The Overcontrol of Evolution
25 – 27 October 2024
Our British readers’ summer retreat is a little later in the year this year than in previous years – from 25 to 27 October. Our venue this year the Ammerdown Retreat Centre near Radstock, Somerset, a place that offers us “hospitality, peace and reconciliation”. As usual, we’ll be gathering from Friday afternoon to Sunday lunchtime, and we have a full programme planned – but with time out for relaxation and socialising too. You can view the venue on-line at www.ammerdown.org
Radstock is a small market town in Somerset in the west of England. Access by public transport is best made by train to Bath Spa (from Paddington in London) and from there by regular bus service from Bath to Radstock. (As we are going to be there from Friday to Sunday, we need to consult the Sunday bus timetable back to Bath.) By air, the nearest airport is Bristol. If anyone is travelling there, I will find out the best public transport connections to Radstock. Taxis are also available, and our hosts have given me the contact details of taxi companies. Ammerdown Park is situated on the outskirts of Radstock.
See the Programme at the end of this announcement.
The cost for each of us is £113 per person per night, plus VAT (value added tax). The cost for UAGBI to hire a conference room is £160. We are being charged per person, not per room. We’re welcome to arrive from about 4 p.m. on Friday 25th October and leave after lunch on Sunday 27th. A copy of the programme is attached, and with this invitation I am also inviting you to volunteer to give one of the presentations. Our Retreat will be so much more of a success with your contribution.
A deposit payment of GBP 60 will indicate your commitment to coming to it. We are setting up a dedicated bank account to receive and pay out payments, but that will take several weeks. In the meantime you may send your deposit to me as soon as possible at the same account number as last year which is:
Account name: CJ & K Moseley
Bank: Barclays
Account number: 90295574
Sort Code: 20-71-03
SWIFTBIC: BUKBGB22
IBAN: GB10 BUKB 2071 0390 2955 74
If paying by bank transfer, please mention the reference: Urantia Retreat.
If paying by post, send to 9 Westdene Crescent, Caversham, Berkshire RG4 7HD.
If you have any questions about details of the Retreat weekend, please write to me at the above address or click here to email me.
Sincerely,
Chris Moseley
Programme
Theme: The Overcontrol of Evolution (based on Paper 65, p. 730-740)
Duration: Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime
Friday: 16.00 onwards: meet and socialise at the venue
18.30: dinner
20.00: social evening
Saturday: 8.00 – 9.30 Breakfast
9.30 Presentation 1: Evolving human concepts of evolution: Science before evolutionary theory; the advent of Darwin and Wallace and Lyell; the Origin of Species; perceived clashes with evolutionary religions; the clash with ‘Creationism’; subsequent further proofs of biologic evolution
10.45 coffee break
11.15 Presentation 2: Definitions and functions of the Master Physical Controllers and the Life Carriers
12.00 Presentation 3: “From seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation” – the evolutionary panorama
12.45 lunch
14.00 Presentation 4: How much of evolution is trial and error? – the fostering of evolution
15.15 coffee break, followed by local exploration/excursion
16.45 Quiz, followed by free time
18.30 Dinner
19.30 Free social evening; line dancing option; option of showing a Urantia-themed video relating to evolution if we can get one (ask the venue for this facility); gathering in the bar, if there is one
Sunday: 7.00 Meditation (optional)
8.00 – 9.30 Breakfast
9.30 Presentation 5: Life experiment worlds compared with other worlds (sections 4, 5 & 6 of Paper 65)
10.45 Presentation 6: Mental evolution – the development of the human mind (sections 7 & 8 of Paper 65)
11.30 coffee break; announcements of future activities in UK and elsewhere; suggestions for next Retreat
11.45 Presentation 7: Conclusions: Creationism vs. Evolutionary science, the findings of palaeontology, evolution into the future
12.30 Lunch
1.30 onwards: departure