© 2024 Gaétan G. Charland
© 2024 Urantia Association of Quebec
Gaetan G. Charland
president@urantiaqc.organique
Dear readers and members of the association,
Summer has finally arrived, inviting us to relax, go on vacation, travel, and take part in various activities that will allow us to recharge our batteries after a period of intense work. For the community of readers of the Urantia Book, it is often an opportunity to socialize at conventions and meetings, such as the celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is a time for gentle and deep reflection on our adventure as members of this growing community of believers in the revelation of the Urantia Book.
During this period, some study groups in Quebec, including the one that my partner Line and I have been leading for almost twenty-five years, are taking a break until September. We will take advantage of this break to participate in a conference with our American cousins, where we will lead a workshop on improving study groups. In August, we will be at Michael’s picnic to celebrate the birth of Jesus, an event that has been held for several years at Beaver Lake on Mount Royal.
I would like to address a topic that is particularly close to my heart and on which I invite you to reflect during the summer: study groups. During the past year, I have often emphasized the opportunities offered by the various schools devoted to the teachings of The Urantia Book. While these schools are essential for the training of leaders and teachers, study groups remain an extremely effective means of promoting the mission of the revelation in our world.
I am thinking in particular of the Chinese readers who, under the current authoritarian regime, cannot meet in congresses or associations without risking incarceration in re-education camps. For them, study groups and access to the Urantia Book online schools represent the only viable options. This should make us realize how privileged we are to enjoy this freedom of choice.
In this and future issues of Reflectivity, I will share with you a series of five articles I have written on study groups. Each article will focus on an important aspect of study groups, their value, their importance to the mission of The Urantia Book, and how to start and lead a study group. Here are the titles of the upcoming articles:
- Why a study group?
- Philosophy and purpose of a study group
- Start a study group
- Leading a study group
- Different ways to lead a study group
By posting these articles, I hope to inspire you to start your own study group, participate in an existing group, or enhance your current group to further the mission of developing leaders and teachers.
Last month I informed you of the initiative to unite the two major fraternal associations of the Urantia movement. Since that message, the committees of the Fellowship and Urantia Association International have met on two occasions. The first meeting allowed the ten participants to get to know each other and to exchange their opinions and ideas on the unification of the two associations.
At the second meeting, we explored differences and potential difficulties without making decisions, while deepening our understanding of each participant’s similar and divergent views. An official communiqué will be issued to inform members of both organizations in due course.
I wish you a summer rich in spiritual adventures, pleasant encounters, and don’t forget to celebrate Michael’s Feast.
To love is to serve