© 2022 Gaétan G. Charland, Claude Flibotte, André Desjardins, Samuel Heïne
© 2022 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Word from the President November 2022
Gaetan Charland
president@urantiaqc.org
Hello readers and friends of the association,
The fall months are often reserved for preparing for what the new year will bring and for reflecting on what has been accomplished during the year that is ending. For the Urantia Association of Quebec, many things have been accomplished in its service mission and mainly in the education component.
Indeed, the association has planned and is looking to the future by continuing its momentum of promoting the training of teachers and leaders, of better informing its members and associated readers and of developing means to ensure its sustainability in the long term.
To follow this development objective, at the beginning of the year, a new tab called EDUCATION was added to its website. This new section contains an offer of different schools that will meet the needs and attractions of different types of students of the fifth revelation. To complement its offer in terms of education, the Urantia Association of Quebec (AUQ) has entered into an agreement with GALUBQ, an association of other readers in Quebec, to include on its website a page in the EDUCATION section reserved for an internet school called École Internet GALUBQ.
This new school will offer online courses of a different type that will surely please many French-speaking readers. Soon, you will be able to consult the course offerings offered by this school. This collaboration between AUQ and GALUBQ opens the door to a promising future for French-speaking readers of the Urantia Book in Quebec and elsewhere in the world.
Another step has been taken regarding the offer of courses in French, the AUQ has concluded an important agreement with the authors of the École des Ambassadeurs in order to offer its courses free of charge to all French-speaking readers. This agreement is in the form of a contract renewable year after year and includes the costs of hosting the school and its maintenance. It will be administered by the AUQ and will reflect its image and mission.
Another important piece of news is that the newsletter Réflectivité will be getting a makeover starting in January 2023. This overhaul of Réflectivité is attributable to its editor-in-chief Claude Flibotte. This change is intended to be a projection into the future where information will increasingly circulate digitally and where paper formats will disappear, thus contributing to a more environmentally friendly economy. In this way, Réflectivité will be able to contain a greater number of pages and interesting articles.
Regarding the sustainability of the association, we are privileged to have a provident and efficient treasurer. The latter is in the process of setting up management tools to guarantee the continuation and financial stability of the association. One of these tools will allow those who wish to leave part of their assets by testamentary legacy.
Another initiative of the association is to categorize the many works of readers that are currently available on the association’s website and thus allow better access to them. All these initiatives will contribute to better serving the growing French-speaking community of readers of the Urantia Book all over the world.
The association will continue to offer online conferences on a variety of topics that will contribute to the progression of cosmic consciousness and the enhancement of spiritual perception, so please be there.
To love is to serve ■
¶ New status coming soon for Réflectivité
Claude Flibotte
Sainte-Julie
Hello readers of your new newsletter Réflectivité.
A big change in the status of your favorite publication is coming in January 2023. In order to facilitate the publication of texts that were previously too long to appear in the usual four-page format, the status of the newsletter will change to that of an opinion journal, thus making your publication a newspaper in its own right.
¶ Advantages and disadvantages
So, what does this mean and what will be the advantages and the main disadvantage of this change? As mentioned above, all readers who are keen to share a favorite subject of study in a text exceeding one 8 ½ x 11 inch page will be able to be published during the month following the submission of their work. This is what the special publication of the month of July attempted to do, but limited to a single publication per year.
A complete overhaul of the Réflectivité from a graphic point of view will be accomplished in order to promote easier and more pleasant reading. Among the improvements, you will find the text arranged in two columns instead of three, thus limiting word breaks, and recovering space with one less margin. The body of the text will go from 9 points to 10 points for better readability. Arranged on a template with two columns, the photos and illustrations will thus be able to benefit from more space. Several sections grouping the genres of texts will be created and highlighted by a 3D effect, thus increasing the visual appeal and easy identification of the different sections. Like what was the special publication of the month of July, the new version of the Réflectivité Journal will welcome more photos and illustrations in color. We encourage you to send us some! This new version will be able to display the number of pages necessary to reflect everyone’s opinion. Another significant argument is that your Réflectivité will become more ecological in its new electronic version compared to the paper version if this unique format is accepted.
The four-page limit will no longer apply. It was dictated by the constraints of paper printing that limited us to producing on a template of an 11 x 17 inch sheet folded in two giving four double-sided pages. This is without counting the cost of printing and all the work of mailing. These savings can now be redistributed elsewhere in the Urantia Association of Quebec (AUQ) for a judicious use of increased services to members according to the choice of the members consulted. You will have understood that the main disadvantage comes down to the elimination of the paper version. In order to know your opinion, the AUQ will conduct a survey using a questionnaire included in the paper version of the November Réflectivité to establish the actual count of people who do not have access to the electronic version of Réflectivité. Depending on the result of this survey, a final decision will be made on the future of the paper version. We therefore have two months to prepare. We consider that in 2022, technology having made a big step forward in its accessibility, the vast majority of people now have a smartphone, a tablet, a computer, internet access at their library, at their retirement home or through a parent, brother, sister or friend to access their publication.
We believe that this new version of your Réflectivité will bring many more advantages than the inconvenience of the imminent disappearance of the paper version. Greater freedom of opinion will now be accessible to you quickly with all the space necessary to do so! The next issue of Réflectivité in December will give you more details on the different sections and new features to come!
¶ Degenerate and biologically defective humans
André Desjardins
St-Alexis-des-Monts
Many students of The Urantia Book believe that part of the Adamic mission on our planet was the elimination of degenerates and defective beings. No solution was considered by the Material Son and Daughter for the defective humans, and no drastic means of selection were employed for their elimination. It is important to emphasize that the elimination of defective beings by Adam and Eve is not a kind of genocide against human beings; divine beings cannot perform such a vile task. The dictionary meaning of the word “eliminate” gives us another definition: “To reject a candidate, an application, or not to receive them because they do not meet certain defined criteria of selection.” It must be believed that these degenerate beings were not selected according to the criteria established in advance and could not be part of the selection in the Garden. When a sports team is eliminated, it does not mean that it is no longer alive, when a candidate applying for any position is eliminated, it does not mean that he must pass away.
Knowing the unconditional Love of the Father for his children of time it is impossible for me to believe that it was about eliminating the degenerates and defective beings as mentioned in the mission of Adam and Eve on Urantia. Beings of divine and moral origin do not have the capacity or the power to eliminate living beings because of mental and physical deficiencies. No sensible parent would act like this towards their children, we are all children of God regardless of our physical and mental state.
The role of the Adamic pair was to upgrade the biological level of human beings in the Garden of Eden with more spiritually advanced beings, and no specialized schools were provided for the mentally and physically deficient such as were established on the first mansion world. Urantia is an experiential planet of imperfect origin and its natives are not born perfect; it may contain several deficiencies of mental and physical disease in some individuals. Specialized schools are provided on the first mansion world for these mental and physical deficiencies so that each of us may have a real chance to elevate our souls and ensure our survival, accompanied by a Thought Adjuster.
Like any being with will, it is always a personal choice that ensures its survival or elimination. It is not up to divine beings to make it whether one considers oneself normal or having mental and physical deficiencies, God is no respecter of persons and survival always depends on our filiation with the Heavenly Father. “Neither limitations of intellect, nor restrictions of education, nor deprivation of culture, nor impoverishment of social status, nor even a lower moral standard resulting from an unfortunate absence of educational, cultural and social advantages can invalidate the presence of the divine spirit in individuals thus deprived of luck and humanly handicapped, but believers. The indwelling presence of the Mystery Monitor inaugurates and makes possible the potential for growth and survival of the immortal soul.” [UB 5:5.13]
¶ Loyalty
Samuel Heine
Reunion Island
““I affirm that he who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much, while he who is unrighteous in little will also be unrighteous in much. If you have not shown foresight and integrity in the affairs of this world, how can you hope to be faithful and prudent when you are trusted with the stewardship of the true riches of the heavenly kingdom? If you are not good stewards and faithful bankers, if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will be foolish enough to give you great treasure in your own name?” (UB 169:2.6)
I would have to do a little research to see if it is the same in the UB, but it seems to me that in the Bible and in the Quran, one of the greatest attributes of God is “faithfulness”.
For me, it is the living notion of cosmic citizenship, being integrated into God’s program, into the realization of his plan which, at the level of our consciences or of the soul, brings this dynamism where everything is achievable in love, joy and peace.
I don’t know if you will understand, but I understand myself very well (smile).
Jesus (the Master) never ceased to make us understand the immense value, the immense chance, the immense potential and the immense responsibility that God has given us.
When you read a book like The Urantia Book, you realize that everything God could exteriorize or create (if I may say so), He did and organized only for us and around us (us, the smallest ascending creatures of the cosmos).
We should have understood this more than 2000 years ago, Jesus, “the Master” from the line of Abraham, never ceased to make us understand it and to be himself a living example.
Perhaps it is time to make the earth a paradise of beauty and excellence where love, joy and peace reign.
Can we imagine the global enthusiasm the day we work hand in hand to achieve this collectively? Instead of waging war, using money for armaments and once again making the poor suffer the consequences… It is incredible to be so stubborn and obstinate! At some point, it is the severity of God that we will taste bitterly, at least, this is a point of view and a personal certainty.
¶ What life, and on what planet:
Note: It seems that the 2.2 billion Christians in the world have not understood a thing about the 300 little pages of the New Testament of the Bible! Can you imagine the transformative power that these 2.2 billion Christians could have for our planet in the years to come, if they came to understand and live things in the right way? It is undoubtedly for this purpose that we have been given a new revelation, because it is high time.
¶ The School of Ambassadors
The Ministry of the Master course strives to enhance and improve spirituality, not to change a person’s religion. So if you are interested in making a difference in the life of someone you would like to help spiritually, you will find answers in this course.
What is The Ministry of the Master?
- This is the ministry that Jesus began.
- It is the ministry of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men.
- This is the ministry he asked his apostles to complete.
Click the link to register and make a difference:
https://fr-school.thechristexperiment.org/users/checkout/auth
¶ GALUBQ School
(Quebec Urantia Book Readers Action Group)
A new Urantia Book Internet School in French is now available online.
You can view information about this school or register for free for several of its courses by clicking on the following address:
https://www.urantia-quebec.ca/education/ecole-internet-galluq
For more information
Colette or Richard: 418-285-0546
¶ 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
Study and sharing group: “La chapelle-Maisonnia”
Region: Quebec
Sundays, from 10:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud (418) 871-4564
Zoom Virtual Group. (Get informed)
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
Zoom Virtual Group. (Get informed)
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
Zoom Virtual Group. (Get informed)
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
We would like to meet you! Study group facilitator, do not hesitate to send us your text and a photo of the group!
To see the official list of study groups:
Click directly on the following link: http://urantia-quebec.ca/activites_liste_des_groupes.php
¶ Réflectivité
| Responsible: | Claude Flibotte |
| Assisted by: | Robert Cadieux Gilles Bertrand |
(438) 404-6399 Claude Flibotte
(514) 237-3616 Robert Cadieux
(418) 871-4564 Gilles Bertrand
Publication (monthly)
Last week of the previous month.
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Send them to: c_flibotte@videotron.ca
Add: Your name, city of residence, a photo of you, thank you!
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Any submission of articles or otherwise becomes the property of Réflectivité and none will be returned.
We do not guarantee that all articles in our possession will be published in the next Réflectivité.