© 2023 Fernando Maldonaldo
© 2023 International Urantia Association (IUA)
| 2023 ANZURA Annual Conference Report | Tidings — December 2023 — Index | Focus on the Father – Spiritual Gifts |
¶ The Fifth Revelation in the XXI Century
This past October, the third Latin American conference of readers of The Urantia Book was held in the historic area of the ancient Teotihuacan. Amidst this backdrop over 1500 years old and later reclaimed by the Aztecs, the Third Latin American Urantia Book Conference centered on the theme of the Fifth Revelation in the 21st Century.
Urantia Association International organized the conference with the support of Urantia Foundation and the local Urantia Association Mexico. Each of these entities cooperated for months planning, developing objectives, making decisions and obtaining the necessary funds for a successful event.
Forty-three participants traveled to the ancient site of Teotihuacán located outside Mexico City. Additionally, almost 300 readers joined the online broadcast—a Latin American Conference first. Urantia Book readers from 11 countries participated, including 15 young adult readers.
The conference began on Thursday, October 26th with the reception of guests from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the United States and Mexico. After a delicious Mexican dinner both live and virtual attendees were welcomed by Urantia Association International president Enrique Traver of Brazil, who delivered a greeting to everyone with his distinctive warmth and good humor.
Friday morning began with an exceptional presentation by Enrique Traver on “The Fifth Revelation in the 21st Century,” followed by multiple topics presented by different speakers.
His talk on “Mission and Importance of the Urantia Revelation” explored how the book’s emphasis of love and service is essential to counteract the materialism and secularism prevailing in this century. The book’s thoughts on evangelism was discussed: how we bring the new and good news to the world so that our brothers and sisters understand that we are not alone or abandoned; that a perfect Father has us in his hands every day; and how we can give the second mile of service, following in the footsteps of the Master. A speech by Urantia Foundation Executive Director, Tamara Strumfeld, laid out the Foundation’s role and vision for the twenty-first century.
Speakers from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and the United States, spoke on various topics including; “The Universal Father,” presented by Hector Landin, “The Seraphic Ministry,” by Ramiro Ramirez, “The Will of the Father,” by Andres Ramirez, “The True Nature of Religion,” by Felipe Arrigorriaga, and concluding with a presentation by the Urantia Youth Group. Participants shared ideas and experiences on these topics in workshops.
After another delicious dinner attendees enjoyed a Mexican-style welcome by a mariachi group who brought the guests to their feet, followed by a guitar and voice recital by Ramiro and Mariana Jarkyn.
On Saturday, after meditation time and breakfast, Alfredo Esquivel presented “Cosmic Citizenship,” after which participants took a three-hour expedition to the famous pyramids of Teotihuacán. The afternoon plenary titled, “The Foundations of Religious Faith,” was given by Daliela and Jacobo Dudo, followed by more in-depth workshops. The evening concluded with another concert by Ramiro and Mariana.
On Sunday, the last day of the conference, Fabiola Domínguez of Bolivia delivered an inspired presentation on the topic “The Reality of the Religious Experience.” After a brief introduction to the Urantiapedia website, a project funded with the assistance of Urantia Foundation’s Mustard Seed initiative, Enrique Traver closed this enjoyable, memorable event.
Special thanks goes to Urantia Foundation, the Truthbook organization (The Jesusonian Foundation) Urantia Association International for their financial support including sponsorships for the youth; Antonio Schefer for his management of the conference committee, Enrique Traver for his unconditional support, Ramiro and Mariana Jarkyn for managing the multimedia and live broadcast production (and their wonderful music), Alejandro Aran for hosting the event, Arturo Garcia and his diligence as transportation captain to and from the airport, and Sara Espinoza for her work as a videographer.
¶ References
| 2023 ANZURA Annual Conference Report | Tidings — December 2023 — Index | Focus on the Father – Spiritual Gifts |