© 2000 François Le Rohellec
© 200 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| Supreme Rant-ings | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 15 — Autumn 2000 | Report of the CNP Meeting in New York on August 2, 2000 |
Dear friends,
A preparatory meeting was held on Saturday April 1 in St Martin de Crau in Provence. Present were: Christine Baussain, Pascal Coulombe, Séverin Desbuisson, Joseph Le Dain, François Le Rohellec, Jean-Claude Romeuf, Michel Rouannet, Jean Royer.
This second meeting, particularly fruitful, allowed:
The site:
It seemed important that the final choice of site accompanied by a reservation commitment on the part of the host be effective by the end of the year 2000 (December).
This constraint has the essential advantage of allowing a rapid refocusing of our energies on the continuation of the preparations, especially since the research has highlighted a very small number of sites corresponding to our criteria and available during the summer period. Furthermore, the discussions on accommodation prices will have been carried out simultaneously and will allow us to budget precisely for the operation but also to know for the summer of 2001 (see following §) the daily rate likely to be offered to participants.
The invitation:
The international nature of this meeting requires being able to transmit as much information as possible to national associations around the world a full year in advance (i.e. from summer 2001).
This delay is necessary for several reasons:
Discussions around the site research made it possible to identify two host regions considered particularly interesting and attractive for foreign guests: the Paris region and Provence.
Furthermore, these two regions have the largest proportion of readers of The Urantia Book, a useful characteristic for the practical preparation of the meeting.
The research itself highlighted 2 guides particularly suited to the type of accommodation sought:
Research undertaken since the previous meeting has highlighted “holiday center” type solutions as particularly interesting in terms of price and environment (user-friendliness).
Unfortunately, these are often completely blocked by large booking groups for the summer periods with the exception of a few regions less attractive for this type of tourism. The Paris region is precisely one of these…
In the end, 4 potentially interesting sites were selected, all in the Paris region, including one that particularly caught our attention: the holiday village “Le Villagium le Normont” in Dourdan (south of Paris). This one was unanimous from every point of view.
However, it was decided:
The Villagium le Normont in Dourdan corresponds to the majority of the criteria previously set and of course would be available on the dates we have chosen (summer is paradoxically a low tourist period for this complex). In particular:
It was therefore decided to diligently pursue the approach of this site, particularly from the commercial aspect. As such, the request for an initial quote was recently made.
In view of the rates charged, the initially envisaged daily price of 500 FF seems a little limited. In a completely provisional and imprecise manner, an overall daily cost (in full accommodation and including all the additional costs inherent in the organization of the meeting) around 700 FF (a little more than 100 euros) per day seems more appropriate, which represents approximately 2800 FF (>400 euros) for 4 days.
As has already been highlighted above, the organizing team is keen to make this event accessible to as many people as possible by offering lower cost accommodation options in the surrounding area. However, we will need to find the right balance to avoid breaking up the group. Indeed, meals and evenings are special moments of exchange that should not be reduced by a large reduction in participants at these times.
Consequently and in the absence of other interesting proposals, it now seems reasonable to consider the next preparatory meetings in Dourdan or in Paris at the association’s headquarters in order to facilitate subsequent contacts with the site but also to specify:
However, no firm decision has been taken and any alternative proposals will be given careful consideration.
The problem of our presentation as the “Urantia movement” arose with the first commercial contacts.
Indeed, in a context of mistrust towards the various millenarian sectarian movements, sensitivities and fears are sensitive.
While remaining fair and intellectually honest with regard to what we are, it seemed preferable not to insist on a discourse too focused on the religious or the spiritual - an aspect likely to generate misunderstandings - but rather to soberly focus our presentation on a philosophical and literary theme taken from a book which is moreover available in any bookstore.
The theme must be sought among subjects that are sufficiently unifying to generate experimental group osmosis during the meeting.
A subject too focused on individuality or personal relationships risks causing participants to miss out on this exchange with others.
Conversely, a broad and generic theme allows you to propose countless sub-themes that are sometimes very distant. This diversity is then a guarantee of success and avoids going around in circles on a subject that is too specific.
Likewise, the subject must not lead to an overly descriptive study in order to avoid any paraphrase or plagiarism.
Finally, he must avoid any risk of mystical enthusiasm likely to cause certain excessive excesses.
Some more or less detailed subjects were proposed:
The latter - the human experience seems to have the favor of all because it meets the stated criteria and can integrate all the others. It remains to divide it harmoniously so as to be able to develop its study into several sub-subjects which would be the themes of the different parts of the meeting.
The date of the next preparatory meeting is set for Saturday, September 16, 2000 in Dourdan from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Readers wishing to take part are requested to contact the association office as the meeting approaches
(Tel.: 00.33(0)1.56.93.35.13 — Fax: 00.33(0)1.56.93.35.11) to specify the meeting point and accommodation options on site (in particular for the night from Friday to Saturday).
Best regards,
François Le Rohellec President of the A.F.L.L.U.
| Supreme Rant-ings | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 15 — Autumn 2000 | Report of the CNP Meeting in New York on August 2, 2000 |