© 2002 The Urantia Book Fellowship
¶ International Conference 2002 — “Revelation in Action”
The YMCA Conference Center, Estes Park, Colorado, June 30-July 6
Whosoever will may come…
With a backdrop of spectacular mountains and lush forests, the greater Urantia community will enjoy a commitment to living the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man with the theme “Revelation in Action.”
With well over 1000 expected to attend, one of the conference’s most distinctive features is the great diversity of viewpoints shown by those attending. This diversity is not surprising, given the tendency of “Uran- tians” to think for themselves, rather than to passively adopt beliefs and convictions based upon tradition or social convenience. You can enjoy a firsthand experience of virtually all the existing and developing trends within The Urantia community.
The Urantia Book Fellowship welcomes all readers and reader groups so that we may learn from one another, better understand one another and grow in our love for one another.
The program also reflects the diversity of the conference. You can choose from dozens of presentations and workshops covering body, mind and spirit. Many will focus on The Urantia Book and its teachings; others will consider matters less directly related to The Urantia Book but of interest to many who read it. Presentation of styles will vary from the familiar lecture to fully interactive experiences.
This conference is designed to accommodate all ages—with special programs planned for youth, from infants to young adults. (Over 250 youngsters are to attend.) It’s a wonderful opportunity for this age group to form or renew relationships from previous conferences in a casual nondemanding environment.
IC02 will provide more than the study of The Urantia Book. There will be opportunities to participate in group worship with others from around the world. Recreational activities? You bet! The Estes Park area features mountain hiking, river rafting, horse-back riding, swimming and more. Each night will feature entertainrnent and social events, concluding with a gala party on the last day- IC02 is more than a conference…it’s a vacation and a of wonderful rest and renewal. Don’t miss it! Bring mind and spirit. And don’t forget a camera.
¶ International Front Line
South America…
¶ Casa de FAD in Brazil honors Fad during the times of the Planetary Prince
The International Fellowship Committee is pleased to announce a new and formal organizational affiliation with Casa de FAD educational group in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (See Membership.)
Fad was the individual responsible for the Faculty on Dissemination and Conservation of Knowledge during the times of the Planetary Prince. (See UB 66:5.4).
The mission of the Brasilian group is to continue the work of this first college under the guidance of Dr Elyr Dos Santos Silva, a dedicated student of the revelation. The group maintains an office, a meeting room and a small library/bookstore in downtown Rio de Janeiro.
¶ Mexico’s study groups continue to expand
Councilor Agustin Arellano has started his sixty-fourth for this Fall. The Fellowship’s General Council is also planning to meet in Mexico early next year. (Details as soon as continuing to meet. A Mexico national conference is planned available.)
¶ Definitive Meeting of the General Council in San Diego
Despite cool temps for the time of the year, San Diego provided a very warm welcome from local readers and visitors to the General Council. The Council meets twice yearly at various venues.
¶ Some Highlights of the Meeting
Discussing The Urantia Book printing project, notwithstanding the absence of a motion to reconsider the Council’s July decision to “promptly” publish The Urantia Book, the General Council agreed to entertain comments or questions from a small minority of its members on the advisability of going ahead with publication prior to a complete exhaustion of all judicial appeals by Urantia Foundation. This discussion, in effect, reaffirmed the Council’s earlier decision to promptly publish the book.
A discussion deemed stimulating and thought-provoking to GCers and observers alike, was one that followed a motion to repudiate the June 2001 testimony of Harry McMullan in the court case of Michael Foundation vs. Urantia Foundation and to affirm the General Council’s belief in the integrity of Doctor Sadler and other members of the contact commission, the belief in The Urantia Book as an epochal revelation, and the belief in the human subject’s complete disinterest in the contents of the Book.
The sense of the group was that voting for the motion would be tantamount to a declaration of creed and that voting it down would be misinterpreted as the group’s denial of the revelation. The Council therefore chose to “indefinitely postpone debate,” effectively deciding not to vote on what it considered to be an inappropriate motion.
The office decentralization has begun in gradual stages with transfer of financial operations to Oklahoma City, January 1, and apparently without problems. The next step will be to transfer the data base to the Fellowship in northern California. (Are you in our data base with your correct name, address, phone and Email address?) The final steps will be to transfer phone services to the existing 1-877 in Colorado and to move the mailing address to New York City.
Because of two resignations from the GC for demanding personal health and welfare reasons, the Council expressed its gratitude to Richard Johnson and Joe Liszka for their many years of service to the Fellowship. Both will continue to work for the Fellowship in different capacities. Two new councilors, Rebecca Kantor and Tom Orjala, were elected from a field of eight highly qualified candidates. (See New Councilors)
Group worship on Sunday morning concluded the memorable meeting.
¶ New E-mail List Proposed to Encourage Interaction between The Urantia Book Fellowship and Members
Richard Omura has made it a personal project to start an E-mail list strictly for The Urantia Book Fellowship. Nonmembers who want to join the Fellowship in the future can by being sponsored by a member.
This service will not be provided through the Fellowship’s internet facilities but through a commercial internet company, Yahoo!
The purpose of the list is for members to get to know each other and discuss matters to our organization and movement.
Getting on the list is voluntary. Every current Of the Fellowship with an E-mail will be sent first an E-mail invitation, and a confirmation if your reply is positive. If you do not want to join, just do nothing. No one is automatically subscribed.
Messages will archived so that those who do not wish to receive E-mail can still read previous posts at the website in order to stay updated. However, you must initially subscribe and a member of YahooGroups to read the archived postings. Your mail can then turned off as you wish.
Richard Omura is asking for a volunteer from each society to respnsible for subscribers (or not) of their If none can be found, Richard will assume the “listop” psition for societies as well as You can contact Richard Omura at: omura@mediaone.net.
¶ What’s New on Our Website? —History and More!
Students of The Urantia Book will find a collection of exams from The Urantia Brotherhood School now published on our website.
These exams are great for study or for study groups. They may be found by visiting the “What’s New?”" page at: http://urantiabook.org/whatsnew.htm
This page will always contain listings of the most recent published documents as well as links to the information from the General Council and Executive Committee to the readership.
A growing and important range of information related to IC02 can be had on the website: http://urantiabook.org/conferences/ic02. New information will be published to this address as we get closer to the conference time.
¶ New Options for Membership in The Fellowship Are Welcomed
Becoming a member of The Urantia Book Fellowship is now easier and more inclusive than ever. Since 1955, Urantia Brotherhood / The Fellowship has expected its members to have read the entire Urantia Book and the Fellowship constitution. These requirements remain only for members of the General Council and for the founding members (minimum ten) who start a new society. As a result, any student of The Urantia Book who supports the purposes of the Fellowship is eligible to become a member.
A new category called “Affiliate Member” is proposed and expected to be passed at the annual meeting of the General Council in July, as will the name of the Charter Committee Change to Membership Committee. This name change more nearly reflects the functions of the committee.
The members of the Fellowship affiliate group would be eligible to become members formally called Fellowship associates, such groups being composed of at least five members dedicated to the spread of the Urantia revelation. This group needs no constitution, nor do they participate in the Fellowship governance as do societies.
Affiliate status allows for a more informal kind of organizational relationship. Of course, such a group could decide to apply for society status in the future. (See Casa de FAD in Brazil in the International story on page 1.)
¶ William S. Sadler, Jr., author of Bill Sadler Conversations (The Sadler Tapes)
Will now be universally available. Transcripts are in the works.
¶ Silver Springs Retreats
An extended list of retreats for Urantia readers has been scheduled by Sue and Derek Tennant at their Silver Springs, Ontario facility. The series of programs will begin on July 6 and end by September 2. Topics are varied, as are the lengths of the various presentations. For further information, contact the Tennants at www.ubretreats.ca or stennant@georgian.net, or call 1-800-546-5601.
¶ In Memoriam
Family and friends alike note the passing of Peggy Johnson, a long-time active member and a founder along with her husband, Richard, of the Grand Canyon Society for Readers of The Urantia Book. Friends say they could always depend on Peggy. “We’ll all miss this very loving and giving person.”
¶ Coming Soon… New Edition of The Urantia Book
Coming soon likely will mean that the very newest edition of The Urantia Book will be seen and available for purchase at The Urantia Book Fellowship’s International Conference, IC02, at Estes Park, Colorado, June 30 to July 6.
This new edition features one of the most beneficial and most favorably received supportive works to a book that a reader could want, namely a comprehensive index.
The index will be bound with The Urantia Book, making one book, one volume, with immediate access to certain words or phrases in the original text. What an advantage for readers and students to quickly access the desired information without trial-and-error hunting for just the right reference.
For instance, “Melchizedek” has well over 100 index references from Machiventa to Melchizedek Worlds. “Mesopotamia” has over 35 references. The listings are very readable, and quickly scanned.
The index is a highly useful reference library for The Urantia Book. And the price of the book with the index included is expected to be about twenty dollars…a real accomplishment for man and machinery. Thank you everyone for your fine work.
Ever hear of a growing child who wasn’t hungry? The growing Urantia Book Fellowship needs the sustenance that you can provide. It’s our time.
¶ C’mon Moms and Dads
Help make IC02 fun for the youngsters!
Sara Blackstock, the Fellowship’s preemi-nent and fun “reconstructionist” of Biblical / Urantia times and places for the youngsters who will attend IC02, needs your help. You can help her set up simple but dramatic vignettes portraying Jesus’ environment or stories from The Urantia Book history comes alive in a way that “just words” cannot convey.
A long-ago “marketplace” is more than fun. The realism, including chickens or other animals, is a learning experience, especially for young minds. The vignettes need not center strictly on Jesus’ time—Andon and Fonta can discover fire, or Adam and Eve might arrive in the Garden?
Another way you can help is to be a volunteer in any of the “care” programs from tots to teens. Guides or “guardian angels” are needed to just “be there.”
Contact these dedicated folks with your help:
- Sara Blackstock Will handle the Jerusalem Marketplace—l—5 year olds (slb@linkzone.com)
- Cady Halverson (mail@solonia.com) & Laura Hay (lhay33@yahoo.com) for babies & toddlers
- Bill Rocap (brocap@aol.dom) for 1 1—14 year olds
- Tom Choquette (TomChoquette@aol.com) for older teens
- Lee Farmer (marath02@ix.netcom.com) & Claudia Ayers (c_ayers@pacebell.net) for young adults
Be an angel, be a mother or dad,
be a friend, but please be there.
¶ Come to a Party!
As a continuation of a special event begun at IC99, we will again, at IC02, host a “Welcome Thought Adjuster” party for children ages 5—7. The party is held at the Jerusalem Market Place, with the children dressed in the costumes of Jesus’ era. It is a simple 10-minute ceremony, and acknowledges the presence of the Father within. The children’s families participate in the ceremony, as well as any observers. You’re invited to share this special experience with us. Further information will be available at conference registration.
¶ Meet the two new General Councilors
¶ Rebecca Kantor
Rebecca Kantor is a member of the Golden Gate Society and has been studying The Urantia Book for over 30 years. She is a seminary graduate with a masters degree in religion (psychology of religion). Aside from participating in study groups and conferences, her interests include studying the community of Urantia Book readers as a new religious movement, religious cults, the human source authors and texts, and the theology of The Urantia Book. She and her husband, David, live in “intentional community” with other Urantia Book readers in Sebastopol, California.
¶ Thomas Orjala
A reader since 1969, Tom Orjala, whose name is deceptively Latin, is of Finnish descent. Originally from Minnesota, Tom first found The Urantia Book in San Francisco, spending many winters in the Bay area, and was a volunteer with the Family of God in Berkeley.
His first experience at a conference was Lake Geneva and subsequently in Vancouver in '79, where he met Emma “Christy” Christensen. He has lived in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho since '74. Tom started the area’s first study group, thus generating a large population of readers. As a Urantia Book “activist,” he is outspoken in his love for the revelation and enjoys finding new ways to introduce the book, including participation in Expos. He even boldly introduced The Urantia Book to Coeur d’Aene’s new mayor.
Tom Orjala, a building contractor, is married to Cassandra and has two grown boys. He has a keen interest in transformational thinking and enjoys his life as one who is willing to trade his mind for the mind of Jesus. He admits the download is not complete but progressing nicely.
¶ Mighty Messenger
Published by Uversa Press for the Publications Committee of The Urantia Book Fellowship
Members: Linda Buselli, Chair Nancy Johnson, Sage Waitts, Gary Deinstadt, Joe Liszka, Lynda D’Archangelo
Phone: 773-327-0424 • Fax: 773-327-6159
email: fellowship@urantiabook.org
website: http://wvw.ubfellowship.org
¶ External Links
- Newsletter in Urantia Book Historical Society: https://ubhs.hosted-by-files.com/http/FrameDocTypesBZ.html