© 1995 International Urantia Association (IUA)
The 1995 IUA Study Conference will remain an indelible experience in the memories of the some 200 participants. The spirit of kindredness, friendliness, and concerted effort was almost tangible. The local IUA Chapter, the Southern Kindred Spirits truly managed to make everybody sense that very spirit. The organisers deserve to be congratulated; and a thankful participant was just left wondering, how could any future conference be organised in a manner that would be par with the excellent arrangements at Nashville.
The general motto of the 1995 Study Conference was Revelation Entering the Age of Discretion. A new conference format was experimented and tested. The format is one which requires a great amount of advance planning, preparations and studies, but which also has better chances of making the conference truly a Study Conference, where the focus is on in-depth studies of The URANTIA Book, alongside with the customary socialising and visiting, the joy of renewing old friendships and establishing new ones.
Parallel to the grown-ups’ conference, there was an equally successful Kids’ Conference with a great deal of interesting things to do, to happen and to make happen.
Those who did not have a chance to attend the conference this time, will get a glimpse of the multifacetedness and profundity of the study if we repeat here some of the themes which were discussed by plenary speakers and perused in the ten study groups.
Friday, 4 August, was opened by a plenary talk by Jeffrey Wattles on the subject of Joining a Benevolent Conspiracy, with special emphasis on paragraph UB 0:12.13. The studies of the fist day were devised to enhance the understanding of Paper 1 of The URANTIA Book. The morning study group discussions had for theme Looking for the Eternally True and Divinely Beautiful Teachings, with starting point at paragraph UB 159:5.1. The title and theme of the afternoon study groups was The URANTIA Book as a School of Thinking, Feeling, and Doing, and the passage wherewith to start the studies was paragraph UB 48:5.6. After the group meetings one could choose between an Advanced Session, where the title of the discourse was How Paper 1 Promotes Concepts with Stability and Flexibility, and a New Reader Forum, where discussion was held on topics of interest to new readers of the book.
Saturday, 5 August, was dedicated to Paper 2 of The URANTIA Book, and the theme was introduced by a plenary session talk by James Perry, titled The Nature of God: Its Revelation in Jesus, the Son of Man. The Saturday morning and afternoon study groups proceeded from the paragraphs UB 2:0.1-2 to their assigned theme of Obeying the Truth: Looking to Jesus as an Illustration of Divinity. The Advanced Session in late afternoon listened to two presentations on Looking for the Creative Design in Paper 2, one by Jeffrey Wattles and the other by Suzanne Kelly. At the same time, as was the arrangement on Friday, the new readers had their own session.
Late in the evening the participants of the Conference enjoyed a theatrical performance titled An Evening with the Master. The audience had a great time thanks to the efforts of Lee Armstrong and Company, who put up this extraordinary study session.
Sunday, 6 August, was devoted to studies of Paper 3. But the day was inaugurated by a panel discussion on Health, Sanity, and Happiness, with Drs. Tom Burns, Ralph Zehr, and Patricia Pearce as panelists. The study groups of the morning conducted a Topical Study to Elaborate a Theme: Foundations of a Friendly Universe. The assigned reference texts were the entire Paper 3 and the passage UB 133:1.5 of The URANTIA Book. The afternoon groups had for title Topical Study to Overcome One-Sidedness, the topic was perused with paragraph UB 170:5.20 as the outset. The advanced study session in late afternoon enjoyed a discourse titled Topical Study to Prepare for Service. Later on in the same evening there was a panel discussion under the heading How the Study of The URANTIA Book Does and Can Potentially Direct our Administrative Practices; the panelists included four of the URANTIA Foundation Trustees and the members of the Co-ordinating Committee of the IUA in corpore.
The last day of the Study Conference, Monday 7 August, was opened by a plenary session where Tonia Baney talked on Social Dimensions of Study: Leadership and Teamwork. This inspiring presentation was followed by Meditative Reading, which was titled Review and Prospect: Considering the Father’s Matchless Personality, Lovable Nature, and Adorable Attributes. The reading was a wrapup of the four days of intensive study. Patricia Mundelius, the Foundation President, who had opened the Conference on Friday, made the closing remarks, thanked the organisers and participants, and wished everybody welcome to next year’s Conference, which will be held in Nashville again, and the venue will be the same: the Vanderbilt University campus.
The new Conference format worked excellently, and even if it requires a great deal of advance preparation and much effort from the part of the organisers, it is truly a scheme which helps a Conference keep focussed and assures that the attendees have an access to rewarding and inspiring in-depth study events The format may very warmly be recommended as a pattern for any conference organisers to think over, and possibly to improve.