© 2022 Gaétan G. Charland, Line St-Pierre, Samuel Heïne
© 2022 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Word from the President June 2022
Gaetan Charland
president@urantiaqc.org
Hello readers and friends of the association,
In my previous message I spoke to you about two fundamental aspects necessary for our intellectual and spiritual growth. I believe that every reader understands the intellectual concept very well or at least he surely has some understanding of it that allows him to appreciate reading The Urantia Book.
But what about the spiritual function, is it as well understood and appreciated as the intellectual side of the teachings we study in study groups or alone in the comfort of our homes? This is a question I often ask myself regarding the adventure and mission of the fifth revelation.
Let us begin by exploring how we apply the great truths revealed by Jesus which are “The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man,” “The kingdom of heaven is within us,” and “Doing the will of God.” Do we understand how to live these three fundamental truths essential to our spiritual growth?
I leave you to ponder this question, for I believe that for every serious student of the teachings of The Urantia Book, these three truths require a total commitment of our personality to make them dynamically manifest in our lives. Here are two quotes from The Urantia Book that well underline the result of applying these three truths in our lives.
“The proof of fraternity with the divine Adjuster consists wholly in the nature and extent of the fruits of the spirit which are yielded in the life experience of the individual believer. “By their fruits you shall know them.”” (UB 5:2.4)
“The entire experience of Adjuster communion is one involving moral status, mental motivation, and spiritual experience. The self-realization of such an achievement is mainly, though not exclusively, limited to the realms of soul consciousness, but the proofs are forthcoming and abundant in the manifestation of the fruits of the spirit in the lives of all such inner-spirit contactors.” (UB 5:2.6)
From reading these quotes, it is evident that the application of these three truths in our lives undeniably leads to a greater harmony of our lives with the guidance of the indwelling Adjuster. If as readers or students of The Urantia Book we sincerely desire to improve the world in which we live, then we must apply in our lives these three fundamental truths necessary for our spiritual growth.
Recently, my wife and I, with the help of our five Senegalese brothers who have been teaching Progressive Divine Wisdom for over 30 years, have begun exploring these truths in order to better understand how we can perfect our relationship with God and our fellow men. Each of these weekly meetings fills us with spiritual joy and a broader understanding of these truths. For our first three sharing sessions, we are still exploring what it means to do God’s will.
These are topics of conversation and exchange that could be explored in study groups. I am sure that many would come away feeling better.
I wish you all a summer filled with spiritual discoveries.
To love is to serve
¶ I found the KEY
Line St-Pierre
Ste-Sophie
How many of us are saddened to see the world today in such decadence?
I realize that we all have this need to feel comfort and peace about what will happen after our time on earth. What will we leave as a spiritual legacy to our grandchildren and their children’s children? It may seem far-fetched to think this way, but it is so little when we know that life is eternal and that this earthly adventure must one day reach the era of light and life.
My greatest wish is that The Urantia Book will find its way into the hands of many souls thirsting for truth and that it will transform the person who studies it.
But how could this happen without personal commitment, when we have found this treasure?
As a fervent student of the Book of rantia and its teachings, 'believes that having discovered these truths as a gift from heaven, an answer to my questions, the object that gave meaning to my life and so many answers to my reflections, has led me to a better being, a better life and a better doing in life and cannot remain a dead letter. So, how to share it?
Enthusiasm sometimes has its limits, and sharing this treasure with those I love or with someone I thought was ready to receive a greater truth quickly resulted in the opposite, where I felt a resistance, then a closure to what I was presenting. My ineptitude, my clumsiness and my lack of experience had meant that I had not said the right thing, that I had said too much, or that I had gone too far without seeking to know the basis of the need and the interest of my interlocutor in the thing. Seeking to give when the person is not ready to receive is equivalent to presenting an exquisitely flavored dish to someone who is not hungry.
While seeking to improve my approach in the ministry to which I have committed myself, and after experiencing courses from different schools of the Urantia movement, I discovered the KEY that opened a new horizon for me to share my understanding of the teachings of The Urantia Book with tact and without conflict. There is no magic formula, it is practice and experience that makes us better ambassadors of the revelation.
In February 2020, I completed the course called The Master’s Ministry from The School of Ambassadors, which is a ministry training school. A school that helps one become a doer, a second-league executor, and someone who can use the 5th revelation to set up the necessary environment that can bring about a spiritual rebirth. Since March 2022, The School of Ambassadors in French can be found at this address https://frschool.thechristexperiment.org
I learned how to bridge the gap between a person’s beliefs and what The Urantia Book says and build on what already exists by adding depth. I also learned how to elevate the conversation with people who are not spiritually educated. Jesus never took away from what his listener said, he always added to what was true.
This school is dedicated exclusively to developing leaders and teachers of the Gospel of Jesus who use The Urantia Book as their reference guide and do so wonderfully.
The privilege given to us in finding The Urantia Book makes us eternally indebted to our Adjusters and the Spirit of Truth, so we must also work to prepare others to carry on the work of Jesus beyond our generation to bring this planet into greater light.
I am confident that the Thought Adjuster who lives within every human being will guide the individual in his quest for greater truths.
In winning souls for the Master, it is not the first mile of compulsion, duty, or convention that will transform man and his world, but rather the second mile of free service and liberty-loving devotion that betokens the Jesusonian reaching forth to grasp his brother in love and sweep him on under spiritual guidance toward the higher and divine goal of mortal existence. Christianity even now willingly goes the first mile, but mankind languishes and stumbles along in moral darkness because there are so few genuine second-milers—so few professed followers of Jesus who really live and love as he taught his disciples to live and love and serve. (UB 195:10.5)
¶ THE URANTIA BOOK STUDY GROUP SYMPOSIUM
The purpose of this symposium is to discuss the role and importance of Urantia Book study groups and to share our experiences, successes and challenges with each other. The symposium will consist of lectures, workshops, and will last five hours. We will present two very similar symposia to cover the entire globe with relatively convenient times. Hosts and participants of study groups as well as solo readers are welcome.
For Quebec, the symposium will take place on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 1 p.m.
To join the Zoom meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us///83388738246 Meeting ID: 83388738246
Friday June 17 and Saturday June 18, 2022
Presented live on Zoom (in English)
We invite you to attend the scientific symposium as a member of the public.
A limited number of tickets* are available.
To view presentations, schedule, start times, etc,
click on the link below.
https://bit.ly/ScienceSymposium2022
Join our presenters as they delve into the dual perspectives of current scientific discoveries and The Urantia Book, exploring the ways in which evolution continues to move closer to revelation.
\*Registration is free but requires a Zoom account (free accounts are accepted). You will be prompted to sign in with your Zoom ID and password, so have them handy
¶ Intellectualism “as a tool”
Samuel Heine
Reunion Island
To make a final parenthesis for today; intellectualism “as a tool” that God has given us is not bad in itself if it is used for the realization of God’s plan in respect of His laws (starting with those which govern our world of creation) and if the intellectual tool is used for the living enrichment of our souls (honest, sincere and “balanced” search for the truth).
The problem today among some peoples of the earth is that man is no longer the master-controller of his inner sphere (or never was), he is caught in the chaos of unbridled thoughts “between the remembered past”, “the imagined future” and “a present filled with doubts, fears, anger”, etc.
Basically, it is a big mess in our head and a huge source of many diseases.
This is why we must learn to refocus, to “know ourselves” and to control the flow by making “inner silence” more often in a living faith and by practicing much more regularly "the spiritual communion of adoration (especially in the West).
Let us be zen, humble and simple in the joy of living! Let us keep the hearth of our thoughts pure!
Jesus’ religion consisted not merely in believing, but in actually doing, those things which the gospel required. He did not teach that the essence of his religion consisted in social service, but rather that social service was one of the certain effects of the possession of the spirit of true religion. (UB 159:5.8)
¶ The School of Ambassadors
The School offers the Ministry of the Master course where the student progresses at his own pace. Each lesson includes a ten-minute video presentation explaining the lesson, a multiple-choice quiz, a poster summarizing the lesson and a section with student comments where everyone can read and comment on the lesson.
The Ministry of the Master course offers insightful means, knowledge and ways to better minister to those who believe or do not believe in God, and shed light on their belief.
Here are the titles of some lessons:
What is the Ministry of the Master?
Transforming the message of salvation into ministry.
Why Christianity?
Enhancing Christianity
The Importance of the Master’s Ministry
Ministry Ethics and Final Thoughts.
Begin your journey to a successful Fifth Epochal Revelation outreach ministry by visiting
https://fr-school.thechristexperiment.org and be one of those
- Who will “dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings”; — who will be “exclusively devoted to the cause of humanity.”
- Who will devote themselves “exclusively to the spiritual regeneration of men”; and
- Who will “rapidly provide the necessary guidance and inspiration for the social, moral, economic and political reorganization of the world!”
¶ Picnic for the feast of Jesus
Invitation for Sunday August 21, 2022 at 11:00
Come celebrate the feast of Jesus on Mount Royal in Montreal near Beaver Lake and the restaurant
The Mount Royal Pavilion 2000 Remembrance Road, Montreal, Qc H3H 1X2
(follow the signs with concentric circles)
Paid parking nearby
We will be waiting for you with the pleasure of greeting you and sharing
Bertin Perron and Julien Audet
¶ Study groups
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.
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
NEW
Group: “Urantian Universalists”
Every Monday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time (Montreal)
Responsible:
Claude Flibotte (438) 404-6399
Subject: Appendices of W. S. Sadler Jr.
Zoom Virtual Group. (Get informed)
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
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(438) 404-6399 Claude Flibotte
(514) 237-3616 Robert Cadieux
(418) 871-4564 Gilles Bertrand
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