Post-Conference – 2nd European Conference

From , Presented by Risto Mäntynen, Finland on

Hosted by Finnish Urantia Association Members and Friends

14 – 16 July, 2019

For those of you staying longer in Tallinn-Estonia after the main conference there will be a post-conference organized by the Finnish Urantia Association members and friends.

There are only seven weeks left before the 2nd European Urantia Conference starts and everyone on the conference planning committee is working hard to make it a great conference; they are looking forward to welcoming you very soon to Estonia.

To make the total experience more complete after the 2nd European Conference we are organizing a post-conference for additional socializing and sightseeing among Urantia Book students. If you are interested in staying longer after the event, then check this out!

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Urantia Midwest Conference 2019

From , Presented by Rick Lyon, USA on

The Inevitabilities ~ Burdens to Blessings

We invite and encourage all students of The Urantia Book to attend this year’s Midwest Conference in Normal, Illinois 16—18 August, 2019.

The uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of existence do not in any manner contradict the concept of the universal sovereignty of God. All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities that, while wise in their manner of teaching and problem-solving development, make life seem harsh and confusing to us mortals. The ultimate question being: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” That is sometimes followed by: “If God loves me, then why does he not remove the cruel and unjust situations of life?” or “Why didn’t Jesus just heal everyone?”

Uncertainty with security is the essence of the Paradise adventure. The Inevitabilities illustrate the uncertainty we have unified with the security we need—uncertainty in time and in mind, uncertainty as to the events of our lives, uncertainty as an inexperienced citizen of the universe—a “child” of God; security in spirit and in eternity, security in the unqualified trust of the creature son in the divine compassion and infinite love of the Universal Father; security as an ascending child of an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving Father.

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Annual Retreat for UK and Ireland 2019

From , Presented by Chris Moseley, UK on

Being About the Father’s Business

6—8 September 2019

Once again it’s time to invite you to the annual summer retreat of British readers of The Urantia Book—a chance to relax for a weekend in congenial company and beautiful surroundings with fellow truth seekers. This is the first gathering held by our new British-Irish organization: Urantia Association of Great Britain & Ireland (UAGBI).

We welcome our members as well as other students of the revelation both at home and abroad to this annual event.

The location of our meeting this year is at the beautiful Belsey Bridge Conference Centre in Bungay, Suffolk, in the east of England. Full board and accommodation are offered.

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Urantia Global Experience – Vancouver 2020

From , Presented by Nathen Jansen, Canada on

Vancouver, Canada 15—19 July 2020

Lifting Together—United in Purpose—Serving God the Supreme

Call for Volunteers. The Urantia Global Experience is an upcoming 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 spiritual unity—our common motive to express the will of God in our personal daily lives as well as in our social institutions.

The format of this gathering will be a little different than past related experiences. Rather than a series of lectures or workshops, all participants will engage in discussion groups focused on a variety of topics drawn from The Urantia Book (see Paper 71:4 Progressive Civilization). From these discussions, we hope to derive common ideas, solutions, and purpose.

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Urantia Life Lessons

From , By Alice Wood, USA on

A Personal Outreach

I’m Alice Wood and I am the creator of the YouTube channel, Urantia Life Lessons. This is a platform designed to walk people through the teachings of The Urantia Book as they relate to our daily lives.

Being a second-generation student of The Urantia Book, I became aware that children who are raised with the book are exposed first, to the values of the book, rather than the details which are so often overwhelming to people who are not familiar with it. It is those values that I bring forth in a way that I hope is appealing to both long-time and new students of The Urantia Book.

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18th National Meeting of Readers in Spain

From , By Olga Lopez, Spain on

The Inner Life

The 18th Meeting of readers in Spain began on Thursday afternoon, April 25th at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada, located just beside the Mediterranean Sea in the town of Benalmádena (Málaga, Spain). Forty-five attendees came from all over the country and also from abroad, including Germany, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland. Among our guests were Antonio Schefer, Urantia Association’s Conference Committee Chair, and Sebastian Nozzi, European Coordinator. Thank you all for coming!

On this occasion, the conference theme was “The Inner Life,” in connection with the general theme for conferences called “Living the Teachings.” More specifically, we explored the inner life in four subthemes:

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The Parliament of the World’s Religions 2018

From , By Alain Cyr, Canada on

The Promise of Inclusion, the Power of Love

I volunteered to assist in the Urantia Book booth at the last year’s Parliament of the World’s Religions which was held in Toronto on November 1-7, 2018. There were around 72 Urantia Book readers present at the event and many of us who volunteered were kept busy appreciating the multitude of smiling faces on the people who passed by, many of whom stopped at the booth to fraternize and investigate our book. The event was held in the huge Metro Toronto Convention Center, and we enjoyed the contact of so many open-minded thirsty souls. People are really thirsty for world peace!

This message was particularly felt within the global call for unity that was highlighted within presentations and plenaries. What hit me most was this Interfaith phenomenon that is growing globally; there is an increasing willingness to collaborate. People of all faiths are gathering all around the planet to foster joint venture projects on behalf of social progress. This is quite encouraging! Surely the Most Highs must take delight in such happenings… as they rule in the kingdom of men (and women of course).

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Urantia in Medellín, Colombia

From , Presented by Tamila Ragimova, Colombia on

Every year at the beginning of March, we hold a conference on a Sunday at the Intercontinental Hotel. The theme of our conference this year was “Science, Religion and Spirituality.” Presentations were held on a variety of topics from The Urantia Book as well as the application of the book’s teachings to our contemporary life.

This year the event was held on March 10, 2019, starting with 35 participants on the terrace of the Citará event room. On this occasion, as in previous years, people from different cities of Colombia came to the conference; they came from Bogotá, Rionegro, Caucasia, Montería, Medellín, among others.

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Farewell Moussa Ndiaye

From , By Gaetan Charland, Canada on

On the 29th of March of this year Moussa Ndiaye, a long-time reader and a great teacher of The Urantia Book teachings, passed away. Moussa was the first president of the national Urantia Association of Senegal and over many years traveled to Europe, Canada, and the United States to attend conferences as well as to present a series of seminars based on The Urantia Book teachings. His goal was to help uplift spiritual consciousness in men and women of many faiths whether they were Urantia Book readers or not.

I first met Moussa in 2000 in New York during the Urantia Association’s international conference at Staten Island. From my first meeting with him, I was impressed by the man and by what he had achieved in his country. He was able to share The Urantia Book’s teachings to more than eight hundred people of the Muslim faith with the help of a unique method he devised called “Progressive Divine Wisdom,” which is based on The Urantia Book’s teachings.

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Annual Conference for French Speaking Urantia Book Readers

Hosted by French Association of Readers of the Urantia Book

June 13 to 16, 2019

Theme: “How does the soul function within you?” 

Location: Hostellerie Notre Dame Des Lumieres, France

2019 ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING 

The Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d’Urantia (AFLLU ) invites you to the Annual Conference for French Speaking Urantia Book readers to be held in June 2019 as of Thursday 13, 6 pm through Sunday on the 16th at 2 pm at Notre Dame de Lumières – 84220 – Goult.

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SuperMeditation

From , By Neil Francey, Australia on

…Meditation in the Superconscious with the Spirit of the Infinite, Eternal, and Universal

This is a comprehensive work based on the Urantia Papers that explores meditation in its ultimate form: SuperMeditation. It is based on the highest revelatory truths of the modern age.

SuperMeditation links our day-to-day life with spirit influences. It is not a quick and easy method. It works in a natural way over time and seeks to balance all attributes, powers and components of our being. There is no set method or sequence for the study of these modules. They need to be studied and applied in practical life circumstances.

SuperMeditation is the connection of material reality and our spiritual nature through the thinking mechanism we call mind. By attempting this liaison we develop our ability to face the demands of living more effectively.

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Finnish Summer Conference – 2019

By Finnish Urantia Association on

7—9 June, 2019

We invite you to join our 2019 Summer Conference for Urantia Book readers in Finland at Päivölän Opisto, Tarttila which is 135 kilometers from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Our theme will be: “Thousands of Study Groups Must Be Brought Into Existence”

During this conference there will be a mixture of presentations, workshops, study groups, discussions, walking in nature, a social program, and other Urantia-focussed activities.

For more details see our program below.

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Journal Editorial May 2019

From , By Suzanne Kelly, USA on

Greetings Fellow Urantia Book Readers,

The first production of the Journal for 2019 highlights authors from around the world and their in-depth presentations of those portions of the book that spoke to them personally. In sharing their experiences, we hope you will discover a greater understanding as well.

Our first essay by Jeanne Vasquez from Uruguay, The Function of Prayer to Strengthen our Faith, was presented at the 2nd Latin-American Conference, São Paulo, Brazil, on November 2018. To clarify her understanding of faith and the function of prayer in making her faith stronger, she first examines this quote:

Belief has attained the level of faith when it motivates life and shapes the mode of living. The acceptance of a teaching as true is not faith; that is mere belief. Neither is certainty nor conviction faith. A state of mind attains to faith levels only when it actually dominates the mode of living. Faith is a living attribute of genuine personal religious experience. One believes truth, admires beauty, and reverences goodness, but does not worship them; such an attitude of saving faith is centered on God alone, who is all of these personified and infinitely more. [Paper 101:2.1, page 1114:5]

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The Function of Prayer to Strengthen Our Faith

From , By Jeannie Vazquez, Uruguay on

(Adapted from a presentation given at the 2nd Latin-American Conference, São Paulo, Brazil, on November 2018)

To start the analysis of this subject and to understand more clearly the function of prayer in the strengthening of our faith by making it experiential, living, and growing faith, let’s start by seeing what faith actually is.

Belief has attained the level of faith when it motivates life and shapes the mode of living. The acceptance of a teaching as true is not faith; that is mere belief. Neither is certainty nor conviction faith. A state of mind attains to faith levels only when it actually dominates the mode of living. Faith is a living attribute of genuine personal religious experience. One believes truth, admires beauty, and reverences goodness, but does not worship them; such an attitude of saving faith is centered on God alone, who is all of these personified and infinitely more. [Paper 101:8.1, page 1114.5]

According to this quote, a belief in divine teaching, even a belief in The Urantia Book, unless it gradually becomes a living reality in ourselves, is not faith. Faith is a living attribute of genuine personal religious experience [101:8.1, 1114.5], and this experience has its origin in the spiritual presences that guide us.

Let us consider how we can progress from a mere intellectual belief in God and the divine teaching delivered to us by his Sons, to the application of these teachings in our lives. In my view, to attain such progress, it is essential to make a sincere consecration to seek divine realities and spiritual and eternal objectives. This consecration enables us to make the decisions and carry out the actions that realize our eternal destiny. The revelator in The Urantia Book says:

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Worship—A Son’s Experience

From , By Mark Blackham, Canada on

The Life Experience

I write this account as a way of sharing my personal religious experience in the acquired art of worship. For me, the telling is somewhat therapeutic and, for others who may have encountered similar circumstances in their lives, I hope it can serve as a positive affirmation.

Worship is simply the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for Deity. It is an extraordinary act of personal communion with the living presence of God. It is a way of tapping into a divinely creative power to bring about positive transformations of character, and it can provide remarkable spiritual insights. This is why The Urantia Book urges us to worship on a daily basis.

But over the years, I discovered that many spiritual seekers, including many readers of The Urantia Book, have difficulty engaging in sincere worship. This was certainly the case for me. It took me a long time to overcome this stumbling block, and I was able to do so only through some deep reflection, timid prayer, and the kind assistance of others. My ability to worship in a wholehearted manner was not something that came to me all at once, but rather bit by bit over an extended period.

I discovered the revelation at the age of twenty-three. From the moment I began to read it, I was convinced I had found the truth. At first, I was particularly drawn to the historical and scientific content, subjects that I readily absorbed. But, in retrospect, my understanding of the spiritual content was severely limited.

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The Meaning of Worship and Service 

From , By William Wentworth, Australia on

(Presented at the Hobart Anzura Conference, October 2010)

The Meaning of Worship

The urge to worship appears naturally with the activation of the sixth adjutant mind-spirit. In humans, the urge to worship and the capacity for it are innate. Although we all experience this urge as individuals and in our own way, in its most basic form, worship is the recognition and honoring of the mysterious and incomprehensible cause and motivator of everything.

Worship has evolved through many phases—animal worship, nature worship, polytheism, pantheism and so on—until in monotheism we come to recognize God as both the cause and source of everything and, as revealed to us most recently by Jesus, as a benevolent personality who loves us and has a place for each of us.

Worship is recognizing and honoring God as a father, but is it also the recognition of the non-personal aspect of deity? I think it is. Jesus defines worship as:

“…the act of a part identifying itself with the Whole; the finite with the Infinite; the son with the Father; time in the act of striking step with eternity. Worship is the act of the son’s personal communion with the divine father, the assumption of refreshing, creative, fraternal and romantic attitudes by the human soul- spirit.” [Paper 143:7.8, page 1616.11].

For Jesus, worship consists of both personal communion with the Father and recognition of the Infinite as the source of everything. It is worth bearing in mind that this second aspect of worship is suggested by Jesus, and that our attempts at personal communion with the Father are also bound up with our recognition of the source of reality and the divine plan of progression. In a sense, we worship God because we know something about him—about who he is and what he is doing.

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Conference for Spanish Urantia Book Readers in Spain

25th to 28th April, 2019

The Urantia Association of Spain is going to hold its 18th National Conference in Benalmádena Costa (southern Spain). On this occasion, the theme will be “The Inner Life”, with plenary presentations, breakout sessions and workshops, among other activities.

It could be quite challenging for us human beings, humble ascending mortals, to grasp and truly understand what the purpose of an inner life is. Much of our life has to do with what is happening on the outside.  So what is an inner life? We are going to explore in this meeting what the inner life is about, focusing not only on The Urantia Book teachings but also in how to live them in our daily lives.

 

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President’s Message – March 2019

From , By Chris Wood, USA on

“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 question takes many forms, from “What is The Urantia Book?” to “What is your religion?” We each come up with our best answer, hopefully one that is true to our own life and inspires thoughtful questions and conversations. I have been using some form of the same answer for about six years now.

“Urantia is about a personal relationship with God that propels a person into service.”

It works for me. I see it as a reformulation of “The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.” In Paper 142, The Passover at Jerusalem, Jesus is visiting with a Greek Jew and tells him, in part, that we should be engaged in

…two great privileges: sincere worship of the infinite Creator, the Paradise Father, and loving service bestowed upon one’s fellow men. [Paper 142:4:2, page 1600.3]

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Update 2nd European Urantia Conference

Presented by Antonio Schefer, The Netherlands on

Dear Friends,

This summer the 2nd European Urantia Conference takes place in Tallinn, Estonia 11 to 14 July, 2019. The Urantia Association of Estonia has been preparing for this event in Northeast Europe. Tallinn is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The organizers chose this city in an effort to unite Urantia Book students from all around Europe, and from abroad for the second time since 2016. The previous conference was in Budapest-Hungary and about eighty Urantia Book readers from around the world participated in that historical event.

This conference will address the theme: “Sowing Seeds” by posing questions: – How can we grow internally in spirit and externally in numbers? On Friday and Sunday the program will concentrate on spiritual growth possibilities, and on Saturday the focus will be on growing the numbers of readers. Presenters will discuss personal experiences from different countries in Europe, and from other continents—exploring how to find new readers and form new study groups. Following these presentations, the various European national groups are invited to make their own plans for finding new readers. Breakout sessions will be organized into smaller language groups, and translation materials will be available for those who do not speak English.

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Dissemination Committee Update

From , By David Linthicum, USA on

David Linthicum, our current Dissemination Committee Chairman, will finish his term as chairman on March 31, 2019. David’s successor is Willem Jeths who was raised in the Netherlands and holds degrees in biology, science, and mathematics and speaks Dutch, English, German, and Portuguese. Willem currently resides in the south of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

We welcome Willem and wish to offer our thanks to David for his service to the Association, not just in his role as Dissemination Chair on Urantia Association’s International Service Board, but also for his twenty-plus years of service to Urantia Association of the United States (UAUS) where he served two terms as Treasurer, two terms as President, served as the Study Groups Chair, and also served on the International Association’s Judicial Commission. David remains active in his local association as a charter member of Spirit of Oklahoma.

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