© 2019 Chris Wood, Rick Lyon, Anna Zeven, Risto Mäntynen, Chris Moseley, Nathen Jansen, Alice Wood, Olga Lopez, Alain Cyr, Tamila Ragimova, Gaetan Charland
© 2019 International Urantia Association (IUA)
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Chris Wood, USA
This summer, the European Continental Conference will be hosted by the Estonian Association in Tallinn. The theme of the conference is: “Sowing Seeds—Qualitative Internal and Quantitative External Growth” and the conference will focus on the relationship between the internal growth of the individual and our external growth in service.
In our local study group recently, we read about Jesus going to John for baptism. The Urantia Book explains that the people being baptized were not doing so as a sign that they are ready to enter into Faith, which is how we use the baptism ceremony today; rather, they were submitting to baptism on behalf of their people, hoping that if enough people submitted themselves to God’s will then the trials of their nation would end. It was in this spirit that Jesus submitted himself to baptism, as the Son of Man, as a representative of his people—all humanity and all mortals.
Rick Lyon, USA
Editor’s note: The following was written by Rick Lyon, Vice President of the Urantia Association of the United States (UAUS) to the Representative Council (RC) after the recent elections were held for the members of the International Service Board (ISB)
Greetings to the RC team!
UAUS wishes to acknowledge the many years of service by Gaetan Charland, former President of Urantia Association International and more recently the former Study Groups Chair, Susan Owen as the Association’s Secretary, and David Linthicum as Dissemination Chair.
Gaetan’s leadership served to put the Association onto a solid foundation and into a service-oriented direction when he served as President, and he continued to serve this revelation and all the people involved by his position as Study Groups Chair. I once introduced Gaetan as my teacher, mentor, friend, and brother. He is all that as well as a great leader of this revelation and this organization.
Conference Committee
A reminder that the time for the 2nd European Urantia Conference that’s being held in Tallinn, Estonia, 11 – 14 July 2019 is almost upon us.
The theme of the conference is: “Sowing S****eeds– Qualitative Internal and Quantitative External Growth” and the focus will be on how we can grow internally in spirit and externally in numbers. Students of The Urantia Book from all over the world are welcome.
The program will concentrate on spiritual growth potentials and on growing the numbers of readers. A variety of readers from different countries in Europe and other continents will present their experiences, examining what they have done to find new readers and to form new study groups.
Anna Zeven, UYAI Chair
Sowing Seeds in Tallinn, Reaping Flowers in Vancouver
Hi Young (hearted) Readers!
Please come and join us at the Pre-Conference event of the 2nd European Urantia Association Conference in Tallinn this summer. We have an exciting and inspiring program ready for you designed to bring us closer together. If desired, sightseeing included!
The Association’s Urantia Young Adults International (UYAI) committee and the Fellowship’s Youth and Young Adult (YaYA) committee have joined together to host this event.
Why “Sowing Seeds in Tallinn and Reaping Flowers in Vancouver”? Because this pre-conference in Tallinn is the first joint event hosted by the two young adult committees; the next one will be in Vancouver in 2020.
Risto Mäntynen, Finland
14 – 16 July, 2019
For those of you staying longer in Tallinn-Estonia after the main conference there will be a post-conference organized by the Finnish Urantia Association members and friends.
There are only seven weeks left before the 2nd European Urantia Conference starts and everyone on the conference planning committee is working hard to make it a great conference; they are looking forward to welcoming you very soon to Estonia.
To make the total experience more complete after the 2nd European Conference we are organizing a post-conference for additional socializing and sightseeing among Urantia Book students. If you are interested in staying longer after the event, then check this out!
Rick Lyon, USA
The Inevitabilities ~ Burdens to Blessings
We invite and encourage all students of The Urantia Book to attend this year’s Midwest Conference in Normal, Illinois 16—18 August, 2019.
The uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of existence do not in any manner contradict the concept of the universal sovereignty of God. All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities that, while wise in their manner of teaching and problem-solving development, make life seem harsh and confusing to us mortals. The ultimate question being: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” That is sometimes followed by: “If God loves me, then why does he not remove the cruel and unjust situations of life?” or “Why didn’t Jesus just heal everyone?”
Uncertainty with security is the essence of the Paradise adventure. The Inevitabilities illustrate the uncertainty we have unified with the security we need—uncertainty in time and in mind, uncertainty as to the events of our lives, uncertainty as an inexperienced citizen of the universe—a “child” of God; security in spirit and in eternity, security in the unqualified trust of the creature son in the divine compassion and infinite love of the Universal Father; security as an ascending child of an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving Father.
Chris Moseley, UK
Being About the Father’s Business
6—8 September 2019
Once again it’s time to invite you to the annual summer retreat of British readers of _The Urantia Book—_a chance to relax for a weekend in congenial company and beautiful surroundings with fellow truth seekers. This is the first gathering held by our new British-Irish organization: Urantia Association of Great Britain & Ireland (UAGBI).
We welcome our members as well as other students of the revelation both at home and abroad to this annual event.
The location of our meeting this year is at the beautiful Belsey Bridge Conference Centre in Bungay, Suffolk, in the east of England. Full board and accommodation are offered.
Nathen Jansen, Canada
Vancouver, Canada 15—19 July 2020
Lifting Together—United in Purpose—Serving God the Supreme
Call for Volunteers. The Urantia Global Experience is an upcoming gathering of minds dedicated to serving God the Supreme through the exploration of solutions for the progressive evolution of civilization. We believe the overall success of this experimental endeavor rests on our spiritual unity—our common motive to express the will of God in our personal daily lives as well as in our social institutions.
The format of this gathering will be a little different than past related experiences. Rather than a series of lectures or workshops, all participants will engage in discussion groups focused on a variety of topics drawn from The Urantia Book (see Paper 71:4 Progressive Civilization). From these discussions, we hope to derive common ideas, solutions, and purpose.
Alice Wood, USA
A Personal Outreach
I’m Alice Wood and I am the creator of the YouTube channel, Urantia Life Lessons. This is a platform designed to walk people through the teachings of The Urantia Book as they relate to our daily lives.
Being a second-generation student of The Urantia Book, I became aware that children who are raised with the book are exposed first, to the values of the book, rather than the details which are so often overwhelming to people who are not familiar with it. It is those values that I bring forth in a way that I hope is appealing to both long-time and new students of The Urantia Book.
Olga Lopez, Spain
The 18th Meeting of readers in Spain began on Thursday afternoon, April 25th at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada, located just beside the Mediterranean Sea in the town of Benalmádena (Málaga, Spain). Forty-five attendees came from all over the country and also from abroad, including Germany, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland. Among our guests were Antonio Schefer, Urantia Association’s Conference Committee Chair, and Sebastian Nozzi, European Coordinator. Thank you all for coming!
On this occasion, the conference theme was “The Inner Life,” in connection with the general theme for conferences called “Living the Teachings.” More specifically, we explored the inner life in four subthemes:
Alain Cyr, Canada
I volunteered to assist in the Urantia Book booth at the last year’s Parliament of the World’s Religions which was held in Toronto on November 1-7, 2018. There were around 72 Urantia Book readers present at the event and many of us who volunteered were kept busy appreciating the multitude of smiling faces on the people who passed by, many of whom stopped at the booth to fraternize and investigate our book. The event was held in the huge Metro Toronto Convention Center, and we enjoyed the contact of so many open-minded thirsty souls. People are really thirsty for world peace!
This message was particularly felt within the global call for unity that was highlighted within presentations and plenaries. What hit me most was this Interfaith phenomenon that is growing globally; there is an increasing willingness to collaborate. People of all faiths are gathering all around the planet to foster joint venture projects on behalf of social progress. This is quite encouraging! Surely the Most Highs must take delight in such happenings… as they rule in the kingdom of men (and women of course).
Tamila Ragimova, Colombia
Every year at the beginning of March, we hold a conference on a Sunday at the Intercontinental Hotel. The theme of our conference this year was “Science, Religion and Spirituality.” Presentations were held on a variety of topics from The Urantia Book as well as the application of the book’s teachings to our contemporary life.
This year the event was held on March 10, 2019, starting with 35 participants on the terrace of the Citará event room. On this occasion, as in previous years, people from different cities of Colombia came to the conference; they came from Bogotá, Rionegro, Caucasia, Montería, Medellín, among others.
Gaetan Charland, Canada
On the 29th of March of this year Moussa Ndiaye, a long-time reader and a great teacher of The Urantia Book teachings, passed away. Moussa was the first president of the national Urantia Association of Senegal and over many years traveled to Europe, Canada, and the United States to attend conferences as well as to present a series of seminars based on The Urantia Book teachings. His goal was to help uplift spiritual consciousness in men and women of many faiths whether they were Urantia Book readers or not.
I first met Moussa in 2000 in New York during the Urantia Association’s international conference at Staten Island. From my first meeting with him, I was impressed by the man and by what he had achieved in his country. He was able to share _The Urantia Book’_s teachings to more than eight hundred people of the Muslim faith with the help of a unique method he devised called “Progressive Divine Wisdom,” which is based on The Urantia Book’s teachings.
Check out Urantia Association International’s Events Calendar at http://urantia-association.org/events-list. Upcoming events can be viewed in a List or Calendar view.
Urantia Book reader events provide opportunities for students to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas and concepts presented in The Urantia Book and help to facilitate a personal commitment to the ideals of spiritual living. We hope you can make it to some of these events and experience the joys of meeting and studying with fellow readers.
If you’re planning a Urantia Book reader event in your region and would like help in promoting it, please send us your information and we’ll consider it for our Events Calendar.