© 2018 Laura Suominen-Raatikainen
© 2018 International Urantia Association (IUA)
Once again enthusiastic Finnish readers of The Urantia Book gathered together for the annual winter meeting of the Urantia Association of Finland. It was held 26-28 January at Lautsia Resort Center in Southern Finland, a beautiful place in the countryside near a lake.
Over 30 readers attended from all over Finland and two from Estonia. The meeting was a huge success. Everything seemed to flow beautifully thanks to efforts of Olli Ylitapio, Tapio Kankkonen and Raimo Kujala who organized the program. The theme of the meeting was “Spiritual Coaching” and this proved to be a very fruitful theme. People were alert and interested.
The meeting started with a short presentation on “Moral Education.” Then Tapio and Raimo presented on the “Coaching of the Apostles.” After this the participants were divided into small groups to discuss what kind of coaching would be needed for a person who is aware of their Thought Adjuster and the Holy Spirit. The discussion afterwards was very lively and brought forth new ideas.
After the coffee break Tapio spoke about what he felt to be the “Pearls of The Urantia Book” citing several extracts from the book. Once again a very lively discussion was held afterwards; people started sharing their own “pearls” from the book and the discussion lasted pretty late into the evening.
Next morning started with a short morning assembly followed by one of the members who shared her own experiences on the subject of “Who Seeketh He Finds.” The last presentation of the meeting was “Experiences on Coaching One´s Spirit.” The meeting ended with a short information session by the President of our Associaion, Risto Mäntynen.
Everybody left feeling very satisfied and in a happy mood. Not only had there been a chance to meet each other again and feel social cohesion, but we also took home with us new ideas and thoughts as well as renewed strength.