© 2018 Line St-Pierre, Gaétan G. Charland, Agnès Lazar, Robert Cadieux
© 2018 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Word from the President
Line St-Pierre
president@urantiaqc.org
“The act is ours; the consequences God’s.” (UB 48:7.13)
In September, after a period of rest much appreciated by many of us, comes the time when we receive, at our home, the catalog of activities offered by the municipality and the cultural center of our region.
We then wonder how our time could be well occupied for the coming year and what kind of activity to engage in; social, philanthropic and/or educational.
There are many causes that we can join, but there is one that is fundamental to our spiritual growth, that of getting closer to God and making Him known by producing the fruits of the spirit which is, among other things, a non-invasive way with the people we meet. All people in the service of the fraternity have a few tricks up their sleeve and their own way of doing things!
So the question arises: how can I personally contribute to my spiritual development and how can I participate in the spiritual development of others around me?
With the potentials that we possess, once actualized in sharing, something else will emerge in the other, because when we act, God reacts in a better way.
No matter the context or chosen activity in which we engage with God, it is important for each of us to find ways to inspire those around us and disseminate His teachings, so that the harvest becomes abundant.
“With God the Supreme, achievement is the prerequisite to status—one must do something as well as be something.” (UB 115:0.1)
¶ Invitation to Study Group Hosts
Gaétan G. Charland
Chairman of the study group committee for the AUQ and the AUI
groupe.etude@urantiaqc.org
At the conference in Amsterdam last April, I met a long-time student with whom I had an interesting discussion about the name, nature, function, mission and objectives of study groups. Since then, I have had a few more discussions on this topic with students from Europe, North America, Africa and some members of our local association. In all these exchanges, my aim was to explore what can be done to make study groups more attractive, practical and useful for readers of the new and old generation.
Looking at some of the guidelines expressed in the Publication Mandate by the revealers, my question is: Do study groups fulfill the goals listed, among others, the creation of thousands of study groups and the training of leaders and teachers.
In the introduction to The Urantia Book, we read of its mission, to expand cosmic consciousness and heighten spiritual perception. Another great challenge is to achieve better communication with the divine monitor that inhabits the human mind. Are study groups organized in such a way as to facilitate these specific objectives?
The conclusion drawn from these discussions is the realization that study groups should be revisited to accomplish what the revelators had in mind. The probable fact is that we have had study groups for many years and have become somewhat complacent about them, having gradually forgotten their true purpose and importance. We have made them more intellectual and social instead of making them more spiritually progressive and appealing to both women and men of the new generation.
There is nothing wrong with study groups in their intellectual and social aspects, provided that they do not obscure their true purpose. For many years, nothing was done to improve the way study groups were organized or managed, and they are still managed, free to pursue their activities without any interference from organizations. I believe, however, that if study groups are to succeed in their mission of revitalizing the world by raising the consciousness of the majority of its inhabitants, the organizations of the Urantia Movement as well as the hosts of study groups must reevaluate the true potential of these groups and devise strategies to help them become more effective and attractive.
This is why a meeting of study group hosts is planned for September 30 in the St-Jérôme region. This one-day meeting will allow study group hosts to discuss their respective group visions and objectives, while exploring and learning new methods to better facilitate and make available access to their group to a greater number of readers in Quebec. Of course, Internet technology as a means of communication will be on the agenda and training sessions will be offered during the day.
If you are a study group host or would like to start one, this day is for you. Reserve your spot as soon as possible.
“Health, mental efficiency, and happiness arise from the unification of physical systems, mind systems, and spirit systems.” (UB 100:4.3)
¶ The study group
Agnes Lazar
Belgium
In this article, I would like to share some long-considered thoughts, stemming from experiences within different study groups as well as from an initiate I have had for 16 years.
In January 2001, following many personal trials, I found myself in great disarray. Turning to God, I implored Him to help me discover a deeper meaning to the notion of love as well as a clearer path of life for the years to come. The answer was not long in coming. In September of the same year, I found myself in a group of long-term readers of The Urantia Book. We were all faced with an educator who, very simply, spoke to us about man as a creature of God, man carrying an eternal project of progression and growth to which he can adhere immediately and actively.
This instructor awakened in me a deep desire to do as he did: to devote my life to developing and affirming my relationship with God, to make Him known around me and to begin a serious study of the 5th Revelation.
I continued my spiritual formation with this man by going to Dakar once or twice a year. There, I participated in the study group he had set up for many years, I fraternized beyond institutionalized religions, culture and race to taste the union of souls. To this day, our fraternity is expanding, deepening and intensifying.
I also participated in French and English speaking groups from which I learned lessons.
At the same time, to follow my growing enthusiasm for these truths and the desire to share them, a group naturally formed around me. A trained teacher, working for many years with adults, leading this small assembly of 7 people was a must for me. Being regularly confronted with humans, I felt the need to train for 5 years in relational communication in order to acquire and develop practical tools to lead myself and others to quickly take responsibility for everything in our lives. Without this acceptance, nothing significant and new can emerge in anyone’s life, even in people who want to live the will of the Father.
For three years, I have been accompanying people who are searching for meaning and peace without necessarily seeking God. A sentence in Laurent Gounelle’s latest book and you will find the treasure that sleeps in you, deeply caught my attention: “Spirituality without working on oneself is worthless, working on oneself without spirituality is the same.”
This notion has allowed me to deepen my understanding of the study group. I perceive it as the matrix of experiential growth.
The first point I would like to address following the observations made during my practice is that human beings are increasingly looking for well-being synonymous with immediate peace, tranquility and happiness without understanding that true happiness is an internal matter. The being also tends, by being interested in the study group, to imagine that it will open, and this without delay, the door to this long-awaited state of tranquility. The Urantia Book is clear on this subject and invites us to be just as clear with people who turn to a group: there is a zone of conflicts to cross and there is no mention of the duration!
The second point I wish to address is the group as an ideal setting for growth and verification of our own evolution. It is indeed the barometer of individual progress, the measure of the proximity to our Adjuster as well as our level of transformation. I make the analogy here with the musician. To master an instrument, many hours of individual work are required. Any musician who wants to be part of an orchestra must have this personal discipline for the proper functioning of the orchestra. When all the musicians come together, they harmonize and the accuracy of the symphony will depend on the personal work of each one and their ability to play together. This additional effort is essential.
The group offers a potential space for working on oneself, for reducing the exaltation of the unionist ego that lives in each of us. Participants are continually confronted with different facets of the self that are the source of internal tensions as well as multiple relational conflicts with the outside. From then on, the group is no longer simply a place for studying the teachings of the book, nor solely for exchanging understandings of the concepts of the 5th Revelation, but rather a high place of experimentation and transformation. Consequently, the study group is also a working group.
¶ The 2018 picnic for the feast of Jesus
Robert Cadieux
Montreal
secretary of the AUQ
Sunday, August 26, 2018. What a beautiful day!
The custom of meeting for a picnic to celebrate the birth of Jesus is a pleasure renewed each year around August 21. We choose Sunday and we meet for a small country meal and discussions between friends, between us who share the same flame of the search for the living truth whose instruction manual we found with the reading of The Urantia Book. A core of people meet there and around them appear people that we are surprised to see because we see them less often and this creates a different and stimulating dynamic. This year, it was the rain that confused the cards. The people from Quebec did not come like others who usually come. On the other hand, surprises. People that we did not expect to see were there with the group of readers of the “Urantia Book”. Twenty-two people came.
Among these surprises, a gentleman (Charles-Émile Senécal) arrived right at the beginning to meet us. In talking with him, he told us that he was a researcher; that he had read the Book in about a year and a half and that he had started reading it again, wanting to deepen its concepts and revelations that bring comfort and stimulate seekers of truth.
The rain started to fall and we went into the Lac-aux-Castors pavilion to have a bite to eat. The participants got involved in all sorts of discussions. A reader, Louis Prud’homme, whom we hadn’t seen for a long time, came to stimulate us with his presence, his dynamism and his good humor. We went out on the balcony to take a group photo with the lake in the background. A friend and old reader (Daniel Cyr) took out his guitar and we sang around the theme of our annual picnic. “It’s the most beautiful day of the year, it’s the feast of Jesus”. We also sang to celebrate the creator of our universe: “He’s got the whole world in His hands”. For me, this social gathering is a pleasure of sharing and exchanges. I like to prepare and anticipate this annual meeting. After all, the AUQ organizes two social gatherings per year, the picnic and the brunch celebrations, and it is a joy for me to participate in them. Anticipating and preparing for an event is part of the joy of participating.
It is with this in mind that I am anticipating my long-term trip to Peru in 2021 to participate in the next UAI international congress. Think about it, there could be several people from Quebec participating. This is a stimulating project to prepare.
Our interactions are part of the joy of our human experiences. Because we are readers of The Urantia Book, we know with certainty that our human experiences are the beginning of our universe career through Nebadon to Salvington, where our faithful Adjuster will present us to the sovereign Creator (our brother Father Jesus Michael) who will give us our credentials to launch into the Orvonton superuniverse career and to continue our career as an ascending spirit personality (henceforth). What a prospect!
The awareness of living the start of our cosmic adventure.
Yet there was no alcohol at the picnic; it was my enthusiasm that carried me away.
¶ Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS)
Three courses in French are available to students of The Urantia Book at the end of September 2018.
- “Adorative meditation in the manner of Jesus”; facilitated by Guy Stéphane Nyasse, from Cameroon
- “The Kingdom of Heaven”; facilitated by Guy de Viron, from Switzerland
- “Man as a Material Being” (First part of a trilogy); facilitated by Claude Flibotte, from Quebec
Registration for the new term begins on Monday, September 10.
Orientation week begins on Monday, September 17.
Classes start on September 24th.
For more information, visit the Urantia Foundation website at:
“War on Urantia will never end so long as nations cling to the illusive notions of unlimited national sovereignty.” (UB 134:5.2)
¶ HAVE YOU PURCHASED YOUR FUNDSCRIP CARDS? THIS MONTH?
Every time you buy Fundscrip cards, a percentage of your purchase is donated by the company to the Urantia Association of Quebec. A smart way to support the AUQ for the price of a stamp.
If you would like more information, go to the website of the Urantia Association of Quebec and click on the “Contribution” link, or you can read the excellent article written by Marc Belleau in the Réflectivité of April 2017.
You can also register immediately on the FundScrip website, by clicking on the following image.
¶ Urantia-Association-of-Quebec — 2018 Calendar of Activities
| Sunday, January 14 | Board of Directors — in-person meeting | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Saturday, February 10 | Annual General Meeting in Drummondville | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, March 4 | Board of Directors — in-person meeting | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, May 6 | Board of Directors — in-person meeting | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, May 27 | Theme day - (Life after death) | 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, June 10 | Board of Directors — in-person meeting | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, August 26 | Picnic for the Feast of Jesus — Mount Royal Park | 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, September 9 | Board of Directors — in-person meeting | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, September 30 | Presentation for Study Group Hosts | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, October 14 | Presentation of the Urantia Book in Montreal (General Public) | 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| Thursday, November 15 | Board of Directors — online meeting with Zoom | 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. |
| Sunday, December 9 | Holiday Brunch | 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. |
¶ Study groups
This activity allows several 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 of 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.
Outaouais Group
Region: Gatineau
Wednesday, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Maurice Migneault (613) 789-6833
Group: “The Artisans of Progress”
Region: Montreal — Center of the island
Wednesdays, during the day
Robert Cadieux (514) 237-3616
Group: “At Maisonia”
Region: Quebec
Every 2 weeks: Sundays, from 1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud (418) 871-4564
Group: “Découverte”
Region: Laurentides — St-Jérôme
Mondays, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre
Tel.: (450) 565-3323
Group : “Le Pont”
Region: South Shore of Montreal — Brossard
Thursdays, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Guy Vachon (450) 465-7049
Group: “The United Family of Urantia”
Region: Montreal — Downtown
Wednesdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Mrs. Diane Labrecque (514) 277-2308
Sherbrooke Group
Region: Sherbrooke
Every 2 weeks: Tuesday or Wednesday, (to be confirmed) from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Hélène Boisvenue and Denis Gravelle Tel.: (819) 569-6416
Virtual Study Group, French
Every Monday from 2pm to 4pm Eastern Time
Via Zoom: https://www.zoom.us/j/9084766734
Responsible: Guy Perron (438) 495-7747
To see the official list of study groups, visit AUQ website.
- Go to: “Activity, Study Groups, (on the left bar): List of study groups”
- Or click directly on the following link: http://urantia-quebec.ca/activites_liste_des_groupes.php
Potential Study Groups Seeking Participants
Group: “Uni-Terre”
Region : ** Joliette **
Sundays at 10:00 am
Contact: Eric Martel (450) 756-9387
Group : “Le portail du bercail”
Region : ** Sorel **
Mrs. Eva & Ernest Asselin
(450) 517-0136
Group: “Saguenay”
Region : ** Saguenay **
Contact: Jean-Guillaume Tremblay (418) 693-2049
¶ Réflectivité
Responsible: (418) 835-1809 (Normand Laperle)
Assistant: (418) 871-4564 (Gilles Bertrand)
Publication (monthly)
Last week of the previous month.
To submit your articles:
Send them to: reflectivite.auq@gmail.com
Add: Your name And city of residence .