The Urantia Book Fellowship

Community Newsletter                       February 2012

In This Issue
Summer Study Session
Calling New Leaders!
Havona in Havana
Wild Goose Festival
A Poem
Virtual Outreach
Online Study Groups
Contribute
New Online Catalog
Reminders
Quick Links...

 

 

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OUR NEW WEB STORE
IS OPEN!
The Urantia Book Fellowship is pleased to announce that we are now offering, via our web store, many of the books that used to be offered in the Morning Star Catalog (formerly the Good Cheer Catalog.) Our newly redesigned web store is now open for business and contains many of the great books and study aids that Urantia Book readers love as well as some brand new gems for your contemplation and inspiration.

 Click here to visit the new UVERSA PRESS CATALOG. 

 

WE HAVE A NEW COVER!
New Cover 
 
Congratulations to Gary Tonge for submitting the winning entry in The Uversa Press Committee's cover contest. Our fourth printing of The Urantia Book, projected to be available in Summer 2012, will feature the Standard Reference Text and Tonge's beautifully inspiring cover art.  A special thank you to John Hay, Chair
 of Uversa Press and his committee, Paula Thompson, and Don Greene, for seeing this project to fruition. 

click here to see a larger image 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

  

President 

 

Vice-President
   John Hales 

 

Treasurer

 

Secretary General

 

Secretary

 

Judicial Chair

 

Membership Chair

 

Interfaith Chair
   Susan Cook 

 

Outreach Chair

 

International Chair

 

Education Chair
   Lila Dogim 

 

Publications Chair

 

Finance Chair
   John Hay 

 

Youth and Young Adult Chair
   Anthony Finstad 
    

General Council  
Lara Amyx
Andrea Barnes
Larry Bowman 
Robert Bruyn
Robert Burns
Avi Dogim
Stephen Dreier
Janet Falbo
Tony Finstad
Cece Forrester
Janet Graham
Tim Hobbs
Merritt Horn
Jack Kane 
Al Lockett
Charlene Morrow
Dolores Nice
Charles Olivea
Thomas Orjala
Phillip Taylor
Jo Ann Wiedman

 

 

 


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2012 SUMMER STUDY SESSION:
Progressive Planetary Civilization 
August 1-6, 2012
Techny Towers, Chicago, Illinois 
 
Pre-Conference  - Aug 1, 2012  
Conference Seminar -  Aug 2-5, 2012  
General Council  - Aug 5-6, 2012

The Education Committee of The Urantia Book Fellowship invites you to come and join us for the Fellowship Summer Study Session, August 1-5, 2012, at beautiful Techny Towers, a conference and retreat center located in Chicago's North Shore. Plans for the conference include a pre-conference retreat from Wednesday evening, August 1st through Friday morning,August 3rd, and pre-conference guided City Tour of Chicago's  lakefront architecture is also available. YaYa's We really want to make this a family event.  In addition, the Youth and Young Adult Committee will have a very active 'voice' at this conference.   

  


Prices have been kept as they were in 2010. There will be no registration fees for children under 18, and we have scholarships available especially for families in order to bring costs down and allow attendees to bring children or grandchildren. A special children's program will be provided.

  

It's time for you to register now for the Summer Study Session. 
Register directly
online by clicking here.

Techny Towers
Techny Towers Accommodations
If you would like to conduct a workshop, a Workshop Proposal Form should be filled out and returned to Peter Laurence, Program Chair.  The workshop dead line has been extended to March 30th.  The Education Committee will review the proposals and select the ones that will provide a balanced and informative program. We invite proposals from both those who are experienced workshop presenters and those who may be presenting for the first time.

The committee is encouraging people who've never created a workshop to do so. We will partner with people one on one and give as much or as little assistance as someone may need or want. Workshops may be focused on the broader aspects of the topic or on any subset such as 'education' or 'religion.'

The primary focus of the Summer Study Session is an in-depth study of The Urantia Book, but proposals that link Urantia Book concepts to contemporary thought and practice are welcome. There are numerous parts of the book that speak to progressive planetary evolution and not just those that are labeled as such. Workshops should examine the broad implications of the theme so we that we have an interestingly diverse scope of programs. Study of the book can be greatly enriched by relating it to its present context.

Space is limited, so hurry before it's too late.
For more information and details go to:
http://www.urantia-education.org/index.php

To register online go to:
http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1030571#

To Volunteer Click Here

Our Fellowship Needs New Leaders 
 
We've learned that the Universe provides for organizational leadership.  
 
The success of the Fellowship will always be dependent on the dedicated  efforts of the people who voluntarily step forward.


Triennial Delegate Assembly
will be held at Techny Towers
on August 1st
stay tuned for details... 

 

Havona in Havana: Mission to Cuba by Agustin Arellano

Six members of the Urantia Grupo Nambia from Mexico arrived in Havana on January 14th, 2012. Our first chore was to exchange our Mexican pesos for C.U.C. (convertible Cuban pesos)  We met with Sr. Reynaldo, who coordinated our trip in Cuba. His help was the key factor in the success of our journey, introducing us to his friends in every place we visited. He maintained his enthusiasm through every step of our journey. With his help and enthusiasm we managed to connect well with people throughout the country.

Given that our journey began and ended in Havana we called this our "Havona in Havana" mission. We traveled from Pinar del Rio to Sancti Spiritus, visiting half of the sixteen provinces on the island. We plan to visit the remaining provinces on our next trip, hoping to be of greater service through our additional understanding of the country and the needs of groups of readers.

We didn't have enough materials to hand out to all the existing readers as well as people new to the book who wanted to study it after attending our presentations nor enough time to spend with each group. But we did manage to establish the foundations for two projects. One is "Blue Libraries" (Urantia Book placement in public libraries throughout the country) and the other is to establish at least one study group in each one of the sixteen provinces in the country.

We could not achieve our goal of creating the Cuban Sister Society of Mexico's Grupo Orvonton because the costs would be over budget, about $5,000.00 in US dollars. Also, we would need to stay in Cuba too long. Since we couldn't reach that goal, we settled on creating a local organization with members from all sixteen provinces. We will work with them to help structure the organization to benefit all the members. Right now we are sister organizations, not formally incorporated, with a commitment to send them books and study materials every month, using postal service.  

Do you want to be part of this exciting Adopt a Province Project? Your donations can be used to send a Urantia Outreach package to a leader in each of the 16 provinces in Cuba. Each package (box) will contain two Spanish language Urantia Books, secondary materials such as UB Basics, 21 Steps, When Things Go Wrong (made possible by The Urantia Book Fellowship), as well as a UB Index, 3 DVDs with material for beginners, a UB Spanish Audio, a USB flash drive, a gently used cell phone with money to buy a SIM card and minutes for one month. These phones will be essential for our new leaders to keep in touch with each other. (FYI: Any extra space in these boxes is filled with donations from local readers in Mexico, usually small personal items like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.)

Cost of materials and shipping for each Urantia Outreach box is $200 US. Donations can be made via Paypal.  http://orvonton.org/index.php/page/Proyectos.html. (Open the page and scroll down to the bottom where the Paypal button is.)

Unfortunately, our organization in Mexico is not set up to provide tax deductible donations, but you will get a receipt with our thanks. If you'd like, we can update you on this project and tell you how your money was used. Help us cover travel costs for our return to Cuba. Only two people will make this trip in early April. We plan to finish our commitment to readers in the remaining eight provinces. We managed to complete so much work using our own personal funds and resources. Imagine how much more we could do with your help!

"The act is ours, the consequences God's."

 

The contacts and deep friendships we created will help to build new study and outreach groups. We decided to focus on Cuba for Mexico's 2013 annual conference. Cuban readers and leaders will be our special invited guests. The conference will take place in Mexico City D.F. from March 28 - 31, 2013. There will be a pre-conference gathering with the theme:  �Hasta la Havona Siempre! or "Havona or Bust!"  

 

You can support sending translations of the Urantia Book to places like Cuba, via the Fellowship's Pipeline of Light . 

 

WILD GOOSE FESTIVAL ???
By Pamela Chaddock Member at Large / Outreach  

 

Organizer and Irish peace activist Gareth Higgins explains that the Celtic Church's image of the Wild Goose has long been held as a symbol for the wild, unpredictable, and untamable nature of the Holy Spirit. The Festival recognizes the beautiful mystery animating the action and experience of all people of faith. Even so, why would any intelligent Urantian in their right or left mind even consider venturing into a humid cow-pied pastureland for something called The Wild Goose Festival?

wild goose festival
Wild Goose Festival 2011
Well, because among the whimsical fireflies a personal metamorphosis takes place when you realize that the authors of the Urantia Book were prophetic when they said, "Thus does the so-called Christian church become the cocoon in which the kingdom of Jesus' concept now
wild goose
Amazing Fellowship 
slumbers. The kingdom of the divine brotherhood is still alive and will eventually and certainly come forth from this long submergence, just as surely as the butterfly eventually emerges as the beautiful unfolding of its less attractive creature of metamorphic development." UB 170.5.21.


The Wild Goose Festival seeks to be a welcoming and hospitable space for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, background or belief. The aim is to foster a space where artists, speakers, and sponsors can approach the Wild Goose Community on common and uncommon ground. But, it's not all fireflies - there's also palpable conceptualizing and fun for the mind, soul, heart, and body. Amateur musicians circle up to play, beer and philosophy flow, Frisbees fly, kiddies slip-n-slide, and people linger around campfires into the early morning hours.

Awesome Speakers Abound! 
This year the Urantia Book Fellowship has signed on as a sponsor of the event. Sponsoring the Festival gives us fantastic promotional opportunities and allows us to have our very own Urantian presence and perspective there!  We were there last year and several of us are already registered for the 2012 event.  Won't you join us?

The dates are June 21-24 and location is 26 miles SW of Chapel Hill, N.C. The event is open to everyone and will be especially rewarding and gratifying to those who are conversant with Christianity and the Bible. Click here to learn more or register Also, check out this 5 minute video clip from the 2011 event on  YouTube Video

Come share your treasure, partake in the metamorphosis -- in this audacious attempt to re-imagine Christianity under a wider, more inclusive tent. Is that a rousing YOWSAH I hear?! Feel free to contact me if you have questions about packing ;)

GET ON BOARD for the generous 15% discount for Urantians off any Wild Goose pass or combination of passes (excluding camping fees) available between March 10 - 20 only.  Register at  http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2407342426/ and type "UrantiaGoose" in the "enter promotional code".
Steve_Jobs

Because He Gave Birth

 

 

So  

precious

 

is a person's faith in God,


so precious;

 

never should we harm


that.

 

Because

He gave birth 

to all


religions.


By St. Francis of Assisi 

 

Virtual Urantia Book Outreach - In Second Life  

 

From Wikipedia:
  Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another. Second Life is intended for people aged 16 and over, and as of 2011 has about one million active users.
Danish ChangHigh Circus
My name is Jean Ascher, in real life I am a performer and have been traveling with my Danish ChangHigh Circus for 30 years. It is a very special children's circus, where we teach and travel with kids of all ages from all over Scandinavia, Europe and Middle East. In Second Life my name is Yman Juran and I've created The ChangHigh Sisters Fireshow of Light, Life and Love. 

I joined the virtual world with one purpose: To create a virtual entertainment circus, in action, style and function, similar to the one I had in reality. As I grew older, my free time grew larger. I needed new challenges and when I read about Second Life in my newspaper I decided to check it out. I joined up, flew in and stayed.

In Second Life my sole purpose has been to create a performance somehow comparable to the real one but I soon discovered that many of the tools and effects I needed, especially the kind of fire I wanted to use, were nonexistent and needed be created there from scratch. I began a thorough investigation inside the game to find someone to "script" the fire I wanted. I was very demanding, requesting realistic flames, smoke, sparks and movements, all of an extraordinary quality. I also became familiar with effects shops and soon had selected a rather spectacular collection of special effects (FXs) I could use inside the performances to enhance and uplift them. I have always been a notorious book reader, interested in philosophy, cosmology and universal revelations of all kinds so it was natural for me to add a spiritual element to the performance. I decided to create an edutainment experience with a message of wisdom, peace, enlightenment and love which could uplift the audience and the entire culture inside Second Life.

A saying from my younger days lingers in my mind, it is simply, "What you find missing in this world - create it." I created a show based on The Urantia Book, which is much more than just an enjoyable virtual show but is also a performance which can potentially enrich and elevate the souls and spirits of those who happen to see it.  To create a spiritual impression within the minds of the audience which would last well beyond their time on Second Life.

In Second Life, I have also created authentic virtual copies The Urantia Book from all publishers. For the last 2 years I have held various studying groups within Second Life. It became necessary to establish a Urantia study group as performances brought me in contact with many people who wanted to know more. I have successfully placed the virtual Urantia Book in virtual libraries and try to hold monthly meetings which include slide shows, charts and other illustrative paintings, all related to the book. However, Second Life has its limitations. There is no voice or facial expressions so irony and jokes can be easily misunderstood and a debate can be hard to control in such an environment.

I'd like to extend our invitation to all to visit this virtual Urantia community inside of Second Life. I can be contacted as Yman Juran. We send a positive blessing for the upcoming year and hope the power of life, light and love will be with you as we all walk forward on our progressing path toward perfection.

 

 ONLINE STUDY GROUPS - SO EASY TO JOIN IN!

Tuesday Night 

Symmetry of Soul  6pm to 8pm PST 

www.symmetryofsoul.org

 

A weekly study of the unifying concepts of The Urantia Book, mindful of the threefold nature of the cosmos: 'philosophy, religion, and science are welded into a meaningful unity by the conjoined action of wisdom, faith, and experience.'

Wednesday Night
 
 www.atlantaurantiastudygroup.org

We post our meetings on line every week in video and mp3 format for anyone who would like to watch or listen. Our Wednesday night study session is usually posted by Saturday each week. We are limited to 10 people on Skype as a video call, but by posting the video on line everyone can listen. 
  User Name rogerpauldc email [email protected]

 



Friday Night
Please join us for the live Skype broadcast study group with Chris Halvorson, Friday evenings at 7:30 - 9:30pm MST.....Call 720-457-3606 o
r 
search Skype name "perfectinghorizons". Please call in 5-10 minutes early so you are all set up before the start of class....we are unable 
to log anyone on after the start of class. This is not an interactive call so PLEASE MUTE your phone or computer...just listen and enjoy.

Previous audio/video classes and study aids can be found at  
www.perfectinghorizons.org   

AND 

If you want to run virtual / telephone study groups, or support an existing physical one, I have the perfect free tool: http://www.freeconferencing.com/ I was amazed and thrilled after successfully testing this service with three phones and screen sharing. Also, people not on an unlimited calling plan can get in for free with Skype.

This tool enables the group leader/facilitator to let everyone have an equal chance to talk and to hear what's going in. It levels the playing field and encourages interaction:

�         Telephone Access
�         Skype Access
�         Up to 1,000 callers
�         Facilitator can mute individual callers
�         Facilitator can share slides pictures, a computer screen
�         The session can be recorded
�         Session can be up to 6 hours

Link to FAQ's

Happy virtual study grouping!

Sincerely,
Chris Lepine  

 

 

WE NEED A FEW GOOD VOLUNTEERS FOR PROJECTS GOING ON NOW!

 We welcome your contributions to this online publication.  We accept articles no more than 10 paragraphs long that deal with Urantia Book related events, ideas, outreach, gatherings, or reminders. 

 

Articles should be submitted to [email protected] before the 22nd of every month. 

ANNOUNCING THE NEW UVERSA PRESS
ONLINE CATALOG

  

 

The Urantia Book Fellowship is pleased to announce that we are now offering, via our web store, many of the books that used to be offered in the Morning Star Catalog (formerly the Good Cheer Catalog.) Our newly redesigned web store is now open for business and contains many of the great books and study aids that Urantia Book readers love as well as some brand new gems for your contemplation and inspiration. We intend to keep expanding the catalog as new works are created to further serve the needs of the Urantia community. We hope you will find a minute to browse and buy a book or two. For 56 years The Urantia Book Fellowship has been devoted to our non-profit mission of disseminating of the teachings of The Urantia Book.  We view this catalog as another important way in which we can fulfill that mission.  As you peruse this new online catalog, remember that it represents how the revelation has personally inspired each individual author. Most of our authors are not professional writers, but dedicated and long-time students of the revelation who were moved to reflect, in some humble way, the light of truth, beauty, and goodness found so abundantly in The Urantia Book. Click here to visit the new UVERSA PRESS CATALOG.

 


REMINDERS


 

Please support The Urantia Book Fellowship You can make a secure onetime contribution online at our website, Click Here or perhaps consider giving a 'gift that keeps on giving' by agreeing to make an affordable monthly donation (auto-debit donation) that is automatically deducted from your bank account (available by clicking the above link). As always, we'll send a deluxe leather Urantia Book to all new monthly auto-debit donors who pledge to make at least a $20.00 monthly donation or a onetime equivalent.


2012 Lone Star Roundup Conference which will take place March 30 -- April 1, 2012, at the Briarwood Retreat Center in Argyle, Texas--located in about the center of a triangle connecting Dallas, Fort Worth, and Denton, Texas. Our conference theme is: God and Man Need Each Other.
If you believe you would be interested in attending the conference or have questions, please contact:
David Glass
972-989-1958
[email protected] 


NEW SOFTWARE TOOL - GLOSSARIZED URANTIA BOOK  Please be aware this software is available both ONLINE and OFFLINE (for local PC use without the Internet). The ONLINE version can be accessed from the Society's website at: www.urantia-nyc.org. Click the home page menu link called: 'Glossarized Urantia Book'. NOTE: This software has been certified for the following browsers: Safari (Windows and MAC), Internet Explorer (Windows).

 


 

 EASTER SPIRIT RENEWAL RETREAT 

 will be held on March 29-April 1, 2012 at the San Geronimo Lodge in Taos, New Mexico.  The price for the retreat is $265 which includes everything - three night lodging, all nine meals and the retreat fee. You can call San Geronimo Lodge at 1-800-894-4119 or at 575-751-3776 in order to make your registration directly at their spiritual retreat center.  


    

The International Conference 2011 plenary sessions are now online. 

 

To view images from the Conference click this link: http://ubgraphics.com   

To order a copy of the Conference videos click here => videos
 

Logo

 
FROM THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

Are you a member of The Urantia Book Fellowship?  Maybe you're not sure?  If not please contact us and we'll let you know.   Email Lenny Cowles at:  [email protected]

 

If you would like to become a member please click on this link and fill out the easy online membership form.  Your credentials will be sent to the Membership Committee for consideration.
Please join us! - click here for the online form.