© 2018 Ivan Stol
© 2018 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
Since the conference in AMSTERDAM, I was asked to participate in the national meeting of British readers of the Urantia Book. So, with the help of the association, I decided to respond and Gary Rawlings, president and organizer, kindly took care of the formalities of the stay in this Charney Manor mansion a little south of Oxford from September 7 to 10, 2018.
After a ten-hour train journey (incidentally, EUROSTAR does not deserve its name because I did not see a star), I arrived at this mansion and was fraternally welcomed by the staff and the Urantians. Here is the schedule of the stay:
Program
FRIDAY
- Arrival after 4 p.m.
- 5:30 p.m.: Meet and greet
- 19.00: Dinner
- 20.30: Presentation on Theosis in the Urantia Book (I) actualizing your Divine self — Barry Culligan
SATURDAY
- 08.00-09.00: Breakfast
- 09-30: Introductions & prayer
- 10.00-10.30: Re-discovering the Sourees and Centers — Ade
- 10.30-11.00: Progress; Personal, Planetary. Mark Kurtz
- 11.00-11.30: Break
- 11.30-12.15: To what extend can religion influence spiritualized living? Richard Zhu
- 12.15-13.00: What can we learn about spiritualized living from Rodan of Alexander? —Hara
- 13.00-14.15: Lunch
- 2.15pm-3.00pm: Discussion — what does the journey through the mansion tell us about the requirements for the spiritualized living for the individuals? What docs the evolutionary Journey of a planet and the settlement reveal about the pre-requisites for a spiritualized society — Chris and Tina
- 15.00-16.15: Quiz — Ade
- 4:15-5:00 p.m.: Vice President of Urantia Association for the USA Presentation — Rick Lyon
- 17.00-19.00: Free time
- 19.00: Dinner
- 20.30-21.15: Gircle Dance with Hara
- 21.15-22.00: Music — Barry
SUNDAY
- 08.00-09.15: Breakfast
- 09.15-09.30: Opening prayer — Hara
- 09.30-10.15: Theosis in the Urantia Book — Actualizing your Divine self (II) — Barry
- 10.15-11.45: Workshop: Working with the UAI Vision, Service Action: Sebastian, Mark and Luis
- 11.45-12.15: Break
- 12.15-13.00: Personal Renections & closing prayer
- 13.00-14.00: Lunch
- 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Free time
The participants
There are fewer readers than in France, but they are more dynamic. The way their national meeting takes place is closer to what is done at international meetings, that is to say that instead of doing the same work as in the groups, some prepare presentations on the theme of the meeting and present them in turn, a bit like conferences followed by a few questions. From this point of view, it seems like good training for international conferences and meetings and there are also more people working to bring this meeting to life. In addition, the English are more interested in knowing the effects of different spiritual experiences on the course of their lives than in knowing or understanding the universal consequences of their actions.
Gary managed to bring in foreign people, which is not really done here. On the other hand, at the request of a majority of members present, the English would be keen to join us at one of our next French national meetings if it were close enough, such as in the north of Brittany for example. An instructive exchange could take place.
There is also, among the English, a certain reluctance to the way the UAI wants to put forward the Urantia Book (defining an authority and imposing schools which would lead to a certain prejudicial dogmatism) and to their way of wanting to regulate and manage everything in the world. But this is the current mentality of the USA and, in general, Europeans feel it badly. However, we are far from the USA and Urantia Europe is being built slowly, step by step, from exchange to exchange.
Finally, little extras that we no longer have at home (yes, we had them at a certain time), we were treated to artistic interludes (music, songs, dances) in which a majority happily participated.
All this in a very English atmosphere, meals included with the typical taste of dishes and desserts accompanied by their sauces. If you have the opportunity, go there.
Ivan