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Community Newsletter

April 2010
In This Issue
From the President
Summer Study Session 2010
IC11
Study Group Update
Florida Retreat
UrantiaUniversity
Conference Nacional 2010
The Felowship's Website
About The Urantia Book Fellowship
Quick Links...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 
 
President 
 
Vice-President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary General
 
Secretary
 
Judicial Chair
 
Membership Chair
 
Interfaith Chair
 
Outreach Chair
 Temporily unassigned
 
International Chair
 
Education Chair
   Lila Dogim 
 
Publications Chair
 
Finance Chair
 
Special Projects
   Tim Hobbs 
 
General Council
  
Lara Amyx
Robert Bruyn
Robert Burns
Tom Choquette
Gary Deinstadt
Avi Dogim
Stephen Dreier
Janet Falbo
Tony Finstad
Cece Forrester
Marvin Gawryn
Janet Graham
Merritt Horn
Jack Kane 
Al Lockett
Charlene Morrow
Dolores Nice
Charles Olivea
Thomas Orjala
Ken Raveill
Phillip Taylor
Jo Ann Wiedman
 
 
 
Join Our Mailing List
 
A Word from the President - April 2010

Michele Klimesh

 195.10.10   If the Christian church would only dare to espouse the Master's program, thousands of apparently indifferen tyouths would rush forward to enlist in such a spiritual undertaking, and they would not hesitate to go all the way through with this great adventure.
 
 
 
Last month, I wrote about the Council's interest in staying abreast of innovations that can help us move the Fellowship's work forward. This is one of two themes that seemed to weave through the small group visioning sessions we shared in San Francisco.
 
The second theme that interested many of our small groups was the idea of engaging young people in the revelation. This topic came up for Council deliberation later in the meeting when we unanimously approved the formation of an ad hoc Committee for Youth. Chairman Tom Choquette intends to develop it into a permanent standing committee.
 
Tom has long been devoted to drawing young people into a love of truth. His involvement with the Fellowship is a blessing on many levels. Tom says, "We have been given, as a gift, such a simple, powerful, life-changing message, and we need to come together and learn how to best share our knowledge with the young community around us."
 
I'd like to suggest that the topics of continuous innovation and engaging young people are related. Both require us to look at the present moment with an eye to the future, and to focus on how the systems we build today will shape our reality tomorrow. In closing, I ask you to consider a thought our friend Tim Hobbs offers, "What are we doing today that will be relevant two hundred years from now?"
To Progress!
 
Michelle Klimesh
 
The Fellowship's Summer Study Session
 
Techny grounds 
God Consciousness & Cosmic Morality:
Living the Gospel
July 22-25, 2010
 
Please Join us at Techny Towers Conference Center in Chicago for the Summer Study Session
 
And do bring the kids...For the first time in recent memory, organized programs will be available at a Summer Study Session for children age 3 and up. We felt it was important to do so in order to make the experience available to parents of young children and to the children themselves. 
 
In addition to workshops, lead by a number of experienced readers, there will be plenary talks by Andre Radatus, Michelle Klimesh, and Tamara Wood. 
 
Bobbie Dreier, coordinating the worship program, says that "the campus has spacious and peaceful grounds for reflection and lovely chapels for meditation, prayer, and worship." In addition to the more structured group worship programs, participants will have ample opportunity to spend time, as individuals or with friends, in stillness or in conversation with the spirit within. It is our hope that as we gather together "we will be pervaded by the atmosphere of communion.  In this way human association generates a feeling of fellowship with the divine...the beginning of group worship."  (103:4.1)
 
Two concurrent events will precede the conference. A Spiritual Retreat, coordinated by Gard Jameson, will start on the evening of Wednesday July 21st and a Women's Retreat, coordinated by Karen Larsen, will start on the morning of July 22nd. Both events will run through the evening of July 22nd. The Women's Retreat titled, "Michael and Mother Spirit," will consider the feminine and masculine aspects of our Heavenly parents and how they relate to humans, how these character traits and attributes affect humans and how can we improve the quality of communication between the genders. In addition to these two events, an organized sightseeing tour of Chicago will also be available on Thursday.
Total cost per person, including meals, for the three-day conference, is $270 for a double room and $330 for a single room. There are several rooms with three single beds and the cost is $240 per person. The adult registration fee is $75.

All rooms are air-conditioned and have private bathrooms, telephones and radios. All linens are included. The number of rooms is limited. A deposit of $50 will hold your reservation.
For more information about the conference, go to:
www.urantia-education.org
  
 For further information about the site, please visit the Techny Towers website at www.Technytowers.org.

To register on line go to www.regonline.com/Urantia_Fellowship_Summer_Study_2010
 
 
For more Program information, visit
www.urantia-education.org 
The Revelation in Action
Act Globally, Grow Cosmically

IC11 in Salt Lake City, Utah     July 27-31, 2011
 
The IC 11 conference team is working on a dynamic, motivated, educational and loving conference for you. We've been able to substantially lower the cost of this conference from your experience in Los Angeles.
 
And we'll have it in a beautiful area of the United States, Salt Lake City. We'll be nestled up beside the very mountains you see in the photo below and will enjoy each other immensely, and share our current projects with each other. You won't believe what's going on in our Urantia world! It's exciting!!! It's about the revelation in action . . . what are you doing to share, teach, and spread the good news? We want to know.
Salt Lake City
 

Requests for your workshop proposals will be sent out soon. If you would like to lead a workshop or presentation, please be thinking along the lines of our theme. Workshop space is very limited as you have requested fewer concurrent workshops. You've asked for it and we're delivering.
 
The accommodations are where the 1992 Winter Olympic athletes were housed. The dorms, hotel. and conference rooms were completely refurbished for their stay. They have small refrigerators, microwaves, and two queen beds. Four can stay very economically.   The hotel rooms are very limited so here is a plug for you to register at your first opportunity. We'll send plenty of communication letting you know when the link is available.
 
The Truthseekers team will be making a site visit to the area this May to choose the most awesome experience possible for our youth. A meaningful journey will be had for all. We'll make this as affordable as possible and as usual, we'll be asking for donations from you to provide grants to youth who may not be able to afford the trip.
 
And last - I need a registration chair. Will you please be of service, take action, and contact me. Whoever you are out there thinking your could serve, I need you. 
 
Love to all of you and I can't wait to see you in Salt Lake! We need volunteers, please contact me personally at Solonia@juno.com.
 
Susan Cook
IC 11 Conference Chair
Study Group & Society Update
 
New Wednesday Night Study Group - Anaheim, CA
 
We are blessed and delighted to announce the start-up of "The Crone Connection" - our new study group on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 here on Crone Avenue in Anaheim.  We actually did start at the very beginning of the book last night, and (to quote Rodgers and Hammerstein), that was, "a very good place to start!"
 
Yes, we did indeed tackle the first 3 parts of the "Foreword" last night (...and lived to tell the tale!) on what was a beautiful St. Patrick's Day evening.  
 
So here we are digesting some of that "Foreword" - along with some corned beef and cabbage, some trimmings, and a little nectar of the gods to celebrate the day's festivities and our new shared Urantia adventure. 
 
Please join us on all Wednesday Evenings at 7:00
2113 West Crone Avenue
Anaheim, CA  92804
Call: Mark Erickson (714)322-2372

Anaheim Study Group

Pictured left to right: Victoria Clark, Sheryl West, Mark Erickson, Debbie Herman, Robert Aponte, (back row) Dave Tucker & Rey Baskerville
 
 
Ambassador Study Groups
 
We would also like to announce our intention to institute a brand new type of Study Group.  And, by way of explanation, at this point, I would like to give credit where credit is due.
 
When I headed off to Washington, D.C. for a business trip in January, I called ahead to see if I could possibly hook up with an existing study group and meet some new East Coast readers.  Two terrific gents immediately took the baton and ran with it.  Mr. Willis Davis and Mr. Gordon Howe, both residents of the DC suburbs and both long-time readers, reached out to individuals in their study group. They all agreed to change the night of their regular meeting just to accommodate my visit. 
 
And, as if doing all this for me wasn't enough of a blessing on its own - get this part!...   The honor of meeting these new, African American Urantia brothers and sisters and joining their study group fell coincidentally right on Martin Luther King's birthday!..  Now, to this 'nice Jewish boy' that's a real "God shot"!....  And what a memorable and delightful evening it was!...
 
Living in the greater LA/Orange County area, and just a mile from the Anaheim Convention Center, the Country's 6th busiest these days, I have decided to try to re-create what my brothers and sisters did for me in D.C.
 
So if anyone reading this is planning a trip to the Southern California area (or you know a reader who is) and you would like to meet and study with some West Coast Urantia brothers and sisters, just give us a call!  We are eager to welcome you to our area, and we promise to pull together an "Ambassador Study Group" to accommodate your travel schedule.  My only request is a little reference information.  Just tell me your home study group or at least a few other readers who are familiar with you at your home base. 
 
To Setup an Ambassador Study Group in Anaheim:
Call Mark Erickson (714)322-2372
 
 Florida Retreat  May 21-23, 2010
 
The Association of Light and Life invites you to a Spring Retreat in Ellenton, Florida at the Day Spring Conference Center near Tampa. www.dayspringfla.org 
 
Theme: 
Wholeness Through Healing, and we will use as the focus the quote from the Urantia Book,  "I would desire to see my children made whole."(p.1633)

Cost: $200. for a shared room (this includes all meals, Friday dinner through Sunday lunch) 
 
Space is limited and will be made on a first come, first serve basis.
UrantiaUniversity
 
Visit UU...by simply going to http://uu.interactyx.com//login.aspx  to register.  Click the image to register or sign in.  We are looking for many readers to sign in as stay informed of the University's delelopments.    Please contact Bill Rocap if you have any questions at  brocap@sbcglobal.net
 
The UrantiaUniversity Teachers Conference was held on February 12th-15th, 2010. For the hundred teachers and FSUB (Florida Students of the Urantia Book), it was a wonderful launch. The UrantiaUniversity's goal is to provide an online, quality educational opportunity for the Urantia Book community. The weekend afforded a wonderful sounding board for the Trustees: lengthy discussions on teaching modality, sizzling presentations from the "Introduction & Pedagogy teams"; committees, intimate worship, and reflection.  The UU team is forever grateful to the FSUB community for providing this special teacher training conference.
 
The founding Board of Trustees also gave a special tribute to David Nash for appearing on the UB scene and inspiring the vision of a university dedicated to the revelation found in The Urantia Book.
  
 
TEACHERS-TEACHERS-TEACHERS....from "Patti Snyder, our Survey Purveyor"
 
There will be information sent to all prospective teachers as the lists are compiled and the info on the web tools is disseminated. As an opening step, we ask that you add your voice to the UrantiaUniversity Formation Survey. It is anonymous, tracking is turned off. Some of you participated in our beta test, thank you, and please take the Formation Survey. If you are interested in knowing more about being a teacher, we want to hear your candid opinions/expectations of UU and about your relationship to the Urantia Book. The survey takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete.  Here is the link:   www.surveygizmo.com/s/232088/uu-formation-survey
 
I sincerely hope you will take the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful, spiritually-led enterprise for the uplifting of our experience.
 
Patti
Conferencia Nacional 2010 (CN10)

Theme: Local Universe Mother Spirit   
Location: Aquarium Mazatlan - Auditorium
Dates: May 7th -9th, 2010

Mazatlan

The 36th Regional Reunion and 9th Reunion of the of UB Readers from 3 Americas Multilingual Conference in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.  Organized by readers from Grupo Orvont�n, A.C. & The Urantia Book Fellowship.
 
Registration Costs:  
Include conference program, specified activities, opening and closing meals, and coffee breaks.   Other meals are not included. (Save by registering early.) 
Mar     $1120 pesos ($80 US)                    
Apr      $1260 pesos ($90 US) 
May    $1400 pesos ($100 US)                  
 
Register at the Conference Website:
http://urantiaconferencemazatlan.seabornstrings.com/contactus.php 
Make payment via PAYPAL to the account of: orvonton@gmail.com
 
Accommodations:
Note: Attendees are responsible for their own accommodations.
Inexpensive accommodations at Hotel Pasada Los Tabachines are an easy walk to the Aquarium. (Only $50.00 US per night, ask for the Urantia group rate.)
 
Any hotel on Mazatlan's Gold Coast will work, Mazatlan's legendary golf cart taxis are efficient, fun, and inexpensive.
Visit http://gomazatlan.com/ or your favorite travel resources for a variety of accommodations.
 
For more Information contact Agust�n Arellano Tirado: 
From outside Mexico call: Cell - 011 52 1811 5002958 or Office - 011 52 8183 172943 or email or email Agust�n at  orvonton@gmail.com    

 
 
The Fellowship Website 

The Urantia Book Fellowship's website is a rich resource of reader commentaries and study aids.  Here is a great section related to the Cosmology described in The Urantia Book.
 
For your convenience, the link is :    http://urantiabook.org/index_cosmology.htm
 
Urantia Book Fellowship's website is constantly being updated with new material.  
 
The Urantia Book Fellowship
 
The Urantia Book Fellowship -- founded in 1955 as Urantia Brotherhood -- is an association of individuals, families, and various groups inspired by the teachings of The Urantia Book. The Urantia Book Fellowship supports the study and dissemination of The Urantia Book worldwide and is committed to the ideal of spiritual unity, which embraces individual diversity, as embodied in the teachings of The Urantia Book.  
 
Reader Services and organizational business are managed by the General Council consisting of 36 members elected from the readership. The Council is assisted by an Executive Committee comprised of Council members who manage various working committees of The Fellowship. The Urantia Book Fellowship is a member of the North American Interfaith Network.  
 
For more information, visit  About The Urantia Book Fellowship  or our home page at www.urantiabook.org  
 
The Urantia Book Fellowship
PO Box 6631
Broomfield, CO 80021
Toll Free 877-288-3772