© 1991 Cece Forrester
© 1991 The Fellowship for readers of The Urantia Book
Cece Forrester, Chicago, Ill.
In the inaugural issue of the STUDY GROUP HERALD, we listed names and addresses of known periodicals for Urantia Book Readers. In this and future columns, we roill publish updates and new information supplied to us. In each issue we will also bring you a close-up of one periodical and its publishers, together with reprints of selected articles.
LIGHT & LIFE NEWS is a new publication from Australia. Keith Bacon is the editor. Address: 97 Lindrum Road, Frankston, Australia 3199.
SIX-O-SIX, the international newsletter from Australia has a new address: P.O. Box 281, Ashburton, Vic. 3147, Australia, and now has a distributer in the U.S. who is handling subscriptions. Contact David Glass, 5302 Wooten Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76133 , U.S.A.
WORDS FROM THE HEART, the new publication of Heart of America Society of Kansas City, has a new mailing address: c/o Betty Teresso, 4027 NW Claymont Drive, Kansas City, MO 64116 U.S.A. Julie Tharp will still be participating, but she no longer lives in the Kansas City area.
Dick Bain, publisher of COSMIC REFLECTIONS, may be relocating. In the meantime, use this address: 6010-18th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33710, U.S.A.
Dick also reports that Patije Mills is publishing the SONSHINE MESSENGER with news for Florida Readers. Address: 1340 Rhodes Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34239-2732, U.S.A. Patije, be sure to send us a copy!
Begun in January, 1989, this monthly journal has a specific focus: “For Catholic readers of the Urantia Book and Other interested parties.” It publishes reflections on the gospels week by week according to the liturgical calendar, including teachings likely to be brought up, and how the Urantia revelation approaches these topics.
Says editor Mary Daly of Garretson, South Dakota, “Our specific purpose is to offer support to Catholics who would like to stay in the Church but feel swamped by theological issues, and who may face both overt criticism and various subtle forms of isolation. It may also be helpful to ex-Catholics who have some forgiving to do, and to Other Christians who’d like scriptural reflections.” Adds Mary, “There are more Catholic Urantia Book readers than you might think — and many who used to be.”
The name is taken from a book on woodworking by Eric Sloane, who explains that while a nail might rust and a round peg may shrink and fall out, a square peg of green wood in a round hole of seasoned wood will never fall out. Says Mary, “I use the name as a joking reference to my feeling that I may not be comfortable in the church all the time, but I know that’s where I belong.”
Mary is originally from Maryland, near Washington, D.C. She was raised in the Catholic Church and attended parochial schools. There were eight brothers and sisters in her family and Mary’s parents were “not average but special”: her father, a scientist in the fields of mathematics, physics, and astronomy, discovered that the earth is pear-shaped. Her mother, a daughtcr of immigrants, writes books about Emily Dickenson. Mary majored in mathematics at College in Sarasota, Florida. She then entered a convent where she spent six years while studying philosophy and theology at Marygrove College. She also worked in a home for the aged and in pastoral care. During her time in the convent she was given The Urantia Book by a friend. After leaving, she worked as a mathematician. In 1976 she married Michael Daly who works in management in the communications field. They moved to South Dakota in 1980. Their five children range in age from newborn daughter, Briege, to fourteen years. Says Mary, “My job now is mothering. And The Urantia Book has taught me that it makes a difference who your parents are.”
The inception of the SQUARE PEG JOURNAL was “in part the fruit of a few years of startling spiritual renewal as we returned to active Church member- ship.” Up until the Urantia revelation, Mary believes, “The Catholic Church represents the most comprehensive body of thinking about Jesus, and therefore is the best jumping-off place for knowing The Urantia Book.”
In its first two years, the SQUARE PEG JOURNAL consisted mostly of listings of scriptures and corresponding readings from The Urantia Book. Scripture listings continue, but issues are now devoted to topics for several months at a time. This year, four issues focused on the Passion and the following four are about the Blessed Mother and the Divine Minister and how the two are related. A new topic, probably the Sacraments, will be covered next year. Usually published monthly, the SQUARE PEG JOURNAL will be bimonthly for the remainder of this year at least, but all subscribers will receive twelve issues for $ 12.00, U.S., $ 15.00 Canadian, and $ 20.00, overseas. “A discount is available as needed for a cheerful expression of interest”, notes the subscription policy, and a sample copy is available free on request.
The SQUARE PEG JOURNAL states that it is not intended to prosyletize either non-readers or non-Catholics. However, says Mary, “There is so much in The Urantia Book that people don’t see if they don’t know any theology. There’s a statement in The Urantia Book about ”high gear spiritual performances“ awaiting a new revelation. I think of the book as fifth gear. You certainly can’t start a car in fifth, and you can only shift to fifth from fourth or third gear. Many people have no idea what kinds of questions get raised ‘in fourth gear’! If you go at The Urantia Book without an appreciation for Christianity, your understanding will be much less than it could be.”
Interested readers can write for more information to: Square Peg Printers, Route 2, Garretson, SD 57030, USA.