The 16th meeting for Spanish Urantia Book readers was held from April 28th to May 1st in the Hotel Tryp in Guadalajara (near the capital, Madrid.) In attendance were almost 50 people hailing from the north, east, and south of Spain. Antonio Schefer’s presence was appreciated as he again came The Netherlands to represent Urantia Association International.
The theme of this meeting was “God in Man,” which is the title of section 6 in Paper 108 (Mission and Ministry of Thought Adjuster). The main subject of discussion were the Thought Adjusters: what they are, what they do for us, and what we will become together. On this occasion, our goal was to coordinate the presentations so they could approach different aspects of the Thought Adjusters and our relationship to them.
We were already excited about the prospect of working in partnership with Urantia Association International during our 2017 Urantia Conference in Accra Ghana, when Antonio Schefer alerted us to Antonio Roque’s desire for us to host a Study Group “meetup” in London in the UK during our visit to Birmingham (UK) en route to Africa. Even more thrilling was the knowledge that some of our Urantia family in Europe had expressed their desire to fly over and join us too!
Two months ago a survey was sent to English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French readers on the email list of Urantia Association International. This survey was created with the goal to find better ways to serve the growing community of study groups, and with the objective to find the different characteristics inherent in the many kinds of study groups existing throughout the world.
I worry that we are swimming upstream when we try to insert younger adults into study groups made up entirely of older people. Many times I have been one of the token young adults at Urantia events, and while I am glad that I attended them, being the odd man out always held an undertone of discomfort; and I did, at one point, stop attending a study group when I felt like I simply could not fit in. I think that I was more tolerant of the age difference than the average person, and to ask that of every younger attendee is asking a lot.
I read with great interest your article in the last Tidings and both responses from young readers that were printed with it. From what the young (and extremely erudite) Venezuelan reader had to say, it would appear that young readers might be more interested in group study if the group itself consisted of only young readers. She did not mention this, but my thought is that perhaps one, more experienced student as a guide or clarification source would be helpful, if not downright indispensable! to such a group. One problem I foresee with this model is, of course, finding young readers with the time, venue, resources and dedication to host and/or facilitate such groups. Obviously, the easiest way for the first three issues to be addressed is to establish these study groups online. As for the dedication required, that depends wholly on the spiritual investment of the founding young reader.
On the weekend of May 5 a group of 20 Urantia Book readers from different states including Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida and Georgia met at a beautiful nature center in Alabama for the whole weekend. Mark Kurtz, who was the main organizer for this event had created a program that covered interesting topics for all those present. During this gathering a few readers had been chosen to make presentations on different topics. The beautiful camaraderie that was present at this gathering was the confirmation of its spiritual maturity and encouraged everyone to share their longing for the welfare of the revelation.
As in previous years Urantia Association of the Netherlands (UAISUN) is organizing this year’s 2017 annual Urantia Conference for Dutch speaking students of The Urantia Book on August 21st. We will also be celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the incarnation of Michael of Nebadon.
Dancing with God—Emerging in Sacredness
A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
Greetings Fellow Journal Readers,
Great trees possess a majestic presence, such as the Grizzly Giant of the Sequoia Forest in Yosemite, California. It is quite interesting, even instructive, to reflect upon the fact that they begin as small seedlings, emerging as saplings, and over a long period of time grow to become nature’s monarchs.
In recent years, Internet websites have displayed at least five semi-viral videos showing members of a choir and orchestra who had surreptitiously infiltrated the central court of a large department store or shopping mall, and then—to the surprise and delight of the assembled shoppers, who had merely migrated to their favorite site for shopping so as to purchase gizmos or doodads or what-ever else may have caught their fancy—suddenly arose from their seats and emitted the thunderous lyrics and chords of the Hallelujah chorus from the celebrated oratorio The Messiah by George Frideric Handel. *
Hallelujah!
On October 3-5, 2016, representatives from the Fellowship and the Association met in Chicago, USA to discuss the possibility of unity between our organizations. This meeting was approved by the Association’s International Service Board and Representative Council, and the Fellowship’s Executive Council. Chris Wood, Merindi Belarski, Rick Lyon, Share Beasley and Susan Owen represented the Association. Michael Challis, Paula Thompson, Steve Dreier, Janet Graham, and Geoffrey Theiss represented the Fellowship. Janet had to leave early so John Hales replaced her on the second day.
The Pay-it Forward Conference Model