© 2006 Carmelo Martínez
© 2006 Urantia Association of Spain
I am not going to describe the VI Meeting with a single word, but if I had to, it would undoubtedly be “unity.” Unity in the development of the debates, although not unanimity of criteria, and unity in the environment and the relations of the attendees.
The meeting was held between April 28 and May 1, 2006 at the San Juan de la Cruz Monastery, located in the Fuencisla neighborhood of Segovia. A really nice and beautiful environment.
The 30 attendees came from all parts of the Spanish geography, highlighting the attendance for the first time of a group of readers from Mallorca.
Following some recommendations from the previous meeting, three debate sessions and the traditional members’ assembly were scheduled on Sunday afternoon, which left free time for other activities such as visits to the monastery and its surroundings, and some “out of competition” debates.
The first session, on Saturday morning, dealt with how to make UB known, with a presentation by Olga based on paper 92. It should be noted in this regard that one of those “coincidences” of life happened during the Encounter. Andrea, one of the nuns who served us in the dining room, wanted to meet our group and asked why we were there. When he found out that The Book existed and that Part IV dealt with the life of Jesus of Nazareth, he asked if we could lend it to him while we were there. Andrés lent it to him. After a first glance, he found it very interesting and wanted to know what the other parts were about. And then Santi gave him a summary in that accurate and surprising line to which we are already becoming accustomed: God is infinite and to get closer to us, humble finite beings, he diminishes his infinity through different phases and stages until he reaches become like ourselves. It would never have occurred to me to summarize the Book in such a synthetic and original way. Finally, Andrea showed enough interest that Andrés gave her his copy. We do not look for people prepared to receive the Book, we find them.
At the beginning of Saturday afternoon, before the second scheduled session, an “out of competition” was held. There was a debate about how big Órvonton was and what other space, besides the Milky Way, it could occupy. The session began with a graphic presentation by Eduardo (one of those so clarifying and “currados” that only he knows how to do) and continued with a lively debate. We promised to continue investigating the matter.
The second session, held on Saturday afternoon, dealt with the study groups and was presented by Santi based on paper 160. Some of the contents of the ‘Study Group Starter Kit’ recently published by Urantia Association International were discussed. Different attendees presented their work experiences in the study groups: organization, periodicity, meeting place, order of study of the papers,… The Mallorca group was interested in all these details, so it will not be difficult for the next Meeting have already organized their own study group.
After dinner, the documentary ‘El hiperespacio, la vida’ was screened.
The third session, on Sunday morning, dealt with how to live the UB teachings. The presentation, based on paper 147, was given by Demetrio. We all very much enjoyed Demetrius’s excellent and vivid account of the different events of that interlude of the visit of Jesus and his apostles to Jerusalem. The debate that followed was surely the one that aroused the most interest and where the spiritual unity that characterized the entire meeting was most demonstrated.
Then and before lunch, we enjoy another “out of competition”; some slides of Luis were projected with some texts extracted from the Book and illustrated with images. Later, Cati told us about some of her readings in relation to her experience as a seeker.
On Sunday afternoon, the annual assembly of members of the Urantia Association of Spain was held, in which it was endowed with a structure more in line with the current number of members and more solid to support the activities to be carried out in the future.
After dinner came the meeting of conclusions and suggestions, and the “official” farewell. The session ended with a fun and relaxed “hallway gathering” that lasted until after midnight and filled the nocturnal silence of the monastery cloister with laughter.
The Monday farewell after breakfast was, as always, prolonged; we tried to take advantage of the last moments. We were conscious of having had a special experience, of having participated in something that had been “as things should be,” but on Urantia they are not; relationships between equals not typical of this planet in these times. As I walked through the monastery gate with some sadness, I thought I was leaving behind an experience of brotherly unity that was closer to what awaits us on the mansion worlds than to what we currently “enjoy” on this Urantia broken by the betrayal of Caligastia. and the lack of Adam and Eve.
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/