© 2022 Aprilhelen Lovesyou
© 2022 The Urantia Book Fellowship
by Aprilhelen Lovesyou
Let’s go on an adventure relatively near in eternal time to understand the origin and history, and therefore, potential destiny of the Progress Project! Angie Thurston, as a second generation Urantia Book student, has long been delightfully curious about progress. In her words:
The part that always compelled me most was this idea of spiritual growth. I would read about “spiritual goals” and “growing closer to God” and I wanted to know how to do it! I also knew that I couldn’t—and didn’t want to—do it alone. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one. The Progress Project was born from a small group of Urantia Book readers who all wanted to support and accompany each other in our spiritual growth. It has been a godsend for me and I’m excited to share it with you.
Some of Angie’s efforts of investigating spiritual growth as a human include studying at Harvard Divinity School, five years as a Ministry Innovation Fellow, the co-founder of Sacred Design Lab (a soul-centered research and development lab), and collaboration with her mother, Claire Thurston, leading a program called Inner Sourcing for young adults to connect with their souls. These accolades have lived alongside her efforts in the Urantia Book community where she helped to form The Urantia Book Fellowship’s Youth and Young Adult committee in the mid-2000s.
A few short years ago, in April, 2017, Angie and her two sisters in spirit, Liz Craig and Mae Thompson, received the celestial nudge to envision what it would look like to practice what it means as we are asked in “Paper 4 : God’s Relation to the Universe” of The Urantia Book, “Can you not advance in your concept of God’s dealing with [humankind] to that level where you recognize that the watchword of the universe is progress?” UB 4:1.1 So they decided to take the trinity pattern of the cosmos and pilot an experiment of a small group focused on personal spiritual growth.
During their bi-monthly gatherings, Angie, Liz, and Mae took turns hosting a ninety-minute video-conference. They spent their time sharing in communion, which included practicing speaking prayers out loud to the group. They each checked in about their daily lives, held sacred space for navigating life’s inevitable challenges that arose, and were each other’s spiritual cheerleaders, sharing in personal victories. Within the weeks in between the calls, they encouraged each other to practice daily communion with God, journal, and accomplish spiritual goals they each set. All of these activities proved progressive.
After a year of meeting, the three sisters were still so enthusiastic about their journey of progress that they began to question how to go about building a community of people who had the same intention toward spiritual growth. They determined that the purpose of the Progress Project is to deepen personal relationships with humankind’s creator, to share inner lives with each other, and to support each other in spiritual goals through intentional relationships. They were ready to ask three more to join them. In 2018, Geoff Theiss, Missy Theiss, and Aprilhelen were invited to become the second triad in the Progress Project. The six progressives then set forth to conceptualize a wider network and asked Urantia University Institute (UUI) to support the spiritual vision.
The fall semester of 2020 , as we all know well, was perfectly timed to engage in our first Progress Project course for welcoming new triads into the fold. The motto was created that satisfied the intention “Together in Spiritual Growth” to magnetize others who had a mutual admiration of personal and global progress. It is confirmed; within the Progress Project, there are individual triads of three members. Each new triad gets to establish and shape their own group expectations, languaging, goals, and norms (with support from existing templates, tools, and triads as-needed). All triads within the Progress Project share three consistent practices:
- Personal inner life practice (daily communion with God and expressing spiritual values in relationship)
- A form of study (of a variety of text and some form of personal reflection, i.e., journaling)
- Regular video-conference meetings for triad members to support each other in achieving spiritual goals
As a new member of the Progress Project you can expect to be welcomed into a community and provided a set of tools to help further your personal spiritual development. The threemember triad will be a source of accountability and support, plus you will be part of the bigger ecosystem of all the other triads. The tools that you’ll have access to are free digital apps that all Progress Project members use. These digital tools were chosen to create a sense of community even when spanning time zones. When you join a triad, you get to help shape a culture that is unique to your three members. Each triad differs in how they track their inner life practices, how frequent their videoconferences are, and the format of each meeting.
The Progress Project is a commitment! It has been acknowledged that the success of the whole is brought forth by the commitment of the parts. By joining, you are committing to deepening your relationship with your creator and showing up for a small group of others who are doing the same. In order to join the Progress Project, you are expected to:
- Prioritize time for participation Triads succeed when individual members are actively engaged in fostering their spiritual development and committed to supporting peers on the journey. Showing up for your personal practice and regular triad meetings is the minimum requirement for success.
- Experience the culture of other Progress Project triads Each triad is unique because groups evolve that way. Prospective participants are invited to our twelveweek course or join meetings from different functioning triads before getting started on their own. This allows the space to get a feel for the diversity that complements the unity of spirit of this project.
- Complete a new triad orientation. It is natural for groups to personalize the experience of the Progress Project, but new triads are asked to go through the twelve-week course in order to share a common foundation of experience for the various participants in the program. A member of an existing triad will join for these sessions to help you get oriented.
While some details may change, this is a general arc of the time together in the Progress Project course:
- Week 0: Orientation An intro to the course with key info, Q & A, and a call to commitment.
- Week 1: Trinitized Spiritual Growth An overview of the Progress Project, the role of triads, and the universe pattern of the Trinity. Meet your triad for the first time!
- Week 2: Sharing the Inner Life On the importance of sharing your inner life with God, your triad, and the class.
- Week 3: Connection with God Explore techniques of inner spirit connection while being reminded of our many spirit helpers.
- Week 4: Communion with God Learn from others about their practices of communion and develop and deepen your own.
- Week 5: The Practice On patience, adaptation, and the power of free will as we continue our journey of spiritual discipline.
- Week 6: Self-Awareness Discover techniques and resources for cultivating self-awareness.
- Week 7: Living on Purpose On the art of spiritual living: cultivating daily habits and a rhythm of life.
- Week 8: Gifts of God On the gift of personality, the consecration of choice, and transforming through difficulties.
- Week 9: Personality Progress Begin to recognize your growing capacity to bear the fruits of the spirit.
- Week 10: Serving God On loving service and discovering your true voice and spiritual purpose.
- Week 11: Transformation On the growth of meanings and the realization of values in your life.
- Week 12: Moving Forward Celebrate our personal and collective progress and our visions for the future.
Here is what some of the alumni are saying:
This course has initiated a new dimension of spiritual growth for me! — Ann, USA
The UUI Progress Project is an enlightening adventure which inspires personal growth and connects us with other Urantia Book readers around the world. — Jane, Canada
Being in a triad was an impactful and valuable personal experience, and I was impressed at how far along my Urantian peers are on their personal development. — Bob, USA
Such a great place to grow and serve and exchange with God-loving brothers and sisters! — Manuela, Germany
This is a course in deepening one’s relationship with our Paradise Father and it delivers in spades. I have used some of their techniques to inwardly and upwardly reach, daily. So soul-satisfying! — Monica, Canada
The Progress Project has helped my spiritual growth more than anything I have ever done. I encourage everyone to participate in this wonderful program when they can. — Kurt, USA
Having now facilitated two Progress Project courses, the growing community has expanded from the two original triads to about a dozen active triads. There are members internationally with participation of varying degrees. The fall 2022 course, being the third iteration on the UUI virtual campus, will be yet another advanced level of the expanding community being supported and empowered as we live our lives of progress. During the first course, the new triads were supported by several of the original members. That support system enlarged in the second course via a small group of “shepherds” (alumni from the first course) who helped the participants individually and as triads. In the spring of 2022, Angie and Aprilhelen developed and facilitated a new course to prepare the Progress Project Service Corps. This effort is a collaboration with UUI and the Crestwood Foundation through which curiosity is brought into the investigation of expressing spiritual values in servant-oriented leadership. Servant leadership is leadership in which service to humanity with the intent of personal, social, and global transformation is priority, the greatest good for the greatest number of people for the greatest length of time!
The Service Corps course examines these aspects of being guided by spirit in leadership:
- Week 1: Introducing spiritual values in leadership
- Week 2: Your spiritual support system as a server
- Week 3: Holding sacred space for the spiritual growth of others
- Week 4: Communicating in service of progress
- Week 5: Navigating interpersonal challenges as a server
- Week 6: Spiritual values in action
The adventure continues! We are excited to share the Progress Project with the world at large. Aprilhelen and Liz are working together to bring this simple system into the secular environment with the intention of global social transformation. More on that in the future.
Are you interested in joining the Progress Project? The next session is October 13, 2022January 19, 2023, Thursdays at 5:30-7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Note the class runs twelve weeks, excluding November 24, December 22, and December 29 , for holidays. A required orientation is Thursday, September 22.
Visit http://theProgressProject.info for more information, orientation registration, and to join a waitlist for future courses. You can reach out to the original six members anytime through this email: hello@progressproject.info. We would love to be with you together in spiritual growth!
¶ References
- Article obtained from The Fellowship site