© 1994 The Fellowship for readers of The Urantia Book
| Planetary Government of Urantia Additional Definitions and References | Fall 1994 — Vol. 4 No. 5 — Index | The Urantia Book at the Parliament of World's Religions |
Greetings, fellow readers of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. With this issue of The Study Group Herald, we are going to meet the study groups in Arizona. This state is home to the Grand Canyon Society of the Fellowship. And, as you read about each study group in this southwestern state, you’ll see that the groups are not only well established but very active in their efforts to promote The Urantia Book.
¶ Moon Valley Study Group
PHOENIX — The Moon Valley Urantia Book Study Group is located in north Phoenix at the home of Sue Smith. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., with fellowship and refreshments until 8 p.m. Study ends at 9:30 p.m.
Sometimes we begin with prayer or meditative music, but it isn’t a ritual.
When Sue is out of town, there is always an alternate meeting place. We are committed to our study.
We read sequentially and have tried other methods. Sometimes a paper is completed, but discussion on the topic takes precedence.
New readers are always welcome. When a person is new to the book, sometimes we prefer to have several sessions of one to one until the new reader feels comfortable attending a group.
New readers come from several sources. The Grand Canyon Society for Readers of The Urantia Book provides a telephone answering service and newspaper advertising that attracts as many as 30 calls a week. Phone messages are screened and passed along to the appropriate study group.
In Arizona a study group is conveniently located in many are as all over the state and scheduled every night of the week.
The Moon Valley study group averages five people, but sometimes can be as many as 18, covering all age ranges and equal numbers of men and women.
Sue Smith found The Urantia Book in Hawaii in 1974 and in 1976 began a study group that has been going on ever since, wherever she goes. She has been a devout worshipper in the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, singing in the choirs and teaching classes to children and adults. She also worked with the Hawaii Council of Churches for seven years. She and her husband Bob moved to Phoenix in 1984 and started this study group. Sue reads The Urantia Book because itsbeautiful teachings soothe her heart and mind and bring her closer to understanding the grace of our loving Heavenly Father.
Paul Christofanelli found The Urantia Book in 1978 in a library. He is from a Catholic/Episcopalian tradition and finds The Urantia Book educational and challenging. He has attended our study group since 1990.
Mary Ann Goysich found The Urantia Book in herchiropractor’swaiting room. She is of Catholic tradition and has been with the group about two years. Mary Ann studies The Urantia Book as an extension of scripture. It helps her to keep an open mind.
Don Knox found The Urantia Book via his tax accountant. He was brought up Jewish, but started to search out the study of all religions. He is a dedicated reader and enjoys study of The Urantia Book. He has attended this study group since 1985 .
Others who attend our study group are Shawn Greer, Susie Conser Hughes, Beth Wenger, Eric Cosh, Mike Knoll and Marge Socwell.
We truly miss the presence of J.J. and Geri Johnson, who were so faithful in attending our study group and sharing. They have moved to Saudi Arabia.
Our study group has a collection each weekfor donations to buy books to introduce to new readers. To date, two books have been sent to Russia, one to Bogota, Colombia, one is on a Pacific cruise ship and four have been placed in local libraries.
¶ West Side Study Group
By Arley Grubb
PHOENIX — The West Phoenix Study Group has been meeting since it was formed in April 1990 at the home of Arley and Rhonda Grubb. We meet weekly at 8 p.m. and read sequentially.
During the summer everything seems to slow down in the desert. Two weeks ago no one showed up for the meeting. That was a first for us. It might have had something to do with the NBA finals.
Usually, five to seven people attend on a regular basis, but it’s never the same folks except the core of four. They are: Arley, a Urantia Book student for seven years; Rhonda, a Urantia Book reader for the past two years; Marc Neubauer, a Urantia Book student for five years, and Robert Terhune, a Urantia Book reader who found the book in the early 1970s.
We are members of the Grand Canyon Society. Rhonda was recently reelected vice president.
We have just started a new project called “Books for Bogota.” A reader here has been in contact with Carlos (Zapata) in Bogota, Colombia. According to Carlos, there are eight study groups in Bogota with about seven people attending each meeting regularly. They are excited about the Spanish translation which is now available and Carlos has asked for help getting the book. In Bogota, $55 is a whole lot of pesos.
We as a study group have gathered enough funds to purchase and ship three books by air mail. Altogether, from individuals, the otherstudy groups in the valley and Grand Canyon Society, we have commitments for 13 books. If anyone wants to get involved, contact Arley Grubb at (602) 841-7649.
The latest news is the Grand Canyon Society recently decided to adopt Bogota as its sister city for readers of The Urantia Book.
There are two other meetings that go on here in the Valley of the Sun on a monthly basis. First is the Statewide Meeting held on the second Saturday. This meeting has been going on for the past six years. Each month it is held in a different place in the state. The majority of these meetings begin with a potluck meal and end with some sort of a meeting on the teachings of The Urantia Book.
The second gathering is a recent addition to the Arizona repertoire of reader activities. This meeting is sometimes very intense. Each topic or paper is hosted by a different individual. Marc has taken on the Adjuster Papers, and our next meeting will be the fourth in his series with one more gathering required to finish properly. This is the meeting where everyone is encouraged to comment and ask all of those silly questions you never wanted to ask before. The results have been very good. All that attend say they have learned from this approach. We try to cover everything.
Last, but not least, Mo Siegel from the Jesusonian Foundation, was here recently to conduct an outreach meeting for new readers or interested parties. About 35 people attended and 10 or 12 were new. There have been follow-up meetings once a week and it looks like one or two new readers will be added to our roster.
¶ Prescott Study Group
By Don Risk
PRESCOTT — This group started meeting around 1975 , and continued off and on until about 1982 . Since 1985, we have met quite regularly, with several of the same people through the years. During this latter period, we have had as few as three regulars and as many as 10 or 12 . Currently there are seven of us who attend every week.
Unfortunately, our present group is all male. We’d love to have some input from the distaff point of view. We’ve tried to recruit among female friends without any luck Many of those who are good candidates are too involved, we think, with A Course in Miracles or new age groups, which are very strong in our area.
Since our community is about 40 percent retirees, there is also a strong conservative flavor. (You could interpret that as “fundamentalist.”)
With the exception of our one younger member, we run the age gamut from the mid 50s to 70s. We include a student, realtor, insurance agent, hospital maintenance man, yard maintenance man (who also has a Masters in Philosophy), retired clinical psychologist and a retired judge.
Our study format for the past couple of years has been as follows: We all read two papers on ourown. We started with Paper 1 and are currently doing the first paper of Part IV. Each brings questions for discussion by the group. Sometimes we go back to some previous papers if it seems to be helpful in our thinking.
We have no leader as such, although our retirees seem to come up with the most thought-provokingquestions. We have no prayer or worship and strictly study, unless some sports discussion pops up. We utilize a 1938 Webster’s Dictionary, Concordex, Paramony and The Standard Revised Edition of The Bible. One of our members has several of Barclay’s commentaries on the New Testament, which can be quite good.
Our only social affair is an annual get-together in August, which is also usually a birthday remembrance for Michael combined with a picnic. Since we are about 20 degrees cooler here in the mountains than Phoenix or Tucson, we usually have a pretty good turnout.
¶ The Sonoran Seekers
SCOTTSDALE — The Thursday night Scottsdale study group, which has been meeting for several years at the home of Larry Bowman, started in the 1970s. Martha Watson, who studied with Meredith and Irene Sprunger in Fort Wayne, Indiana before moving to Phoenix, began studying with Herman and Edna Schell when the latter were still winter visitors from Chicago. Herman had been a member of the Forum and the First Urantia Society. After the Schells moved to Arizona in 1977, the study group became a more regular fixture. But like the group in Chicago, it would break for the sum- mer.
Larry Bowman began attending in early 1978. He had joined the Forum as a teenager in the 1950 s and had known Herman during those years. He helped organize celebrations of Jesus’ birthday in 1978 and '79. Early in 1980, Herman became terminally ill and Larry assumed hosting responsibilities for the group. Since that time the group has been meeting year around.
Presently the group reads the book sequentially and is taking its time getting through Part One. For a long time it was felt that this group is not for beginners, but this perception changed last year when Lee and Millie Maxton began attending. They were both 70 and received a copy of The Urantia Book as a Christmas present from Lee’s son, Terry, who studies in the Los Angeles area.
The group was studying Paper 14 , The Central and Divine Universe, when the Maxtons showed up. Eric Cosh thought maybe we should read something else that night, but Larry suggested we stick to our game plan. While not comprehending the paper as well as others in the group, Lee and Millie were not daunted. They enjoyed the caliber of the discussion and enthusiastically returned the following weekend and have never stopped coming. Since then they have joined the Grand Canyon Society for Readers of The Urantia Book and are now serving as officers of the society.
In business as well as spirituality, I have learned not to prejudge or underestimate the curiosity or tenacity of people, the perfect functioning of their Adjusters and the powers of three great spirit discerners of revelation: Michael’s Spirit of Truth; the Mother Spirit’s selfbestowing, adjutant sensitivities, and the mentally inherent “reality response.” (UB 16:6.4)
Among others who attend the group regularly are Dick and Peggy Johnson. and Eve McMahon. Although Larry is the host, he is not necessarily the leader. The group tends to lead itself and depends on the collective wisdom of its members, who together have about 100 years of readership. Most of the members of this group attend other study groups in the Phoenix area.
Because of the intensity of discussion, a meeting may not progress more than two or three sections a night, sometimes even only a few paragraphs. Anyone who can tolerate detailed conversation is welcome to attend our study group.
¶ Tucson Study Group
By Sally Culwell
TUCSON — Our study group is composed of about 14 people from all walks of life and ages.
Only three couples are married, the other readers are single. We read one paper a week, then discuss the topic or share other information from articles or a TV program that someone has read or seen, usually scientific discoveries that are in The Urantia Book.
We have a Christmas party pot luck, and last year the group went to the mountains for the August 21 st birthday celebration.
We have been in the group since September 1993. Some people have read the book 20 years or more and have been in many study groups across the country. A number of people come infrequently, saying that they prefer to read on their own.
We have supplied a number of books to bookstores but don’t do any active recruiting. We have no formal leader, although several of the long-time readers certainly have a better understanding of issues than the rest of us.
| Planetary Government of Urantia Additional Definitions and References | Fall 1994 — Vol. 4 No. 5 — Index | The Urantia Book at the Parliament of World's Religions |