© 2018 Paula Thompson
© 2018 The Urantia Book Fellowship
By Paula Thompson Fellowship Director
Are you interested in serving as a movement leader on the Fellowship’s General
Council?
You can apply here:
Or call the office at (303) 467-7858 and Paula Thompson or Derek Samaras will send you the link for the Application for Organizational Service Form.
There are a total of 36 seats on the General Council (GC) and 1 of those seats will open up this winter. To be eligible, a person must be a member of the Fellowship, either a Member-atLarge or a regional Urantia Society Member. In addition, the Fellowship’s constitution requires that you must have read the Urantia Book in its entirety, at least one time, as the other prerequisite for service.
You can read more about the General Council from our constitution, here: http://
www.urantia-book.org/fellowship-admin/Constitution Urantia-Book-Fellowship.pdf
Membership on the GC involves attending two meetings per year. Meetings are held over a weekend in a variety of locations across North America. Meetings typically occur in February (in a warm climate) and again at the close of, and in conjunction with, the Fellowship’s summer conference. Meetings typically begin on Friday evening at 7pm and run for 4 hours, then resume on Saturday for 8 hours and again on Sunday for 4 hours, ending at noon. Saturday night is usually held open for a social with readers from the area where the meeting is held. We vary the location of meetings to allow for this social time and to facilitate local readers getting to know the leaders of the Fellowship. This event is often a highlight at Council meetings. Sometimes another day may be added to the GC meeting for a retreat.
Meeting agendas typically consist of reports by the officers, and standing committee chairs, discussion of policy, and proposals for new arenas of service and dissemination. Meetings are presided over by the Fellowship’s President and are run according to Roberts Rules of Order. It’s important to note that Councilors must be able to cover their own costs to attend meetings. This includes travel to the meeting, hotel room, and meals. Occasional financial assistance may be available to Councilors if circumstances leave them unable to meet these expenses.
Being on the Fellowship’s General Council is an amazing experience. Some General Councilors have served for 2, 3 and 4 9-year terms. Lifelong friendships are established and the beauties of deliberation, group wisdom, and teamwork are illuminated in remarkable and inspiring ways.
If, after reading this and checking in with our Father, you feel you would like to join the long list of General Councilors who have served the Urantia movement faithfully for 62 years, you can find an Application for Organizational Service
Thanks in advance for your consideration and your willingness to serve!