
Stay tuned for more information.
Click here to view the full announcement
A Reward of Isolation!
24-Hour Online Urantia Event
With people around the world being asked to practice social isolation to help slow the effects of the Corona virus, Urantia Association is offering an extraordinary online event to help bring people together.
This 24-Hour online Urantia Event—A Reward of Isolation!—will take place starting this Saturday March 21, 2020 from midnight to midnight Universal Time UTC (also known as “Greenwich Mean-Time”, which is London Time) – that is 8:00pm Friday to 8:00pm Saturday New York time, and 11:00am Saturday to 11:00am Sunday Sydney time.
This conference will be interactive via Zoom and will be live-streamed to Facebook. It will include presentations, discussions, and group studies of The Urantia Book. It will also be recorded and available on the Association’s YouTube channel for those who want to catch up outside of the scheduled times.
This schedule is still in development so is incomplete. We will update it as more details emerge.
Read MorePresident’s Message – March 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 Association has run parallel with my time as a parent. I ask a lot of questions of parents who have raised children with The Urantia Book. I prioritize first and foremost that my boys do not grow up resenting the Urantia Community for taking away their father’s attention. For seven years, I have tried to apply many of Jesus’ approaches when it comes to these two responsibilities. In Paper 138, we are told that Jesus would “…interrupt a serious conference with his apostles to fraternize with an intruding child” [138:8.9]. I try to make sure that the kids feel comfortable interrupting any video conference I am participating in. We are also told that, as a child, Jesus “…accumulated a vast body of knowledge; as a youth he sorted, classified, and correlated this information…” [127:6.14]. And so, whenever the opportunity arises, my wife and I will try to fill my kids with knowledge, hoping that they will be able to organize this knowledge into a true philosophy of living as they age.
Urantia Book Study Group Directory
The Urantia Book Study Group Directory (UBSGD) recently surpassed the largest number of listings added in any single year since 2011. A total of 68 new groups were added in 2019. This is more than double the number of new groups added in 2018. The Study Group Directory continues to grow as readers from more than 55 countries have found the Directory and added their study group information. At the end of 2019, the Directory had a total of 463 study groups.
Origins and Development
In 2010, at Urantia Foundation, the leadership of Urantia Association International and The Urantia Book Fellowship met formally for the first time to promote unity among our organizations. Following this event, the organization’s information technology developers held a meeting to encourage the sharing of information. During this meeting, Urantia Foundation suggested the need for a central online source for study group contact information; a place where students of The Urantia Book could easily find study groups in their area, and for study groups to find new members to grow their ranks. It was suggested this should be a progressive joint project. The result was the creation of the Urantia Book Study Group Portal. Today that portal is known as the Urantia Book Study Group Directory: UrantiaStudyGroup.org.
Vancouver 2020 Update
Lifting Together – United in Purpose – Serving God the Supreme
University of the Fraser Valley, BC Canada
July 28 to August 1, 2020
Registration is now open – Urantia Global Experience
The Urantia Association of Canada and The Urantia Book Fellowship have teamed up to host this gathering in the Vancouver Fraser Valley. They invite everyone to come together to serve the global community by making a personal contribution to civilization on Urantia.
The Urantia Global Experience is a gathering of minds dedicated to serving God the Supreme through the exploration of solutions for the progressive evolution of civilization. We believe the overall success of this experimental endeavor rests on our spirit unity – our common motive to express the will of God in our daily lives as well as in our social institutions.
All participants are expected to actively engage in discussion groups focused on a variety of topics drawn from The Urantia Book (71:4 Progressive Civilization). From these discussions, we hope to derive common ideas, solutions, and purpose.
Peru 2021 International Conference – Registration Now Open
Towards Cosmic Citizenship
We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2021 Urantia Association International Conference in Peru which is being held in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Urubamba, Cusco, Peru April 22—25, 2021!
Sign up now for this memorable event in Peru and receive an Exclusive Promo discount of USD$120.00 and pay only USD$330 if you register before March 31, 2020.
Conference Costs
The current cost for the conference is USD$330.00 (if you book before 31st March 2020) and includes the following services:
Third National Conference in Mexico City
On August 24th and 25th, 2019, the Urantia Association of Mexico organized its Third National Conference in Mexico City, which was attended by sixty-four readers of The Urantia Book from various cities of Mexico and Uruguay.
This gathering with our Mexican siblings was a cheerful and fraternal occasion, where we met again with several old friends and got to know personally other virtual friends who have been frequent participants in the online conferences organized by Urantia Association International’s Education Committee and in the online meetings of the Latin American Study Group.
Conferences organized by the Urantia Association of Mexico are characterized by being dynamic and participative, as well as interesting, instructive, and free for all attendees. The Mexican Association holds bi-monthly conferences and workshops where the attendees are invited to study and present themes from The Urantia Book. This dynamism is reflected in National Conferences because the attendees participate actively during their ongoing presentations, showing discernment and interest in the shared teachings. It is fascinating to see so many faces eager to absorb the teachings; answering their insightful questions is often a challenge for the presenter.
Reports on Nigeria-Ghana Urantia Conference
Fostering Spiritual Unity Through Loving Service
Urantia Nigeria and Urantia Ghana, in collaboration with Urantia Association International, organized a successful conference from 6 to 8 December 2019 in Lagos on the Victoria Islands in Nigeria. The theme was Fostering Spiritual Unity Through Loving Service. In attendance were readers from Ghana and Nigeria as well as Urantia Association’s Conference correspondent and organizer on the ground, Antonio Schefer.
Following are two reports written by Kwadjo Spiri and Emeka Anazodo:
Daughters of God Update
In our retreats, women are invited to deeply explore how the Divine dances with you in your physical, social, and spiritual life, and how you can deepen this relationship and reach out to other women in sisterhood.
We are a team of four women inspired by the teachings of The Urantia Book. Coming from different walks of life, we bonded through a shared vision, and it became our mission to enhance the status of being a woman dedicated to spiritual growth, intellectual advancement, and moral progress. In stepping out of conventional models of leadership, we have adopted the fishbowl conversation to create a milieu of soul-sharing.
Over the last 7 years, we have conducted workshops during conferences and facilitated women retreats nationally and internationally—we were fortunate to be invited to work in Canada, the USA, Hungary, and the Netherlands.
Upcoming Events
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.