© 2011 James Woodward
© 2011 Urantia Foundation
| Noteworthy Decisions from the October 2011 Board of Trustees Meeting | Volume 5, Issue 4, Dec. 2011 — Index | The Rewards of Being a Teacher/Facilitator for UBIS |
By James Woodward, Team Captain, Placerville, California, USA
In only a few short months students of The Urantia Book worldwide have embraced the new Study Group Portal. Readers now have online access to over 200 study groups in 24 nations!
The Urantia Book Study Group Portal was designed to provide the community of Urantia Book readers with a new resource by consolidating all active Urantia Book study groups. Heartily supported by Urantia Foundation, The Urantia Book Fellowship, and Urantia Association International, this joint project exhibits a unity of purpose in the development of study groups for all readers of The Urantia Book.
Featuring an easy-to-use interface, the Study Group Portal is a web-based directory and resource center for study groups where hosts create a profile to share details about their local meetings. This voluntary approach to listing and managing data improves upon previous publishing methods as contact information, meeting times, meeting format, and current topics can now be updated as the group evolves, at the convenience of the host virtually anytime.
Currently the website is available in English and French with translations in other languages coming soon. The Urantia Study Group Portal is designed to recognize the native language of the visitor and will automatically display it if that language is available.
In recognizing the need to support and administer this new resource, all three sponsors have provided members to serve on the Portal Support Team.
Representing Urantia Foundation:
- Marta Elders
- Tamara Strumfeld
Representing The Urantia Book Fellowship:
- Emilio Coppola
- Lenny Cowles
- John Hales
Representing Urantia Association International:
- Scott Brooks
- Caio Donega
- James Woodward, Team Captain
Ex-officio members include the presidents of each organization:
- Gaetan Charland, President, Urantia Association International
- Michelle Klimesh, President, The Urantia Book Fellowship
- Mo Siegel, President, Urantia Foundation
The team recently participated in a conference call and made some key decisions regarding the group process and the operation of the Portal. Perhaps most important was the decision to work in consensus on policy matters, reflecting a commitment that the service of readers transcends the interests of organizations. Now that a representative team has been formed, issues related to improving the scope and function of the portal can be addressed and implemented.
The support team is well aware of the historic implications and opportunities of this first tri-partisan working group of the three major Urantia Book organizations. Publicizing the important role of study groups in the evolution of our reader community is one of the tasks of the Portal Support Team.
Please join us in our enthusiasm for the promotion of study groups all over Urantia and feel free to repost this announcement to any forum or Urantia Book communication medium. If you host a study group and wish to attract readers, visit the website now and create a profile. Join the growing network of study groups!
Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season and good reading.
¶ References
| Noteworthy Decisions from the October 2011 Board of Trustees Meeting | Volume 5, Issue 4, Dec. 2011 — Index | The Rewards of Being a Teacher/Facilitator for UBIS |