© 2013 Louise Renaud, Gilles Bertrand, Gaétan G. Charland
© 2013 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Impressions of the last meeting of Saturday May 11 of the Women’s Committee
I AM HAPPY AND HONORED TO BE PART OF THIS GROUP OF WOMEN. We are slowly getting to know each other a little better. We are getting to know each other a little better with each of our meetings and we are appreciating each other more and more. The fact that we have been given time to get to know each other better helps us to proceed more effectively in what we want to accomplish.
After a few meetings, we defined ourselves better as a group and now we have targeted goals and objectives.
Reading this passage from The Urantia Book, L.U. 43; and I quote: “The religious challenge of the present age is to those men and women of spiritual insight, foresight, and forward-looking, who will dare to construct a new and attractive philosophy of life…” UB 2:7.10
This passage inspires me greatly and I feel the challenge that is being given to me. Today, thanks to our small group, I feel that I can finally do something concrete. I want to touch and inspire the women and girls around me. It is important that they realize and become aware of the faculties and power that they have within them. Our challenge is therefore to gently pass on to them this precious and indispensable teaching that we ourselves have received and that has illuminated our lives so much.
During one of our last meetings, Line told us a Senegalese proverb that really impressed me and which went like this: “When you educate a boy, you educate a human being; when you educate a girl, you educate an entire nation.”
I am only beginning to realize and understand the full magnitude and impact that a woman can transmit, first in her own family with her children, then in her family relationships, with her friends and finally in society.
If this woman is educated and has spiritual values, she will certainly pass them on to her offspring. These children who will have the chance to grow up and live according to these values of ethics and morality and also of spirituality will themselves continue to pass all this on for the benefit of an evolving society which today needs so much to redress the balance of its values.
I am amazed at the positive power of intervention that we women possess. It is imperative to pass on all this knowledge to those who will have an open mind and the curiosity to know this knowledge.
This new understanding stimulates in me a deep desire to work in this direction. The project that the women’s committee has given itself, the mandate that we would like to accomplish is a logical continuation of our own spiritual journey and each of us will reap undeniable joy and satisfaction from it.
The work that each of us must prepare, we will offer to these women knowing that there will be no limits in the future to the consequences of our actions.
Louise Renaud
Quebec
¶ The Great “Ah Ha” Moments
THE BIG “AHH HA” MOMENTS are those moments in your life when suddenly you understand some great meaning that you have heard, even though those previous encounters with truth may have only scratched the surface of your mind, or made a botched landing, because it was knowledge that was not needed at that particular time in your life.
The “Ah ha” moment is an experience and not simply information presented to your mind. Once experienced, the “Ah ha” moment becomes a “pre-wisdom” one might say, because you have had an experience of understanding, and from that moment on it is available for you to use in any situation in life when the need arises.
Learning certain truths, and gaining information that unlocks the Spirit within and allows life and creativity to flow, would be balanced and eternally preserved by the Spirit within you. These “Ah ha” moments, and other valuable life lessons are preserved and become a part of the growing soul, never to be forgotten, and will be used to cultivate other experiences of survival value in this life as well as the next. Each moment and experience of survival value builds on the previous ones, and the growth of the soul becomes exponential—the accumulation of what some would call “the things in life that matter most.”
Often times when a human makes the choice to embrace their spiritual nature, a process of self-mastery and self-discovery begins. You begin to recognize the imperfectness within yourself, and you develop a desire to improve yourself and control less than attractive personality traits. During this drive to improve your self, opportunities and information are placed in your path to help you and teach you how to overcome this imperfection. This is where that “Ah ha” moment comes in – an illumination of truth and self-realization that opens a barrier to peace, harmony, and flow. Once the threshold of this discovery is crossed, it is there to nourish you as you battle behaviors born of fear, selfishness, judgment, and ego pride.
It is the supreme directive of the indwelling Spirit that illuminates the mind when you are ready to receive the knowledge that will stimulate soul growth and bring about progress. You can liken it to a transaction between the mind and the soul, with the indwelling Spirit acting as a salesman offering you the merchandise that will best suit you. Sometimes the cost is high, but the return on investment is exponential and will continue to accrue interest far into the future. Pay attention to those “Ah ha” moments and recognize the actions of Spirit that have led you to understand the information that is growing in perfection, and those tools that become part of your arsenal that you can use to teach and lead others.
Found on the F. Univ. blog.
Gilles Bertrand
Quebec
¶ MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE MEETING FOR MICHAEL’S PARTY
Sunday August 18, 2013
DEAR FRIENDS, YOU ARE INVITED to come and fraternize with us at Angrignon Park on the occasion of a friendly meeting on Sunday, August 18, for the birthday of our Creator Son, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth on Urantia. During these meetings, we rejoice in the pleasure of conversing with other seekers of truth. We exchange our points of view and we share a bite to eat… bring your lunch and your chairs.
Itinerary :
Take Highway 15, exit Boul. de La Vérendrye, first entrance immediately after Boulevard Trinitaire on La Vérendrye. Once there, watch for the three blue concentric circles on your left.
A shelter is provided in case of rain. For those traveling by metro, buses 110 and 113, westbound, leave from the Angrignon terminus and stop at the park entrance on de la Vérendrye.
The AUQ Council
¶ You are the Sowers!
Part 1
This speech was presented at the 2012 International Congress in Colombia.
IN THE INTRODUCTION to The Urantia Book the Revelators inform us that their chief objective is to expand cosmic consciousness and heighten spiritual perception. In the Publication Mandate the revelators enjoin us to establish thousands of study groups and to train leaders and teachers.
By now, most of us here, if not all, are part of an international association, the UAI, whose mission is “to encourage the study of The Urantia Book and to disseminate its teachings” and “the UAI will create opportunities for the development of teachers and leaders through the natural evolution of learning by doing” (UAI Charter 2006).
When we first encountered The Urantia Book, it is obvious that we had little appreciation of its importance to our world and, consequently, of the role we could play in its mission. Since the Urantia movement began to take shape in 1955, with the establishment of the Urantia Brotherhood, there have been a few worthwhile attempts to train teachers; and of these, few have survived the test of time. There have been other local initiatives, or Internet sites devoted to training, but to date we have not seen enough concrete results to satisfy our expectations.
In today’s world and its cultural environment, the concept of teaching and educators is part of a very specialized field reserved exclusively for those who have made it their profession and who are recognized as such by the established institutions. When it comes to religion or spirituality, our minds naturally turn to organized religions and to the priests and pastors who act as guides, counselors or teachers. Our visions of educational responsibilities and basic concepts have evolved naturally from our own educational experiences, whether secular or spiritual.
Today and in the days to come we will tell you that you can be a teacher, that you have been teaching for a long time. This may be a disturbing thought to some of you, but be assured; we all have within us the capacity to teach; in fact, if we can learn, we can teach. God has provided all of us with everything required to be good teachers, as well as good students; already, we have learned many things and passed them on to our family, friends, and fellow workers. Does it not say in The Urantia Book that we have not learned something until we have taught it to someone else?
There are many ways of teaching, but that is not my purpose; others after me will take charge of that, in fact they will teach you different ways of teaching and disseminating. What I wish to discuss with you is mainly the meaning of the word teacher and teaching in relation to The Urantia Book. There are many readers who believe that teaching should be left to other generations of readers; others, for their part, believe that we are not yet ready to teach and that more time should be devoted to reading and study. Some others are staunchly opposed to any form of training of teachers, probably believing that it would create some kind of priesthood order. A few believe that such teaching should be left in the hands of experienced teachers or to those who have academic degrees.
The Revelators inform us in the Publication Mandate that an advance publication of the Book has been offered so that it may be available for the training of leaders and teachers. They go so far as to say that the book is being given to those who are ready for it long before the time of its world mission and that thousands of study groups are to be organized. Some may not believe these guidelines, perceiving them as too restrictive or dogmatic, but to many of us they are significant because they impart real and profound meaning to our mission while providing the wisdom needed to build something greater than we can imagine. “The future is not open to mortal comprehension, but be sure to study in great detail the order, plan, and methods of progression as they were carried out during Michael’s life on earth when the Word was made flesh. ” (Publication mandate — 1955)
If we are not the ones who are ready for this Revelation, then who are they and where are they? What would be the purpose of our organization except to lay the foundations required to support and disseminate this Revelation? If we are to accomplish our mission by means other than training leaders and educators and forming study groups, then what other means would those be? UAI is not a social club, we are much more than that, we are an organization committed to a spiritual and intellectual mission to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception through the structured and organized dissemination of the teachings of The Urantia Book. We must bring new meanings to the words “educators and teaching”; we must find new and better ways to disseminate the teachings; we must reclaim our responsibilities to share these teachings on a personal, one-on-one basis, instead of relying on the mass media, or the Internet.
If we could all agree that we need to define and identify better ways to teach and share what we have learned, instead of having tugs of war among ourselves about what educator training means and what to do with The Urantia Book and its teachings, we would probably be more creative and resourceful in finding ways to train ourselves and others as educators and disseminators. As I understand it, a good educator is a good disseminator and a good disseminator is a good educator. What is so difficult and scary about teaching; we do it every day of our lives, whether we realize it or not? I am not referring to educators teaching in front of a classroom, but a more basic form of teacher; those who by their example influence their families, friends, work colleagues and attract lost or hungry souls.
“And all those who know the way of truth and enjoy the assurance of knowing God should esteem it a privilege, not a duty, to offer guidance to their fellows in their efforts to find the satisfactions of living.” (UB 132:6.1)
We are the sowers, if not us, then who are they?
We are the sowers, if not us, then who are they? But not just any kind of sower; if we read the parable of the sower, we could focus primarily on where the seeds fall and not on the sower himself. In our day and age, we cannot go around preaching as Jesus and the Apostles did; we must adjust our teaching methods to the current context of our world. Most of our teaching and dissemination should be done on a one-on-one basis with the help of presentations given in study groups, or at conferences like this one, or through the Internet, like the UBIS School. Not only can we teach the ordinary people we meet every day, but we must not forget to teach ourselves.
“The pride of unspiritualized learning is a treacherous thing in human experience. The true teacher maintains his intellectual integrity by ever remaining a learner.”” (UB 130:3.7)
I would like to read you a modified version of the Parable of the Sower, which I discovered in my research and which I consider appropriate for us who must learn to become better educators. It is called:
What Type of Soil Are You? By Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards.
It is the story of a mother and her four children.
“I want to help!”
“Me too! Me too”
“Can I? Please?”
The four children were gathered around the mother who was taking the packets of seeds out of the grocery bag.
“I want the carrots.”
“So, I want the pumpkins.”
“But I don’t want to plant onions. Yuck!”
Laughing, the mother divided the seeds among the children. “This year, each of you will have your own garden. You will get to choose where to plant your seeds and you will be responsible for weeding and watering your own patch. So before you start, you must go outside and carefully identify the perfect spot.”
With that, the kids went outside. They looked around the front and back yards. They considered things like where the sun would rise in the morning and how far the garden hose would reach. Each kid picked the perfect spot to plant a garden.
Jerry took great care to dig the soil properly. He removed any weeds and rocks he found and read the instructions on the back of the seed packet to make sure the seeds would be planted deep enough. He faithfully tended his garden all summer. On the hottest days, when others didn’t want to work in their gardens, he could be found outside working meticulously.
Sally started off on the right foot. She also made sure that her garden was planted in good soil and she removed the weeds and stones. However, as time went on, she lost interest in her planting. Other things became more important to her. Instead of working in her garden during those hot days, she preferred to spend her time talking to her friends on the phone. It didn’t take long for the weeds to grow and take over the garden. Soon enough, it became difficult to tell exactly which were weeds and which were plants.
Billy didn’t think he had to go to all that trouble. He didn’t realize how important it was to have good soil. He didn’t want to dig deep, because there were rocks, and it was hard to get them out. So he just left them there and tried to plant the seeds around the rocks.
So as for Jill. She took her seeds and just scattered them around on the ground. She quickly lost interest and didn’t even try to tend to her garden for the rest of the summer.
Now take a few minutes to think about what kind of harvest each child was able to produce in their garden at the end of the summer, and when it was time to pick the vegetables when they were ripe.
If you guessed that Jerry had a good harvest, you are absolutely right. He harvested a lot of vegetables. In fact, he was able to set up a table in front of his house and sell some of them to the neighbors.
Sally got some good vegetables, but most of them were small because weeds took over the nutrients in the soil. She was unable to sell any of her vegetables because people were buying Jerry’s.
(…continued in Part 2)
Gaetan G. Charland
¶ International Congress in Quebec in 2015
The Urantia Association of Quebec under the auspices of the Urantia Association of Canada will host the next UAI International Conference on the picturesque grounds of Bishops University in Lennoxville, near Sherbrooke. The dates chosen are from Thursday, July 30, registration day, to Monday, August 3.
The Urantia Association of Quebec has chosen as its theme: PROGRESSING FROM THE HUMAN TO THE DIVINE - Revealing oneself to God.
Two full days will be dedicated to presentations with workshops in the afternoon. We are currently working on developing the program for this event. Each day will be developed with a sub-theme.
We will keep you informed of the progress.
If you would like to get involved in any way as a volunteer and to help us in the various committees, please let us know at: association.urantia.quebec@gmail.com
¶ Leather Cases for The Urantia Book
A FEW MONTHS AGO, the Foundation got rid of some 120 cases for the Little Urantia Books.
The AUQ only had to pay the shipping costs and therefore can sell them to you for $5 plus postage.
Let me know your interest, either by email at line.stpierre@gmail.com or by phone at 450-565-3323.
¶ STUDY GROUPS
THIS ACTIVITY ALLOWS MULTIPLE READERS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING to share and study together the teachings of The Urantia Book. It promotes spiritual progress by allowing its participants to find practical applications to the teachings of The Urantia Book in their daily lives. This important practice helps to maintain a broad perspective on concepts of truth.
You wish to participate or form a study group; we will be happy to assist you. If you wish to have your study group appear in this list, contact the person in charge, via email association.urantia.quebec@gmail.com or at 450-565-3323.
Group: Découverte
Every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Laurentians Region Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre
Tel.: 450-565-3323
Group: Étoile du Soir
Every Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Laurentides region
Carmen Charland
Tel.: 450-553-3601
Group: Le Pont
Every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
South Shore of Montreal
Guy Vachon
Tel.: 450-465-7049
Group: Mauricie Readers
Every Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Three Rivers Region
Madeleine Boisvert and
Tel: 819-376-8850
Roger Perigny
819-379-5768
Group: Veritas
Every Tuesday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Montreal area, near the Church metro station
Lise and Pierre Routhier
Tel.: 514-761-2378
Sherbrooke Group
Every two weeks, Tuesday or Wednesday (to be confirmed)
From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Helene Boisvenue or Denis Gravelle
Tel.: 819 569-6416
Group: The Ascendants
Every two weeks on Sunday from 13 h 00 to 3:30 p.m.
South Shore of Quebec
Guy LeBlanc
Tel: 418-835-1809
Group: The Agondontarians
Every two weeks on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. North Shore of Quebec
Guy & Rolande L. Martin
Tel: 418-651-3851
Group: Les Débonnaires
Wednesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Montreal region
Julien Audet
Tel: 514-315-9871
Group: Urantia Fraternity
Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Lanaudière region
Richard Landry & Gisèle Boisjoly
Tel: 450-589-6922
Group: Vers les Sommets
Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Regions Ormstown & Valleyfield
Louise Sauve
Tel: 450-829-3631
Group: The United Urantia Family
Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Montreal region
Mrs. Diane Labrecque
Tel: 514-277-2308
The Partners of the Supreme
Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Quebec region
Richard Lachance
Tel: (418) 614-2520 or (418) 933-0244 (cell)
At Maisonia
Every two weeks on Monday from 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Quebec region
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud
Tel: 418-871-4564
Group: Uni-Terre
Every Sunday from 9:00 a.m.
Lanaudière region
Eric Martel
Tel: 450-756-9387
Group: Laurantia
Every Sunday from 9:00 a.m.
Petite Nation region in Outaouais
Denise Charron & Jean-Claude Lafreniere
Tel: 819-983-2113
Group: The Precursors of Divine Reality
Every two weeks on Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Laurentides region
Mrs. Johanne Séguin
Tel: 819-327-3237
Group: Sans Frontiére
Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Hawkesbury region
Yvon and Irene Belle-Isle
Tel: 613-632-5706
Group: from Outaouais
Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Ottawa Region
Maurice Migneault
Tel: 613-789-6833
Group: The Alphée Brothers
Sunday
Thetford Mines region
Sylvère Marcoux
Tel: 418-332-3560
Group: The South Shore Lighthouse
Every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
South Shore region of Montreal
Luciano Camellini and Dominique Marchessault
Disclaimer: Any interpretations, opinions, conclusions or artistic representations, stated or implied, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Urantia Association International or local and national level associations.