© 1999 Alison Gardner, Sioux Harvey, Rosey Lieske
© 1999 The Urantia Book Fellowship
¶ A host of activities awaits you at Spirit Quest 2000
As of this writing, some 800 individuals have registered for Spirit Quest 2000, The Urantia Book Fellowship’s international conference, which will beheld from August 7-12 in Vancouver, British Colombia. “It wouldn’t surprise me if a thousand people finally show up,” says SteveDreier, the conference coordinator and UB Fellowship’s Vice President. Promising to be truly international, the conference is expected to draw participants from all over the world. With the help of generous contributions from readers, the Fellowship established a scholarship fund to help defray the cost of travel and lodging for a number of readers from Africa and Latin America who would otherwise not be able to attend. Assistance is also being offered to some U.S. readers under the rubric of a Work Study / Scholarship program which requires the beneficiaries to perform a service at the conference (see insert). In addition to a program of workshops and plenary sessions, opportunities have been provided for socialization, leisure activities, preconferencere treats and special interest group gatherings.
¶ Artists Retreat - Worship Through The Arts - August 5-7
All artists, writers, sculptors, graphic artists, photographers, musicians,dancers are welcome to teach and share with each other how they contact spirit land with their art forms. Those interested in attending are asked to pre-register. A $35 fee is charged to each participant in order to help defray the cost of the room. For more information or to register,contact Patrick Yesh at pyesh@hotbot.com or c/o The Urantia Book Fellowship.
¶ Art Gallery
An art gallery will be set up and open throughout the conference so that reader/artists will have an opportunity to exhibit their works of art.Arrangements can also be made for special performances by musicians, actors, poets, dancers, etc., in the art gallery.
For additional information, contact Patrick Yesh asabove.
¶ Worship Retreat - Living in the Presence -August 4-7
Make plans to arrive three days early, August 4, to participate in Spirit Quest 2000’s Pre-Conference Spiritual Retreat, “Living in the Presence,” a new program from Adventures in Spiritual Living. Learn practical, proven techniques to live each day in the spirit, moment by moment, conscious of God’s presence. Experience “effortless attention, true and ideal soul rest, a form of restful spiritual exertion,” this “highest privilege” and “first duty of all created intelligences,” this “highest experiential delight,” this “exquisite pleasure,” this “highest joy.” Come worship with us!
¶ Writers Retreat - Publishing the Good News- August 5-7
Writers, editors and publishers interested in the art and science of communicating the “good news” through the medium of language are invited to participate in this workshop. Sessions will deal with issues related to copyright and fair use, today’s publishing scene, marketing and distribution, and issues unique to Urantia Book readers who are writers. Registration fee US$20 or CAN$30. For additional information, contact Byron Belitsos at ll22 Grant Ave. #C, Novarto, CA 94945; 4151453-4023; (fax) 415/456-3728; bbelitsos@earthlink.net.
¶ General Council Meeting August 12-13
The Fellowship’s General Council meeting will be held on campus after the conclusion of the conference on August 12, 7-71 PM and on August 13, 9-5. Members of the Fellowship are welcome to observe the meeting.
¶ Vancouver Area Activities
Information on Vancouve area sightseeing and other general tourist information is available at www.tourism-vancouver.org or through a link to that site via the Fellowship website www.urantiabook.org.
¶ Conference Service Opportunity
The Urantia Book Fellowship is looking for twelve young adults (17-25) to participate in a work crew for the duration of the conference in Vancouver. Work assignments may consist of the following: Set-up, tear-down and storage of chairs before and after workshops; set-up for Club UB; assist during coffee breaks; equipment delivery / pick-up; assist children and teen programs; assistance at registration for elderly / families. Crew members will be housed in two reserved six-plex suites on campus and will receive substantial discounts for lodging and meals as well as a waiver of their registration fee (a total savings of $230 per member). Notwithstanding their work assignments, crew members will have ample time to participate in conference events. Crew members should arrive Friday afternoon, August 6th and plan to attend the entire conference, which ends Thursday afternoon,August l2th. To register, fill out registration form available at the Fellowship website or call John Hales at 7731327-0424.
¶ The Deity Adventure
by Alison Gardner and Sioux Harvey
The eight-person panel comprising the latest Wrightwood Series presentation on the subjectof cult is planning a major panel presentation and workshop at IC 99 in Vancouveron Day 3 (August 11): “Quest for the Divine Presence in Our Human Institutions”, in anticipation of the publication of this secondary work later this year. Here are some highlights.
Steve Hecht examines the religious meaning and value of cult by exploring the subjectin relation to the Universal Father, the Paradise Trinity, and the ideas of personality and personhood. He coordinates ideas emanating from the divine, cosmic, anthropological, and philosophical realms in order to elevate them onto a platforn of spiritual ideas that espouse spirit unity with human diversity.
Dan Massey proposes that while the Bestowal Cult (aspects of the fourth epoch contained in the fifth) provides for a new and appropriate symbolism for the restatement of the religion of Jesus, the new Revelational Cult will provide an adequate symbolism for man’s ideas, ideals, and loyalties, as illuminated by the revelation of The Urantia Book.
Rebecca Kantor will offer a survey of current literature on cults and new religious movements as a context for understanding the contemporary viewpoints we wish to transform. Her chapter will trace the history of the meaning of the word “cult” and review current thought on the subject from theological, sociological and psychological perspectives.
Neal Waldrop posits forcefully that the Urantia revelation addresses “the longing for growth and advancementof the indivual and the group, not just the craving to be ‘saved,’” and interpretsit as the newest Covenant: God the Father and God the Mother have a plan for each of us and for the entire planet.
Joan Wentworth, through intimate portraits of daily life in Cretan villages,will examine Greek Orthodoxy, one of the most cultic of all evolutionary denominations. By portraying the underlying faith and practice of a highly devout, 20th century people, she will offer the reader real life examples of trinitarian unity expression.
Alison Gardner follows a composite new reader as he sheds, one by one, his purely materialistic beliefs and replaces them with a new, all-encompassing and enlivenirtg Paradise point of view. This process of both spiritual (soul)growth and experiential supremacy constitutesone’s own “cult” - what a person individually chooses to venerate.
Starting with the earliest ghost cults, Phil Geiger takes a close look at how various groupings of humanity have unconsciously cultivated the soil from which emerged prayer, worship, and even revealed religion. He delineates the particular cultic aspects surrounding epochal revelations, using the Urantia Papers as a lens through which to view them.
The panel welcomes your thoughts and suggestions in care of the panel’s comoderators and co-editors, Alison Gardner and Sioux Harvey, as well as your participation at its workshop at IC 99.
¶ Spread the Word
If you enjoy getting material from the Fellowship, including this publication, and you know a Urantia Book reader who does not get these benefits, you may want to do the person a favor and ask if he or she would like to get on the mailing list. Getting it done is the easiest thing in the world. A phone call, e-mail, fax, or even “snail” mail is all it takes.
The act is yours…
¶ Futurists to encounter UB
A grant from the Fellowship and from the Society of Greater New York has made it possible for the New York Outreach Committee to bring The Urantia Book, for the first time, to a brand new arena. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, and with over 32,000 members worldwide, The World Future Society will hold its 9th General Assembly from July 29-August l, 1999 at the Hilton Towers in Washington, DC. Approximately 1,200 participants from more than 30 countries are expected to attend this event, the theme of which is “Frontiers of the 2lst Century.” These participants are individuals who look for innovative ideas, methods, and approaches in all areas of human endeavor. By way of discussions, workshops and informal interactions, participants will grapple with the important issues facing us as we prepare to enter the next millennium. The Assembly’s “world’s fair of ideas” will include sessions on the environment, new technologies, social change and much, much more. “Besides the expos that we have been participating in for years, it’s important that we do more outreach like this one, to other organizations and communities that we have never addressed before,” said Robin Jorgensen of the Outreach Committee.
The Urantia Book will be given visibility at the event by an 8-foot table-top exhibit staffed by four long-term readers, a separate book display area, a place in the Futurist Bookstore and a display ad in the main Program. “This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with leadine future thinkers from around the country and the world, and share with these men and women of all backgrounds the inspired and vital message and perspectives of the UB. We are all very excited, ”commented Nick Curto, a member of the World Future Society and the NY Outreach Committee.“ The time is right and the time is now!”
¶ Fellowship Committees - Works in progress
¶ The Education Committee
Wrightwood Series publication on Race is being printed and will be available for purchase at IC99 this summer. The current Wrightwood Seminar on the perspective of Cult in The Urantia Book will be presented by a panel at the International Conference in Vancouver in August. Approval has been given for a future Wrightwood presentation on the history of the Urantia movement. The Education Committee is organizing a speaker’s clearinghouse, a list of individuals with public speaking skills who are interested in giving talks on various Urantia Book related topics. Materials for topical study will be developed and made available to local study groups in cooperation with the Domestic Extension Committee.
¶ Ad-Hoc Family Life Committee
Parent education, secondary works and summer camp are the key issues for FLC. The FLC is working to provide Urantian parents with helpful works related to family life and with meaningful activities for children at conferences and gatherings. Present efforts include family life chat list, family life web page, family oriented workshops and Kindle the Fire, a handbook of activities and ideas for parents and children.
¶ Fraternal Relations Committee
FRC will present an afternoon workshop at IC99 on UB students who use their involvement in organized religions as a way of networking and outreach. The committee hopes to develop an ongoing email discussion group on the subject. FRC will be cosponsoring a booth with the Urantia Foundation at the World Parliaments of Religion meeting in November 1999 in South Africa. It is planning a presentation on the UB at this event.
¶ Ad Hoc Public Relations Committee
Working closely with the Domestic Extension Committee, an ad campaign for college campus newspapers has been developed which will put a copy of the book into the hands of young truth seekers. With the cooperation of the Finance Committee, a series of enticing fund raising packages were implemented. In coordination with the Publications Committee, a series of inserts publicizing Spirit Quest 2000 appeared in the Mighty Messenger and The Fellowship Herald.
The PR Committee was instrumental in affecting the organizational name change to The Urantia Book Fellowship, and with implementing a logographic identifier and new stationery. A Media Archive has been established for collecting audio and video presentations of Urantia Book related materials for historical and educational purposes. Media training has begun with a series of workshops designed to help readers talk about the book to the public in the event they are approached by the mass media. The next workshop will be at Spirit Quest 2000 in Vancouver this summer.
A new, all-purpose Welcome Kit will debut this summer, and will be available through the Fellowship’s web site as well. The kit includes a brochure outlining the activities and goals of the Fellowship, a welcome letter from the President, a list of publications, a Study Group Directory, and a sampling of newsletters. Upcoming are a Media Kit (explaining the book and the organizationin the event of media inquiries) and a Study Group Kit.
If you would like to volunteeryour talents (graphics, writing, translating) to this committee, please contact Lorrie Krasny or Alison Gardner c/o The Fellowship.
¶ Charter Committee
The committeeis working on exploring the needs of groups outside of the US. It is also in the process of developing an email list for society officers and new ways to join the Fellowship.
¶ Domestic Extension
The committee introduced a new Fellowship toll free number, 871-335-5669. Expos were held for the first time in Denver and Ft. Lauderdale. Work is in progress on creating a web site for study groups.
¶ Web-site
Currently available on the Fellowship web site is a wide range of historic documents, study aids, photographs, sound recordings and the full text of The Urantia Book with a search engine. The most recent addition is the new database for Duane Faw’s Paramony, which contains over 13,000 cross-references between the Bible and The Urantia Book. At present, the site is serving out more than 90 megabytes of material to more than 800 personse very twenty-four hours. New database and search tools to be incorporated later this year will continue to expand the usability of this knowledge base. David Kantor, Special Projects Committee Chairman and Fellowship Webmaster,will conduct a workshop at IC99 on how to use this rapidly growing resoure.
¶ Project Palomita
by Rosey Lieske
“Palomita” (pahl-oh-MEET-ah) means “little dove” in Spanish. Project Palomita was founded six years ago when the Spanish translation first rolled off the presses. It’s both a book-sending and cultural-exchange project to serve Latin American readers unable to afford the book, and to help create understanding between readers in the Americas. It’s named after the symbol of the Holy Spirit, the messenger of peace, because the book itself containsa message of peace for all of us.
Books are sent every four to six weeks into Colombia, Chile and recently into Cuba. How many depends on what can be afforded, but they’re always sent with a lot of love. There are some wonderful leaders in these countries who then receive and distribute the donated books to the individuals in their countries who can’t afford them. Jose Manuel Rodriguez, in Colombia, travels the length and breadth of his country. He gives classes on the revelation in prisons, orphanages, hospitals and even a leper colony outside of Bogota. He’s been a Urantia instructor for 12 years now. He gifts the donated books to those who demonstrate the most interest in actual study.
Nina Bravo and Oly Tartakowsky in Chile have worked nonstop for the last 12 years also, building a vibrant and growing movement in Chile. They aggressively seed the revelation into surrounding countries and, have been responsible for bringing literally hundreds of people into contact with the revelation.
In Cuba, over the last two years, the books are being seeded in a Christian community whose readers are now looking for help in bridging their understanding between the revelation and the Bible.
Cultural exchange projects have entailed going down into these countries to participate in seminars and study sessions, and bringing people up to the international conferences in the States. Our book says that some day religionists will find that “goals not creeds” will unify them. We have a whole book full of potentially unifying goals just waiting to be “written” into experience.
¶ Upcoming Events
- Jesus’ Birthday in Tennessee
The Elizabethton Study Group in northeast Tennessee plans to hold its eleventh Annual Picnic in celebration of Jesus’ Birthday on August 21, 1999, in Hampton, TN. For information and directions contact Dean White at deanw@preferred.com or call 4231542-3775. - Third Annual Lone Star Roundup Conference
Treat yourself to Texasat its best at Camp Buckner in the hill country near Kingsland, TX, October 29-31 (see photo insert). This year’s theme is “Your Thought Adjuster-The Real You.” For information call Adrienne Jarnagin at 5121756-1637 or e-mail to aj@tstar.com
¶ Calling a Choir of Angels!
Know all things heavenly…
this is the quest of the spirit.
Follow the call of the Master…
for he is the way, the truth, and the life.
Seek the kingdom of heaven on earth…
life’s meaningis found in the journeying,
not the goal.
Share in the language of the universe, music…
take a glimpse into the realms of truth,
beauty, and goodness.
If your heart beats a little faster when you think about being a part of the musical adventures during SpiritQuest 2000, join us in preparing “An Evening with the Master,” a celebration of the Master’s life.
Interested vocalists and instrumentalists contact Barbara Hester at bhester@telepath.com.
¶ Mighty Messenger
Published quarterly by Uversa Press for the Publications Committee of The Urantia Book Fellowship
Members: Avi Dogim, Chair Nancy Johnson, Carolyn Kendall, Linda Buselli, Sage Waitts, Gary Deinstadt
Phone: 773-327-0424. Fax: 713-327-6159 email: fellowship@urantiabook.org website: http://www.ubfellowship.org
¶ External Links
- Newsletter in Urantia Book Historical Society: https://ubhs.hosted-by-files.com/http/FrameDocTypesBZ.html