© 2002 Ken Raveill
© 2002 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
| A Service Adventure in Guatemala | Fall 2002 — Index | Compare: Human Concepts Paralleled with The Urantia Papers |
My wife and I discovered The Urantia Book in 1979 while visiting in the home of friends. It was prominently displayed on the coffee table in the living room. My wife casually began reading the book and then called it to my attention. We were interested enough to note the name of the publisher, and sent to Chicago for a copy. A few days later the Big Blue Book arrived and almost immediately we received a friendly phone call from Ila Hall, a complete stranger, inviting us to a Urantia Book Study Group that met in her home on Sunday afternoons. Ila and Loren Hall lived in Southwest Kansas City Missouri about 35 miles from our home in Independence, but we decided to accept the invitation, at least for one time. We attended Ila Hall’s study group for more than 10 years and learned to love Ila and Loren and share their love for The Urantia Book.
The Urantia Book Home Study Group has been and remains the basic method for attracting new readers while offering an opportunity for rich fellowship and spiritual growth. In Independence, Missouri, we have had two active study groups. One group met weekly and the other once a month. However our study groups were small. We wanted to share this wonderful book with new readers. We discussed this problem and decided we needed to do two things, if possible. One was to combine the two study groups, and meet once a week, and meet if possible at a convenient public location. The second action needed was to do some advertising and personal contacts. If we met in a public location we all agreed it would be easier to invite others.
I was surprised to find several opportunities in Independence for our Urantia Book Study Group to meet in a public location. I first called on a branch of the Kansas City Public Library which I knew had two community rooms that were available to not-forprofit community organizations at no cost. I found that these rooms were booked up for weeks ahead and would not be available every week. I next called on the Mid Continent Public Library in Independence. They offered us a secluded corner location where we could meet every week but did not have a separate room for community groups.
However, the real break in our search came when two members of our study group, Linda and Bob Keller, who were buying books at Barnes & Noble bookstore, asked if it was possible for a book study group to meet there once a week. They were introduced to the Public Relations person who assured them that our study group would be welcome to meet every week at the bookstore. Barnes & Noble would advertise our event in their monthly newsletter, supply announcements to three local newspapers, and would also prepare a large sign stating that this space is reserved for The Urantia Study Group, Tuesday evening 7 to 10 PM.
This was the ideal solution to our search for a public location. The advantages of meeting at Barnes & Noble are many. We have a quite out-ofthe-way location with tables and chairs furnished. There is a nearby Café for refreshments and for those who want to stay and talk after our study session. There are acres of parking and the location is easy to find.
The Barnes & Noble bookstore is a popular meeting place, especially for young people and is a location where we can feel free to invite anyone to meet with our study group. And best of all Barnes & Noble sells books, Urantia Books. It builds traffic for them and provides an opportunity for us to reach new readers in our community.
We decided to start our Barnes & Noble meetings in September after school started when our advertising would be most effective. I prepared printed invitations which we distributed to our local Uranita Society at our Jesus’ Birthday celebration in late August. Our start day at Barnes & Noble was set for Tuesday, September 3rd. I also prepared two display ads for our local newspaper, The Independence Examiner. These display ads ran one week before the Tuesday meeting and also on the weekend before. I sent notices as well as invitations to churches in the area, to local radio stations, and to the local cable TV Community Calendar channel.
At our first study group meeting at Barnes & Noble on September 3rd, we had nineteen in attendance. While most of these were Urantia Book readers from other study groups in the area, we did have six attend who were non-readers. At this first public study group meeting we continued using recorded audio tapes of the Urantia papers as we had done for several years in our home study group.
When The Urantia Book audio tapes first came on the market, I purchased a set. The first thing I did was duplicate all 96 tapes so I would have a copy for frequent use while saving the original tapes in case I needed to replace a damaged tape. Using an audio tape in a study group session has many advantages, especially with new readers. Some people read better than others, as I am sure you are aware. Many Urantia Book words are difficult to pronounce. Some words are not even in a dictionary.
It is embarrassing, especially for a new reader, to stumble over vocabulary and be frequently corrected by others when reading an unfamiliar text. The most important benefit however is the fact that the recorded tapes are read with understanding by professional readers. Everyone listens to the recorded voice and follows the text with great interest and comprehension. At least that has been my experience. We do of course stop the tape frequently for questions and comments.
It has been only three months into our experiment at Barnes & Noble, but I believe it has been successful and that this may offer important opportunities for other study groups who might be interested in moving to a public location. Last Tuesday evening for example, we had a new reader walk into our group after seeing the Community Events notice in the local newspaper. We also had two girls see our group and stopped to ask questions. We hope to see them again.
You may not have a Barnes & Noble bookstore nearby but there are community rooms available in most every town or city. Many times, banks and savings & loans offices, chambers of commerce or public libraries will have community rooms, at no cost, where your local study group could meet if you want to go public.
Ken Raveill has been a reader and student of the Urantia Papers since 1979. He states that it would take many pages of this Journal to describe the ways the teachings of the Book have blessed both he and his wife. “Even then, words alone could not express the peace, knowledge, and understanding we have received by the study of The Urantia Book.” If you would like a sample of the printed invitations and the newspaper display ads mentioned above contact Ken at 600 E. Linwood St. Independence, MO.64055 or kkraveill@cs.com
“All the great religions claim truth for their beliefs whether they deny there is truth in other religions or acknowledge that there is some measure of truth in some or all of the others. But, while claiming … truth for their beliefs, all do not assume or acknowledge the obligation to proselytize — to undertake missionary activities throughout the world aimed at converting as many individuals as possible … What is the significance of the fact that, while each of the great religions claim truth for its factual or moral beliefs … only some religions undertake missionary activities and attempt to make converts, while others do nothing of the kind, and some even operate under the obligation not to proselytize or convert? If a religion claims truth for its beliefs, why does it not seek to universalize itself? Should not the truth its communicants espouse be shared as widely as possible?” Mortimer Adler
Truth in Religion … the Plurality of Religions and the Unity of Truth
| A Service Adventure in Guatemala | Fall 2002 — Index | Compare: Human Concepts Paralleled with The Urantia Papers |