© 1989 Kathleen Swadling
© 1989 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
I’d just like to send greetings to the readership around Australia and beyond on behalf of the members of the Sydney study group. The more we go through life and get involved with the many tasks it presents to us, the easier it is to lose touch with the relationships of our fellow human beings who aren’t in our everyday vicinities. For those of us whose lives have been changed and transformed by The URANTIA Book I believe there is a strong bond which joins us together in spiritual brotherhood and fellowship. This invisible brotherhood is a very powerful thing indeed as it has the potential to transform the lives of souls it comes into contact with, giving it a geometric capacity for growth. As it grows it gains momentum. This invisible brotherhood is alive and active only to the degree that its ‘members’ are alive and active. What’s the point in knowing a truth if it isn’t lived? Living the truth can be done by socializing your SELF — i.e. being real and truthful and sincere within your SELF and then socializing your SELF — it’s the natural, unconscious, non-egotistical way of contributing to the unfolding of the Brotherhood of Man — which taken to cosmic levels is contributing to the emergence of the Supreme Being — it’s the way of evolution assisted by revelation.
Given that life gives us as many distractions as it does challenges (maybe even more) we need to be making efforts to ensure that the distractions do not take us away from the currents of Brotherhood emergence. Just as our bodies need to be nourished and replenished with wholesome food, so our spirits need replenishing with wholesome, good quality contact with our spiritual brothers and sisters. I believe through my own experience that active and regular participation in URANTIA Book study groups is one of the surest ways of replenishing the spirit. The discussions and interactions which take place as believers study the book together has such supreme value — it not only deepens the breadth and depth of your understanding of the book and the truths it contains, but it also strengthens the bonds of spiritual brotherhood and friendship with those you study with. It can become twofold — your understanding of the truth helps develop your relationship with God and the contact with fellow readers helps to develop an understanding of your fellow man which can develop into genuine acceptance and eventually love for those people. These are the kinds of experience which enhance your soul growth and maturity attainment, help you become more unified and real which helps you to become a better person and more able to touch the lives of those you come into contact with throughout your day to day activities. This is what Jesus means as ‘By their fruits you shall know them’. The very lives transformed individuals live should automatically bear fruits of the spirit if the truth is genuinely and sincerely being lived out by those individuals.
As the local study group gives you the more regular contact with other readers, the annual gatherings or less regular regional gatherings we have are a tremendous opportunity to broaden your horizons of fellowship with other readers. I find these less frequent gatherings have a highlighting effect in that you have high quality contact with people you only meet with occasionally. You tend to cram your time with as much high quality conversation as you can because you know time is limited. These experiences can leave you with a strengthened bond for those fellows you’ve just met with and can give a sense of participation in the more extended invisible brotherhood. As you contact fellow readers further and further afield your sense of belonging to a fellowship of planetary and worldwide brotherhood fills you with greater commitment and gives you a greater sense of belonging to something of significance to the planetary spiritual progression of our world.
So with those thoughts in mind I would like to invite and encourage anyone passing through or visiting Sydney to attend our study group which is held every second Wednesday night. There are about nine of us who meet regularly and others who attend occasionally. All have a keen interest in the book and welcome any visitors.
I would also like to extend special greetings to fellow readers in Melbourne. I am sure there is a wealth of experience in store for us all someday as we get to know each other more. I hear the readership is growing considerably down there and I look forward to an opportunity of meeting with you. I hope some of you are planning on coming to our annual meeting this year in Queensland. It’d be nice to strengthen the bonds by sharing some time together.
Sincerely with love and fellowship
Kathleen Swadling, Sydney
P.S. Please note that references made to the participation in the invisible brotherhood and the Brotherhood of Man are not to be confused with participation in the URANTIA Brotherhood. The former is spiritual, the latter social.