© 2023 Bobbie Dreier and André Radatus
© 2023 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| Once-Distant Lands | Summer 2023 Issue — Index | Grand World Celebration of the Anniversary of the Birth of Jesus |
The Urantia Book Fellowship (a.k.a the Fellowship) may not have a presence on another planet yet, but we are actively involved in many countries around the world. In the late 1980s, John Lange, chair, and Berkeley Elliot, former chair, of the Foreign Extension Committee, now called the International Fellowship Committee (IFC), traveled to South America to meet with readers who had contacted Urantia Brotherhood, now called The Urantia Book Fellowship. Berkeley and John planted the seeds that have borne fruit, and there is so much Urantia Book activity in Latin America now that the IFC created the Latin America Subcommittee (LASC) to manage the work.
Chaired by Pablo Segovia with Secretary Jack Holloway, the LASC works to disseminate the teachings and the book, and to help create community with readers in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and Spain. Currently there are fourteen local Fellowship Area Coordinator Field Workers (ACFW) supporting the efforts of readers in Latin America.
Arellano, provide twenty-four-hour programming with music, art, interviews, teaching, and study groups. Culturally, Latin American families participate together and the multigenerational activity suggests that The Urantia Book and its teachings may be best conserved and passed on in this kind of culture.
There are many Urantia Book readers in the Philippines as well because of grassroots efforts there. Several study groups meet regularly, and in November, 2019, the Fellowship sponsored the first National Philippines Urantia conference. André Radatus, current chair of the IFC, was present to represent the Fellowship. As in Latin America, the Philippine Urantia Book culture is multi-generational and family-oriented.
The Fellowship also sends books and supports book fairs, conferences, and study groups in many Other parts of the world. Here are some examples:
- This past August, Aprilhelen and Oluwatooni “Toni” Oyeyemi attended the
Fellowship-sponsored Urantia Book conference in Uganda. - An in-depth study group in Indonesia reads and discusses the book in Bahasa Indonesian, the national language, and some English. André attends their Zoom study group regularly on Sundays.
- Lila Dogim, Worldwide Service Team chair, studies weekly in Russian with readers from Russia, the Ukraine, and Finland.
- There is a local Fellowship ACFW in Spain assisting in Urantia Book community building.
- A South Korean study group, the first Fellowship Associate, has had regular study groups for many years.
One of the most fascinating experiences as a student of The Urantia Book is to experience fellowship with those who have absorbed their unique understanding of the book’s teachings in another language. These teachings are truly universal and applicable all over our world. There is much to be done and few to do it.
The harvest is plenty but the workers are few. The IFC works tirelessly to meet the demands of serving the international community. Volunteers are urgently needed.
Can you help?
- Do you speak another language fluently?
- Do you have Urantia Book contacts in another country?
- Could you translate secondary works into another language?
- Would you like to join an international study group?
If so, and if you have the desire to serve the growing globalization of The Urantia Book, contact Sally Annabella at sally.annabella@urantiabook.org.
¶ External Links
| Once-Distant Lands | Summer 2023 Issue — Index | Grand World Celebration of the Anniversary of the Birth of Jesus |