© 2021 Gaétan Charland, Marc Belleau, Jacques Loranger, Claudette Gonthier, Jean Sauvé, Mireille Migneault, Robert Cédilot, Gilles Bertrand
© 2021 Urantia Association of Quebec
Gaetan Charland
president@urantiaqc.org
Hello dear readers and members of the association.
As every year, on February 13, the annual general meeting of the Urantia Association of Quebec was held. This event was once again held virtually because of the pandemic, but despite this way of doing things that limits personal interaction, the meeting allowed the gathering of several readers and members of the association.
As in these meetings, the association gives itself the opportunity and the obligation to share the balance sheet of the activities of the previous year and to proceed with the election of two candidates for management positions. This year, the positions of president and treasurer were eligible for voting.
What is interesting in the activity report despite the limitations caused by the current health condition, several virtual activities, such as conferences and study groups were able to be organized and thus allow several readers to meet and discuss on a chosen theme.
The election process was conducted efficiently under the direction of Alain Cyr, election chair, elected to this position for the occasion. The position of treasurer was renewed again in the person of Marc Belleau. Marc does an exceptional and necessary job and can be validated by the quality and accuracy of his financial reports as well as his sound management of the finances for the association. As for the position of president, Line St-Pierre who has already done four years did not renew her candidacy and Jean-Pierre Cadieux the Vice-president proposed my candidacy for the position of president.
During Line StPierre’s two terms, several projects were completed and several activities were organized, contributing to the smooth running of the association and the pursuit of its mission. The latter was able to assume her role with efficiency, foresight and excellence, which will facilitate my task as president for the years to come.
There will be several challenges to be met in the coming years; first and foremost, getting young people interested in reading The Urantia Book and getting them involved in the association, followed by increasing the number of study groups and making them more practical and accessible. There is also the educational aspect; getting Quebec readers interested in registering for online courses, such as those offered by the Urantia Foundation, Urantia University Institute and The Christ Experiment.
Only one of these schools currently offers courses in French. It will therefore be necessary to find translators, but also facilitators to give them. The revelators have left us two important directives which are, to create thousands of study groups and to train leaders and educators.
So these are some of the challenges we will have to face if we are to accomplish the mission of the association.
To love is to serve
Marc Belleau
Montreal
The year 2021 is already well underway and I would like to remind you that it is time to renew your membership in the AUQ, if you have not done so yet. Without your financial support, the AUQ cannot continue its projects aimed at energizing the Urantia movement in Quebec, supporting the formation of study groups, promoting the Book and its teachings. Several services are offered by your association, whether it is the organization of themes, the updating and maintenance of its website, the creation of supporting literature. Membership, at a cost of $60 per year, gives you the right to vote at annual general meetings, the opportunity to hold a position on the board of directors and to sit on one or more committees. In addition, you become a member of the Urantia Association of Canada. You will find more information on the AUQ website at the following address: https://www.urantiaquebec.ca (the button is at the bottom of the home page).
Have you considered making a donation to your association? No matter the amount, what matters is to put your shoulder to the wheel to help the AUQ in the accomplishment of its mission. It is also a good way to reduce what you pay annually to the government for the benefit of a cause in which you believe. In fact, donations are tax deductible. The AUQ sends a receipt to all donors every January, regardless of the amount of the donation.
You can now make your payment by registering on the AUQ website. Using your email address and a password, you will have your own file with all your payment history. You can pay by credit card directly on the site, by sending your check to the association’s headquarters: 569 rue Francine, Sainte-Sophie, Québec J5J 2H7 or by Interac transfer using the following information: Association Urantia du Québec with the email address tresorier@urantiaqc.org. If you need help opening your file, send me an email and I will be happy to help you.
Thank you for your support.
Jacques Loranger
St-Hubert
You know that wind exists, and that wind is invisible in space, you can’t see it, and that wind actually has so much energy that it can destroy large forests and cities. You can see a solid object moving in space around which the wind is blowing, but you haven’t seen the wind itself. Now, these are facts that everyone knows. So invisible wind is an invisible force in space.
Sound is produced in space, but you cannot see it because the actual quality that causes sound to be produced in space is invisible.
You can smell a scent that will come from a distance through space, but you cannot see the scent coming through space. You can say that it is the wind blowing the scent in your direction that makes you smell it.
That is true, but the wind itself does not smell it. There must be some invisible force or quality existing in space that causes the smell to be registered in space, otherwise the wind itself could not carry it through space.
We can say: “If I smell a flower fragrance coming through space at a distance, it is my nose and not space that smells it.” This is true, but there is a force or quality existing in space that has actually registered the fragrance in space to make it pass through the nose, otherwise you could not smell it at a distance.
Even if you went to the object from its visible source and put your nose directly on the flower itself which includes the fragrance, you could not smell it if there were no force of quality in space which has the power to register its odor. The force and quality which produce or cause the sense of smell are invisible in space, and that is why they can register their fragrance at a distance from their source. If this were not true, then the fragrance would remain in the source and could not move around it.
There is also another invisible force or quality existing in space that carries sound, otherwise sound could not travel in space. We can say that sound travels in space on waves. This is true, but there must be a force of quality in space that records sound. Waves can carry sound, but waves do not make it sound.
If there were no quality force in space that would record sound, that sound could not be heard. From this fact, one should be able to realize that there is an invisible force existing in space that records the quality of sound.
The invisible force in space positively has enormous power and thinkers are gradually awakening to this great and immortal fact. Invisible forces and qualities exist in space.
The invisible natural force and quality of space are absolute foundations of God and God instantly gives life these present powers of living reality. God exists outside our dimensions. As we know, He exists outside of time and space. So, He cannot be seen. But even invisible, He can be conceived.
As a human, we cannot say that invisible things do not exist. Even if we do not see them, we grasp their existence.
At the same time, a similarity is discerned by an Archangel of Nebadon who wrote, “I cannot, with exclusive spirit vision, perceive the building in which this narrative is being translated and recorded. A Divine Counselor from Uversa who chances to stand by my side perceives still less of these purely material creations. We discern how these material structures appear to you by viewing a spirit counterpart presented to our minds by one of our attending energy transformers. This material building is not exactly real to me, a spirit being, but it is, of course, very real and very serviceable to material mortals.” (UB 44:0.16)
There is also here with me a Mighty Messenger from Uversa, an ascendant Adjuster-fused, onetime mortal being, and he perceives you as you are, and at the same time he visualizes the Solitary Messenger, the supernaphim, and other celestial beings present. (UB 44:0.18)
It is concluded that the perception of invisibility is present throughout our universe. This perception changes with our ascending career. “There are certain types of beings who are capable of discerning the reality of the creatures of both the spirit and the material worlds. Belonging to this class are the so-called fourth creatures of the Havona Servitals and the fourth creatures of the conciliators. The angels of time and space are endowed with the ability to discern both spirit and material beings as also are the ascending mortals subsequent to deliverance from the life in the flesh. After attainment of the higher spirit levels the ascenders are able to recognize material, morontia, and spirit realities.” (UB 44:0.17) The invisible is, therefore, in part, a sense of perception.
In conclusion, the further we advance in our elevator career, the more the invisible will become visible. As some Urantians literally saw through Michael during his passage on Urantia, so all of us will one day see Him. “…You can depend upon being translated from sphere to sphere, from the outer circuits ever nearer the inner center, and some day, doubt not, you shall stand in the divine and central presence and see him, figuratively speaking, face to face.” (UB 5:1.9)
Claudette Gonthier
St-Jerome
I want to talk to you here about the importance of study groups. After reading everything I could get my hands on, I felt unsatisfied and was looking for something more nourishing. That’s when I discovered The Urantia Book in the 80s, more precisely in 1986.
It was a friend who lent me his book, and then a few weeks later, I got mine. I started by reading the beginning about God. Even though I didn’t understand much, I continued reading. It took me a year to read the whole book. I was amazed as I read, the truths that I often half understood still brought me great joy. My thoughts were changing and I wanted to change, become better, grow in my spirituality. But my progress was slow.
It’s funny how our angels work. It was a friend who had never read The Urantia Book who told me about study groups, because she had met someone who had told her about study groups. That’s how I contacted Gaétan and Line, in 2011.
What the study group brought me at the beginning was sharing. And this sharing with other people was for me the best way to understand the booklets of the Book. Progress is made slowly in us, but with these sharings, we perceive the truths more quickly, and above all we understand them a little better.
In addition, study groups lead us to live these truths that we learn and this elevates our faith. These study groups are also a spiritual support, brothers and sisters, who help us when we need to clarify a truth, to clarify a way of living a truth.
This is why I think study groups are important.
To love is to serve.
The Infinite is most excellent in that he imparts himself to men. (UB 2:1.2)
Activities of the Board of Directors in 2020:
Study Group Committee: Formed in 2015 President — Gaétan G. Charland
Technology Manager Gaétan G. Charland
Website section:
-Project management of the design and launch of the association’s new website.
Member Support: Responsible — Line St-Pierre
Line responded to numerous emails and calls from people wanting information on either participating in a study group, attending association meetings and/or obtaining The Urantia Book. Six new members received a welcome letter, their membership card and inspiration cards after a phone call.
In the tasks of this committee, Line also takes care of receiving postal mail and depositing donations and membership fees.
Women’s Committee: President — Line St-Pierre
Line participates in monthly virtual meetings with the women on her team.
After several months without meeting in person, and in response to a demand, on December 13th a 5-hour virtual retreat was organized, with the theme “Dancing with God-Living in Love in These Difficult Times.”
In these meetings, an atmosphere of trust is co-created within a spiritual circle, where the exploration and sharing of personal experiences and discoveries about how we respond to this call to dance with God, which is an open invitation to bring God’s love a little more into this world by pursuing a unified, spirit-led life in our present life, thus creating our future.
Line participated in the creation and development of the website www.sisterhoodcircle.net for greater visibility of her group the Daughters of God.
Communications: Manager — St-Pierre Line
Réflectivité: Responsible — Normand Laperle
Nine (9) issues of this important communication and distribution link were published in 2020. Normand Laperle, editor-in-chief, with the help of Gilles Bertrand, took care of the editing, layout, and postal mailings for around fifty people.
A special issue of Réflectivité including the review of 2019 activities was published in June after the Annual General Meeting, including numerous photos of 2019 activities and actions undertaken by board members during that year.
Reader involvement and help are welcome; writing an article for Réflectivité, presenting at a conference, translating texts from English to French, becoming a member, making a donation, are some ideas where you can lend a hand, and thus contribute to the mission of the association.
Translation Committee: Responsible — Jean-Pierre Cadieux
In 2020, the translation committee translated the articles into French for the four “Tidings” publications.
Jean-Pierre worked to bring together the 365 thoughts of the daily mediation La petite voix and make them available on the website.
This committee needs resources for any translations that might be done.
We are looking for collaborators to translate from English to French and to provide proofreading for corrections after translation. Those who can help are invited to contact us at the following email address: vice.president@urantiaqc.org.
Treasurer — Marc Belleau
During the year 2020, the treasurer was responsible for the following tasks:
Jean Sauve
Saint Agatha
Reading the L.U., which I began several years ago to respond to an inner urge to search for the truth, led me towards palliative care support a few months after my father’s death in 1998, which support has continued and (been enriched) been enriched ever since.
Recently, I recounted an experience of support, following which it was suggested that I share this experience…
At the beginning of 2020, just before the pandemic, during a period of palliative care support, a nurse asked me if I could spend some time with Mrs. x, a patient at the very end of her life, while this elderly lady was very alone, without ever having visitors and who was experiencing great fear and anxiety as the end approached, of which she was undoubtedly very aware. The nursing staff was unable to soothe or comfort her, being overwhelmed.
After having collected myself, in order to be well accompanied by someone much greater than me, I went to her room to introduce myself. I noticed that this lady, curled up, was unable to speak and could not move, or very little, and hardly opened her eyes. This scene of abandonment and solitude touched me. So I introduced myself with great respect and much gentleness and informed her that I would remain at her side, in prayer and filled with listening and deep presence. At that moment, I saw a slight movement of reception. Sometimes, during the following hour, I would tell her, in a calming, soothing voice filled with love, “I am with you Mrs. X”. This time of prayer, meditation and a simple, well-felt, deep presence seemed strangely different to me than usual. After an hour, the lady seemed calm, composed, confident, reassured. Yet I did nothing but be there, but be deeply there, next to her.
At the end of my period of accompaniment, before leaving, I informed the lady that she was accompanied by something much greater than me, inside of herself, and that I would think of her and pray for her from my home.
Over the next few days, I was happy to learn that she had passed away peacefully and peacefully a few hours after I left.
Mireille Migneault
St-Roch-de-l’Achigan
Life, an inexhaustible source of projects.
All beings make plans.
Examples: The Celestial Artisans. UB 44:3
House designers and builders. UB 114:6.
The Seraphim Masters of Planetary Supervision.
Angels of the future.
The angels of projects are the architects of successive eras.
It was with the Son and in the Spirit that God projected the eternal central universe of Havona, and ever since then the eternal pattern of coordinated participation in creation—sharing—has ever prevailed. This pattern of sharing is the essential pattern to be followed by each of the Sons and Daughters of God who go forth into space in an attempt to duplicate in time the central universe of eternal perfection. UB 54:2
I, on the eve of my sixtieth birthday, was working as a care worker, and some parents in difficulty dropped off a 22-month-old baby at my house.
Just like Jesus, I thought I was doing good by passing by.
So, after meetings with youth centers, family council, finally, my partner and I decided to keep him with us, raise him, cherish him, respond to his mental and affectionate needs, give him love and tenderness, like one of our children.
I took this step as a mission, a selfless service, my partner provided me with valuable help, being the sole person legally responsible for this child.
People encourage me, others criticize me, my son told me: mom, you are a great educator for children, I see you succeeding.
When you give, you always receive a hundredfold.
This being was amazed by the smallest thing, the moon, the stars, a small change in his room.
He wasn’t walking, he was skipping.
I learned a lot, education is so different today.
It was a gigantic adventure where I had to manifest the fruits of the spirit, UB 34:6
Love, the joy of sharing, inner peace, following my heart despite the difficulties, longanimity, oh yes.
Kindness in the face of daily irritations.
Kindness, loyalty, sometimes trying to give up everything, the gentleness of my gestures, attitudes when he cried in the evening asking if dad, finding the words to reassure him.
Temperance between my needs and his.
I introduced into our life the positive qualities of goodness, beauty, and truth especially in the evening during his prayer, a little confidence deep inside me, hoping for the return of his father whom he cherished so much, having his photo near him at all times.
After 7 years of waiting, his father contacted the youth centers
A year of investment with social workers, he was able to see him again.
What a joy it was when they first met, the social worker and I were crying with joy, and he threw himself into his dad’s arms.
In June 2020 he left us to live with his father.
We have sown, the harvest does not belong to us.
A little 12-year-old rascal asks me, Mimi, are you going to get over it? I don’t know. It’s going to be okay.
Robert Cedilot
Varennes
Greetings to all of you dear brothers and sisters of Urantia,
Each of you may have heard of the UBIS courses offered by Urantia Book Internet School in Chicago, if not I will be very pleased to share with you some testimonials of these magnificent study experiences which are delivered to us in French.
I have just finished my third course and I must tell you that it was a third enchantment for me, like all the participants of this course. Whether you are a great intellectual or an ordinary brain like mine, you will not be disappointed, because we have with us high-quality facilitators who prepare the questions and then guide us to be able, relatively easily, to find in an enlightening way the answers which are all obviously in the blue book.
This last course was on “The Universal Father” or booklets 1 and 2, so here are some comments from our participants: “The sharing was numerous and wonderful.” “This course allowed me to water the garden of my heart by listening to the spiritual sensitivity of my brothers and sisters expressing the delicacy of their feelings born of a contact with the divine Spirit.” “Isolation tends to exhaust the energy charge of the soul, which is why association with companions is essential to renew the enthusiasm of life, and indispensable to maintain the courage to lead the battles that follow the ascension to higher levels of human life.” “Friendship enhances the joys and glorifies the triumphs of life.”
Here is a short summary of the latest sharing attempts and there are several dozen like these.
I had the joy and happiness of meeting brothers from different continents such as Reunion Island, Africa, Cameroon, Polynesia, Italy, France and Belgium. It was exciting and amazing, a real joy! Especially since we all have the same way of perceiving the Universal Father!
The next series of courses will start at the beginning of April, if you like, plus it’s free, looking forward to seeing you there!
Gilles Bertrand
Quebec
Saying thank you is not necessarily a complete sign of gratitude. We can easily slip this term or another of the same kind to thank a person, evaluate or highlight an event or a personal experience. As a friend (G.P.) once said, we must have an attitude of gratitude to climb to altitude. Nice refrain! Indeed, and the principle of this proposition is essentially based on our attitude. What does having an attitude of gratitude mean to me?
To observe and become aware of a certain benefit is only the first step in a series of active processes if we want to truly do justice and manifest an equitable relationship towards the object or person of our wonder. It is the second league that Heaven enjoins us to perform with good grace. It is the talent that makes interest, that becomes the source of life. When the father of the prodigal son welcomed his repentant child, he could have only shown joy and kept his happiness to himself, but this loving father decided to dress, adorn with jewels and cherish this “found sheep”. He offered a huge feast to celebrate his return.
This attitude of gratitude we should endorse and grant this important notion to the Urantia Association of Quebec. How many good thoughts, how many good words are not enough! The enthusiasm to spread the 5th revelation should be at the heart of our concerns. There are a thousand ways to help each other on this planet and the AUQ is for me the main tool of strength and interest to lead to the convincing result of a desired well-being for our planet.
Altitude is the pleasure of rendering service in a disinterested way. It is the satisfaction of duty accomplished. It is the habit of a free person. It is the expression of an increased will. It is the expression of an unrestrained joy. It is the additional gesture that does good. It is the movement of a superior conduct. Finally, it is the state of a personality filled with a living faith.
One can now experience gaining height on one or more of these statements. Give your time to the point of giving your time. Give your money to the point of giving your money. Expose your various talents, as artists, writers, counselors, etc., to the point of eagerly lavishing them and finally think that you are encouraging, stimulating and supporting all those who often work in the shadows for the elevation of beings of good will. Let your attitude of gratitude therefore rise to altitude from now on.
To some individuals prayer is the calm expression of gratitude; to others, a group expression of praise, social devotions; sometimes it is the imitation of another’s religion, while in true praying it is the sincere and trusting communication of the spiritual nature of the creature with the anywhere presence of the spirit of the Creator. (UB 91:8.4)
Jacques Loranger
St-Hubert
This is the story of an old farmer who lived alone in a cabin. One winter night, birds began to crash into the windows of his cabin, fleeing the deadly cold. So the old man went outside and opened the door to his warm barn. He waved his arms and shouted to the birds to come in and be safe. But they didn’t understand him.
It was then that the old man wished he could become one of them. If he could become a bird, he could lead the other birds into the barn, so they would not die. At that moment, he felt as if he understood why Jesus had come.
Although the old man cannot become a bird, God, as the Creator Son, incarnated in the flesh and became a man, an instructor to show us the way.
This activity allows several readers of different levels of understanding to exchange 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 step 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: “Uni-Terre”
Region: Joliette
Sundays from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, (virtual Zoom)
Contact :
Eric Martel (450) 756-9387
Group: “At Maisonnia”
Region: Quebec
Every 2 weeks: Sundays, from 1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud (418) 871-4564
Group: “The United Family of Urantia”
Region: Montreal — Downtown
Thursdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Mrs. Diane Labrecque (514) 277-2308
Group : “Le Pont”
Region: Montérégie
(Sainte-Julie, south of Montreal)
Tuesdays, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Claude Flibotte (438) 404-6399
Virtual Study Group, French
Every Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time (Montreal)
Via Zoom: https://www.zoom.us/j/9084766734
Responsible :
Guy Perron (438) 495-7747
Group: “Découverte”
Region: Laurentians — St-Jérôme
Mondays, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre Tel.: (450) 565-3323
Possibility to participate via Internet (Zoom)
Sherbrooke Group
Region: Sherbrooke
Every 2 weeks: Tuesday or Wednesday, (to be confirmed) from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Helene Boisvenue and Denis Gravelle
Tel.: (819) 569-6416
To see the official list of study groups:
Click directly on the following link: http://urantia-quebec.ca/activites_liste_des_groupes.php
Responsible: | Claude Flibotte |
Assisted by: | Normand Laperle Gilles Bertrand |
(438) 404-6399 Claude Flibotte
(418) 835-1809 Normand Laperle
(418) 871-4564 Gilles Bertrand
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