© 2022 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
¶ In This Issue
- President’s Report – Rita Schaad, Newcastle NSW
- 2023 Annual Conference in Sydney – Conference Committee
- 2022 ANZURA Annual Conference Report – Julian McGarry, Hobart TAS
- Walking the R.O.P.E – An Invitation to Intimacy with God – Julian McGarry, Hobart TAS
- The Religion of Jesus – Daniel Swadling, Sydney NSW
- The Ultimate Human Experience – Neville Twist, Auckland NZ
- New Zealand Corner – Marion Steward, Auckland NZ
- God’s CD Collection – Neil Francey, Burleigh Heads QLD
- Study Group Contacts – Anzura Admin
- About the Arena Newsletter – Anzura Admin
¶ President’s Report
Rita Schaad, Newcastle NSW
The radio was on in my house most days during the Christmas Season – mainly ABC Classic – and Handel’s Messiah rang out ounce again……
Hallelujah…. The kingdom of this world;
Is become
The kingdom of our Lord – King of kings forever and ever…
And Lord of lords’……… hallelujah ……
And He shall reign forever and ever….
Never on all the worlds of this universe, in the life of any one mortal, did God ever become such a living reality as in the human experience of Jesus of Nazareth. [UB 196:0.3]
Never on any other world among many systems and constellations – even the entire Universe of Nebadon – did transpire what happened on ours, the first and only lowly planet to have the honour of hosting Christ Michael bestowing himself in the flesh as Jesus. We are known as “the world of the cross” – the sentimental shrine of all Nebadon – we are known throughout the realm for its strife-torn past (and present) and its rebellious mortals. And this still, even after 2000 years of Adjuster indwelling in most inhabitants!
¶ 2023 Annual Conference in Sydney
Conference Committee
25 - 28 August 2023
Talkin’ Bout a Revelation
We invite you to join us at the 2023 ANZURA Annual Conference that will be held 25 to 28 August at the delightful Peter Canisius House in Pymble on Sydney’s leafy North Shore.
About the Conference Theme
How are we talking about the concepts of The Urantia Book with non-readers and new readers? How can we discuss such universal truths that everyone needs to know without alienating them? How can we convince increasingly secular, sceptical and materially focused people that the spiritual world is just as real? How can we help to transform stagnant traditional religious practice into courageous living and dynamic spiritual growth?
We have in our hands an updated version of revelations presented to our ancestors that over time have become unclear and unappealing to many in our modern world. It is a very big book that requires years of invested time and effort for most of us to even glimpse an understanding. But when we do understand, we realise that we know what the world needs most to hear to help meet present day challenges and improve the lives of everyone on this planet. The book is now widely available in many forms to anyone who may be seeking, thanks to the endeavours of many over the years. But people either aren’t looking for it, don’t know it exists or think they don’t have the time required to read it. How can we, seasoned readers, best demonstrate and discuss what we have learned in ways that attract others to the book and its teachings, and that doesn’t do harm to our message? How can we better identify fertile ground: those who may be seeking and receptive to the seeds of truth we have to offer them? What might be their objections and criticisms and how should we best overcome them?
At this year’s ANZURA conference we hope to tap into and share that huge reservoir of knowledge, understanding and talent that exists within the readership community. Please join us as we workshop the core fundamentals of the books teachings and develop some practical tools and attractive ways of talking about this planet-saving revelation with the people we meet in our everyday lives.
¶ 2022 ANZURA Annual Conference Report
Julian McGarry, Hobart TAS
It is high time that man had a religious experience so personal and so sublime that it could be realized and expressed only by “feelings that lie too deep for words.” [UB 99:5.9]
Annual conferences are always the highlight of the year for ANZURA members, but this year was particularly notable because it was the first time in three years that we’ve had a face-to-face conference due to the pandemic. Comfortably accommodated at the beautiful Stewarts Bay Lodge, which is only a short walk from the Port Arthur historic site, we gathered together to focus on the ultimate personal experience – a personal and intimate relationship with the First Source and Centre of the universe of universes, our Universal Father.
Most of the conference was accessible via Zoom, which enabled visitors who were unable to attend from Australia, the United States, Canada, and Uganda. We were also delighted to be able to welcome a record contingent of our brothers and sisters from New Zealand.
¶ Walking the R.O.P.E – An Invitation to Intimacy with God
Julian McGarry, Hobart TAS
Julian was the main organiser of the 2022 ANZURA Conference in Tasmania and opened with this keynote address.
I would like to begin by saying that I believe this theme, this topic, is the most important one in the entire universe. Perhaps this is an overstatement, but I hope that after reading the article, you will understand where I’m coming from, and maybe even agree with me. I believe it is the reason for the universe itself existing and ultimately, why we exist at all.
The Urantia Book tells us that billions of years ago, our Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon, who later incarnated on our planet as Jesus of Nazareth, was given his ‘patch of turf’ by the Universal Father on which to create his own personal universe. Moreover, he was given the mandate to bring forth millions upon millions of children for the Father, sentient mortal beings of evolutionary origin who would be capable of having a personal, intimate relationship with an indwelling fragment of the Universal Father….our Thought Adjuster. These evolutionary, animal-origin children made from the dust of the earth would be created according to divine mandate “in the image of God” and would be required to be perfect as the Universal Father is perfect. (UB 1:0.3)
An extraordinary challenge, to say the least! We are further told that Michael, together with his universe consort, the Divine Minister or Universe Mother Spirit, appointed power directors and energy controllers to build a physical universe consisting of constellations, solar systems, and individual planets. (UB 32:2.2) Once these planets developed conditions conducive to the formation of life, Life Carriers were dispatched with the task of initiating and overseeing the evolution of living, biological systems. (UB 58:1.1) In collaboration with the seven adjutant mind spirits, the Life Carriers worked tirelessly to bring about animal-origin creatures having minds that were capable of interacting with absolute deity, the indwelling Father fragment. But before this could happen, these first human creatures were immediately encircuited within the protective and nurturing embrace of the Holy Spirit, the personal spirit of the Divine Minister. Nevertheless, due to the deleterious effects of the Lucifer rebellion and the Adamic default, initially only exceptional humans were indwelt by Thought Adjusters. In general, humans were not capable of experiencing personal and intimate communion with Thought Adusters. (UB 108:2.2-3)
¶ The Religion of Jesus
Daniel Swadling, Sydney NSW
(Presented at the 2022 ANZURA Conference in Tasmania)
The great goal of human existence is to attune to the divinity of the indwelling Adjuster; the great achievement of mortal life is the attainment of a true and understanding consecration to the eternal aims of the divine spirit who waits and works within your mind. UB 110:3.4
We see this very attunement and consecration be demonstrated, actually occur, in the life of Jesus, which I’d like to explore with you today.
Of all human knowledge, that which is of greatest value is to know the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it. UB 196:1.3
Religion is an experience. ‘Religion is an exclusively individual experience.’ (UB 196:2.11) To understand the religion of Jesus, we have to see how it was revealed through his life and how he lived it, as it is a lived experience.
The creator of our universe bestowed himself on our planet with a twofold mission: to live the life of one of his human creatures, and to reveal God to us to help us understand him better. (UB 128:0.2)
Jesus came to liberate us from stagnant nationalistic and spiritually impoverishing institutions, to remove the mediators between people and God, and demonstrate that religion is that relationship between the individual and God. Between you and God. He taught that “you are not alone,” you and every individual person on the planet is important, is valuable, can live on after death and potentially into eternity, in a universe that is full of other life, is friendly and supportive, and with unlimited opportunity and adventure.
¶ The Ultimate Human Experience
Neville Twist, Auckland NZ
(Presented at the 2022 ANZURA Conference in Tasmania)
Coming through customs the other day, the custom’s officer asked me if I had any criminal convictions? “What, is it still a requirement to enter Australia” I replied? “Trying to be a smart arse, are we?” “No, not at all officer” I replied. “It’s just that I’ll be staying at Port Arthur, and I wanted to make doubly sure.” ☺
Apologies for there being no power point presentation, white boards, charts etc. I’m afraid you are just going to have to listen to me ramble on for the next 20 minutes or so – so let’s get on with it.
Before we get underway, I’d like to start with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. QE2 was an amazing woman. To me she was an exemplar of service to her subjects around the world. Something about her that most people overlook is the fact that she was a deeply religious person. She had a deep personal faith in God. She was after all the head of the Church of England and this was a role she took very seriously. Her life was devoted to service and bringing people together. What a privilege it was living under her reign and the consistency, devotion, and loyalty she brought to our lives during 70 years of turbulence, upheaval, and constant change. In a BBC radio presentation recently, they spoke about how she was so impressed with the evangelist Billy Graham when he held crusades in Britain back in the 1960’s & 70’s, that she invited him for an audience at Buckingham palace. Two great people of faith who left an indelible impression on our world for good, and for God himself.
¶ New Zealand Corner
Marion Steward, Auckland NZ
Musings on Christmas in New Zealand
The annual celebration of Christmas is here upon us once more, and students of The Urantia Book are possibly asking themselves that perennial question generated by the knowledge that the actual date of the birth of Jesus is August 21st, not December 25th – ‘what should we do about Christmas?
In New Zealand, Christmas for Christian families/communities continues to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but for most of the non-religious people (48.6% of the population as declared at the 2018 census) it is a public holiday with a special emphasis on the family. The way that people celebrate this event for the most part has very little to do with the birth of Jesus – lights, Christmas trees, gifts, decorations around the home and garden, special food at various times of the day, Christmas crackers – but for many people these aspects represent ‘Christmas’.
There have been occasional moves over the years to de-winterfy the celebration here – my daughter learned a song at primary school called “Christmas at the Beach”, but the Northern Hemisphere traditions retain their strong hold on the celebrations here, and so fake snow still abounds in shop windows, along with all the other songs that stem from Christmas observed in the heart of winter.
¶ God’s CD Collection
Neil Francey, Burleigh Heads QLD
The vastness of the master universe is almost beyond measure, yet the revelators describe it as within a boundary. Does infinity then extend beyond that dimension, out into a fathomless darkness? Could there be other master universes located beyond the power, communication, and travel capabilities of the one presented to us?
Such musings are in good company, as on numerous occasions in the quotations below, the revelators say effectively (as on UB 56:7.6): ‘We do not know, but we speculate much concerning these and related matters.’
The ideas expressed here are purely speculative. They have no basis in revelation and are merely a personal observation. These concepts in no way compare with the scholarly astronomical research and deductions being made by professional analysts of the Urantia revelation. [My thanks to Nigel Nunn for his invaluable interest and comments about this article.]
View article in PDF here (opens in a new tab)
Also on the ANZURA website under Topical Index/Study Aids you can find an excellent description, with diagrams, for the Master Universe. (Or you can click on this link to go straight to it: An Artist’s Conception of the Master Universe, or the original in ANZURA website)
¶ Study Group Contacts
Anzura Admin
ANZURA maintains a contact list for study group hosts.
Not all of these hosts actually run a regular study group but all of them are willing to host one for anyone who would like to meet.
Some study groups include virtual participation via Zoom if you cannot meet face-to-face.
Click here to view the list of contacts on the website.
¶ About the Arena Newsletter
Anzura Admin
The Arena newsletter keeps students of The Urantia Book throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in touch with Urantia related news, activities and events from our local region as well as from the global Urantia Book reader community. It also provides interesting articles written by readers on a wide range of subjects from the book which we hope may be helpful in assisting with your studies.
The Arena is published by ANZURA two to three times a year and is dedicated to the promotion of goodwill and understanding among readers of The Urantia Book. Articles and editorial contributions that relate to The Urantia Book and its teachings are welcome from readers all over the world.
If you would like to receive the Arena or submit an article, please send us an email at anzura.urantia @ gmail.com
To view current and past issues of the Arena click here.