© 2023 Bobbie Dreier
© 2023 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| A Spiritually Enriching Summer Vacation for the Whole Family (IC23) | Summer 2023 Issue — Index | Latin America Sub Committee Book Fairs and Events 2023 |
by Bobbie Dreier
I’m really happy there’s an International Conference (IC) this summer. It’s been Six years since the previous Urantia Book Fellowship IC, and that’s way too long. I’ve attended every IC since my first one in 1974—aImost fifty years ago. Often the atmosphere was so inspiring that I remember feeling that this must be what the mansion worlds are like. Everyone was friendly and engaging, the talks and workshops were compelling, the children roamed freely among strangers, no one locked doors, and at each gathering I made new lifelong friends who became family.
For me the best part of conferences was meeting new people. I felt like I got to know God better with each person I got to know. What an opportunity to meet people from all over the world. And how amazing to become part of a worldwide family!
Through the years conferences have grown to include pre-conference retreats, a before- meal worshipful meditation room, a large variety of interactive workshops, music, art galleries, skits, a gala social, and guided local interest trips- You never know what additional treats are in store when you attend an IC. In addition to participating fully in worship, workshops, and social activities, you might find time to experience local color. I took the Architectural Boat Tour on the Chicago River one year and a downhill mountain bike ride and heart- stopping raft trip another time at a conference in Colorado.
When my husband, Steve, and I came to our first IC, Paul Snider, a father of seven, was president of The Urantia Fellowship (a.k.a. the Fellowship). A loving and devoted father, Paul had a profound understanding of the value of family in The Urantia Book and he encouraged families to Paul snider bring their children. In the years that followed, my son was one of the fortunate Children Who enjoyed socializing With each other while the grownups studied. At several of the conferences, a highlight for the kids (and adults, too) was the Jerusalem Marketplace in which the children dressed as first century citizens, apostles, evangelists, and Romans, and experienced life as in the times of Jesus. I remember being asked for alms for the poor at the marketplace entrance one time as I walked in.
For me and my family, attending an IC has always proven to be worth the expense. What could be worth more than an extended time sharing your life in the spirit with fellow believers? And this year, at the Hilton oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center near Chicago, Illinois, USA, in addition to a wonderful program, there is a variety of fantastic leisure amenities including a twenty-four-hour fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball and volleyball facilities, a game room with billiard tables, and an eighteen- hole championship golf course. It’s the dream vacation! And if you’re a family with children, a devoted group of readers has planned an engaging, inspiring, fun-filled program for kids ages infant to eighteen, and has secured the financing to offer this Children’s Program free of charge to participating parents.
I urge you to take a look at the conference information on the Fellowship’s website (urantiabook.org/ic23) and plan to join me and hundreds of God-loving, like-minded friends for “Living the Teachings: Heart, Mind, and Soul” (the conference theme) as we learn how to take the words off the pages of The Urantia Book and into our lives. There may Still be time for you to submit a workshop proposal, and certainly there is time to volunteer to help out. I hope to see many of you at the Fellowship’s International Conference 2023 (IC23) this summer, and if I haven’t met you yet, I sure would like to.
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| A Spiritually Enriching Summer Vacation for the Whole Family (IC23) | Summer 2023 Issue — Index | Latin America Sub Committee Book Fairs and Events 2023 |