© 2004 The Urantia Book Fellowship
¶ IC '05 Excitement Builds
As plans finalile and preparations move forward, enthusiasm intensifies among the coordinators of The Urantia Book Fellowsbip’s International Conference to he held at Villanova University near Philadelphia, July 30-August 4, 2005. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Urantia Book, and the conference theme, “Making Spirit Matter -the Next 50 Years,” has inspired a number of special activities for the gathering.
Looking to the furure of the Urantia movement, all three program tracks will feature presentations that integrate knowledge and experience from the past with innovations and ideas for the future. The religion and philosophy workshops will investigate the interrelationship of The Urantia Book’s concepts with current developments in the religious and philosophical fields of thought. Personal spiritual experience will be the focus of a large number of encouraging sharing of past individual experiences and inspiring new ones. Even worship services will be unique and focus on new and inspiring of experiencing the divine. Astronomy will be featured as part of the science track; and in addition to spectacular audio-visual presentations, attendees be able to view the stars outdoors through a telescope in the evenings (weather permitting.)
There will be many oportunities for soctalizing, including a dinner-dance on the last evening of the conference. Music and entertainment will be provided each evening, and the beautiful campus at Villanova offers many opportunities for various outdoor activities. A combined art gallery and bookstore will offer oppotunities for artists and writers to display their creations, although those wishing to do so will have to fill out a form as space is limited. Quite a few foreign readers are expectcd to attend and share their experiences in their own countries. On the free day, the City of Philadelphia and its surroundings are a history lesson in themselves, and superb rail transportacion is available to downtown and other local areas for those who elect not to join the planned tours.
Every effort is being made to celebrate the “birthday” of The Urantia Book with great reverence for the past and hope for the future. Join us, won’t you?
¶ President’s Report - 2004
By Avi Dogim
The Fellowship look a giant step in its decentralization process this year and sold the building that had served as its “headquarters” since 1989. In addition to this being an important cost saving measure, it is expected, along with other operational adjustments and greatet reliance on web based technologies, to increase the organization’s eficiency and improve the quality of its services.
Unity among readers and across all organizacional lines continues to be an important goal for many Fellowship members as well as other “Urantians.” The yearning for unity is almost palpable as one walks amongst a gathering such as the conference sponsored by the Heart of America Society in Kansas City in September. The frustration with the persisting rift that still exists between The Fellowship and the Foundation/IUA is deep. But yearning and frustration alone will not heal this rift. We must act. The past year has seen increasing efforts on the part of Fellowship members to participate in events and activities sponsored by or involving other groups. To name just a few - a number of Fellowship members attended an IUA conference in Quebec last summer; another group attended the recent UAUS conference in Chicago; Fellowship members enjoyed working alongside Foundation, IUA, and unaffiliated individuals on dissemination activities at the World Parliament of Religions in Barcelona this summer. There was no “us” and “them” in that picture. The Fellowship’s International Conference, IC 05, organizers are involving IUA members as well as “unafliliated” readers in the planning and execution of what I am sure is going to be a very exciting and uplifting conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Urantia Book. As long as we continue to create opportunities for cooperation and for plain-old fellowshipping among all readers on local, regional, national, and international levels, in time the old ideological demons and the lingering animosities will recede into the shadows and eventually disappear completely.
The General Cauncil meeting this summer provided some surprises. Harry McMullan announced his decision to resign immediately from his position as Treasurer of The Fellowship. Harry, who has served on the Executive Committee for the past 25 years, stated that he wished to vacate the position so that someone else who is qualified but has put in fewer years of service would have an opportunity to serve as Treasurer. Convinced that Harry’s decision was final, I accepted his resignation, Harry was thanked for his many years of service on the Executive Committee and for his many contributions to the reader community, including his authorship of a index to The Urantia Book, which is now part of the Uversa Press edition of the book. Harry will remain on the General Council and has pledged that he will continue to work for The Fellowship in any way that he could be useful. John Hay was elected to fill the post of Treasurer.
Thanks to a $50,000 challenge grant to The Fellowship from a fellow reader for a hard cover printing of The Urantia Book The Fellowship has begun a campaign to match this generous gift with an equal amount from other contributors, No effort will spared to have the new hardbacks available in time for the International Conference (IC) 05 next summer.
To fill the seats on the General Council created by the resignations of Rebecca Kantor, Claudia Ayers, and Bill Rocap earlier this year, three new Councilors were elected and heartily welcomed: Tom Allen of Oklahoma, John Hay of Colorado, and Gene Narducy of California. Two new committee chairs were also elected, Susan Cook of Missouri will serve as Chair of the Interfaith Committee, and Gary Deinstadt of New York has begun a six-year term as Chair of the Education Committee.
A planning retreat held by the Council during its last mid-year meeting generated many creative ideas about how The Fellowship could better fulflll its mision, how it could provide for fellowship opportunities, and how it could improve its communication. These ideas may well contain the seeds of positive change, but in order to bringt this about, the General Council will need to develop some of these ideas into specitic policies, which the Exectltive Committee will then be responsible for implementing.
¶ New Council Members
John Hay, Treasurer
John Hay’s election as Treasurer of the Fellowship is only the latest in a long series of service positions in the Urantia movement. In 1971, John founded the Boulder study group and in 1980 was a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Spiritual Fellowship. From 1982 to 1987, he was a founder and supporter of the Boulder School for Students of The Urantia Book.
During his terms as a General Councilor, John was a member and/or Chair of the Fellowship Finance Committee and also served a previous term as Fellowship Treasurer from 1988-1991. He has planned several Fellowship International Conferences as well. John was co-founder of Celestial Seasonings, along with Mo Siegel.
John and his wife, Laura, (Publication Committee) keep busy with six children ranging in age from 14 to 27. He is an ordained pastoral care minister in the Episcopal church. Ar present, he is working on putting The Urantia Book on CD and MP3.
Susan Cook, Chair Interfaith Committee
I’ve read The Urantia Book for over two decades. This gift changed my life dramatically and continues to be my textbook for living life. For years I used the visuals in the Book to teach guided meditation.
After moving to Kansas City 2001, my focus changed. I wanted to be of service in a broader area. As a General Councilor, I can be of service in the area of Interfaith.
I grew up going to Native American powwows, for the purpose of feasting, dancing and communal sharing of ideas. I see different religions as different tribes with the same goal; understanding of one another and an integration of religious communities to spread knowledge of a higher being, love of one another, and a healing of our brothers and sisters. My goal is to develop interfaith relationships, get involved it the community, learn what it is doing, and make decisions about how we can interject and add value. It will be an interesting journey!
Tom Allen, General Councilor
Raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, I was introduced to The Urantia Book in 1973 while a college student. I became a member of the First Urantia Society of Oklahoma (now Urantia Book Society of Oklahoma) in 1974, and was involved in many, many early Urantia related activities in the 70’s and 80’s, including serving on the General Council in 1985. Following Berkeley Elliott’s graduation, I inherited her Sunday night study. For the last two and one half years, I send out daily “Compares” to over 125 interested subscribers. I take a famous quote and compare it to a similar quote in The Urantia anyone interested in subscribing, write me at tommykaren@cox.net.
Gene Narducy, General Councilor
I did not read The Urantia Book in earnest until the early 90’s or with any regularity until contacting readers at the Fellowship’s Booth during a Whole Life Expo in Pasadena in 1998. I presently attend the regular Tuesday night reading group at Robert and Cindy Burn’s house; I have served as the Secretary for UBLA for years and plan to run for a third term. And, as you know, I have been elected to the General Council of the Fellowship for a two year term.
The 5th Revelation has been the single most important reality of my life. I am thrilled, invigorated and humbled by my association with its readers. I pray to do all I can to both help socialize and attract readers to this most precious gift by working with existing readers regardless of their society and by participating and or artending as many Urantia Book based events as I am able.
¶ Gary Deinstadt, Chair, Education Committee
During my sojourn here, I’ve been in partnership with the lovely Andrea Deinstadt; and we share in the joyful yet paramount task of rearing two cosmic citizens, Erik, 16, and Brian, 8. I’ve been reading The Urantia Book for 22 years, and I am very grateful that it came along before fatherhood. I make living as a musician/composer. I’m a jazz enthusiast, but I have performed and traveled with various artists of different genres, and played on Broadway. I’ve also been nominated for an Emmy 8 times for my work in daytime television as a music director and composer.
As a member of the New York Society, I have served as president and program chair. I’ve been a General Councilor for six years and just got elected as Chair of the Education Committee. I served on the program committee as entertainment chair at IC96 in Flagstaff, and I’m repeating that performance for IC05 in Philadelphia.
In accordance with the suggestions made by the General Council at their mid-year meeting in February, the Education Committee has two major objectives:
- Creating a website that will be set up for an eventual Internet/ correspondence school,
- Creating a curriculum to train presenters/teachers that will be worked into the creation, growth, and maintenance of a university or school.
We need to truly know what we’re presenting and to whom we’re presenting it (know our audience.) To make this effective, we will work with experienced individuals in creating a curriculum that would not only encompass The Urantia Book but also the study of subjects that help us better understand and become more aware of, and sensitive to, our fellows’ religious backgrounds and experiences. The training of speakers and presenters can be assisted by outside organizations such as Toastmasters, etc., as indicated in the following article. These are exciting times. We have a responsibility to the revelation to use the best skills available; and when that is coupled with the Father’s love, well, magic happens.
¶ Speakers Bureau
The members of the Fellowship’s Outreach Committee invite you to participate in the formation of The Urantia Speakers Bureau. Our goal is to create a bureau of skilled speakers for The Urantia Book in anticipation of a growing number of requests for people to present the concepts and teachings of the book. Further, we are dedicated to creating and finding speaking opportunities once the bureau is in place and also in working with members of the Bureau and the Education Committee to insure meaningful, timely and relevant public presentations on The Urantia Book.
In order to acquire the skills in public speaking necessary for this endeavor, we have decided to utilize Toastmasters International. Toastmasters offers a warm and friendly environment in which to gain confidence in public speaking. Having been in existence for 80 years, they provide a tried, true, and effective method of training speakers. What’s more, Toastmastershas thousands of clubs worldwide. There are often many locations and times to choose from in a given area.
For further information on becotning a member of the Speakers Bureau, please contact Committee members:
Maria Downing at 303-444-3789 or maridown@aol.com or M
Mary Jo Garascia at 303-698-2752 or pilgrim_mj@yahoo.com
¶ Art, Art, and more Art!
Beautiful and exciting oil paintings, watercolors, graphic designs, ceramics, sculpture in different media, mobiles and much more will be on display at The Urantia Book Fellowship International Conference Art Gallery to be held at Villanova near Philadelphia from July 30 through August 4, 2005.
Themes related to The Urantia Book are especially encouraged, but all subject matter is wellcomed. A special artist exhibit form must be filled out all artists who wish to display their works. Space is limited and potential exhibitors are asked to apply as soon as possible to Nick Curto, at nicknyny@nyc.rr.com or call (917) 701-9033 from 7 to 9 P.M. EST.
¶ IC05 Auction-Rama
Put those Urantian Relics to good use. Auction proceeds will be used for conference expenses. Contact Lenny Cowles: 303.258.0504 or e-mail lighting@indra.com:
Auction Relics Needed:
- Books: 1st and 2nd edition Urantia Books
- Books by Dr. Sadler
- Books by readers that reference Urantia
- Urantia Art
- Ceramics, stained glass Jewelry, clothing
- Vacatton Adventures: Real Airline Tickets, Guest privileges in home of an actual living Urantian.
¶ The 2004 Parliament of World Religions
By Paula Thompson
The first Parliament of Religions was held in 1893 at the historic Palmer House Hotel in downtown Chicago. So far as we know, it was the very first time in history that the great religious traditions of the world came together to share their faith and explore methods of cooperation. Many of the great religions of the 20th Century made their debut at this Parliament.
In 1993, a result of some progressive thinkers who got together and decided 100 years was long enough to wait, the Parliament happened again at the same hotel in Chicago. It was The Fellowship’s great honor to debut The Urantia Book at this second Parliament and share it with religious leaders from around the World. The third Parliament was held in Cape Town, South Africa in 1999 and the fourth was held this last July in Barcelona, Spain. In the last three Parliaments The Urantia Book Fellowship has placed the revelacion with more than 500 hundred religionists and religious organizations from around the world.
The 2004 Parliament had over 50 Urantia Book readers in attendance, including five international guests who were sponsored by The Fellowship and Fellowship societies. Everyone had ample oprortunity to attend the incredible workshops and presentations there and work at the Urantia exhibit booth. However, most attendees would agree that the best part of the Parliamcnt is the intimate and deep spiritual dialogue that occurs with almost everyone you meet there. It’s a living example of the divine reality that Jesus held up when he asserted that we could have spirit unity without having intellectual uniformity. The Parliament is truly a delicious preview of light and life and it inspires a great deal of hope.
It’s hard to describe how powerful and positive the Parliament experience is. Some experiences are like words with meanings but for one who believes in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, The Parliament of The World’s Religions is truly a meaning without a word. Namaste!
Members and guests of The First Society (Chicago) and the Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Associatíon (GLMUA) gather for a group picture at their Jesus birthday celebration at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. The jointly sponsored event has become an annual tradicion for readers in the area.
Attendees at the eighth annual Lone Star Roundup Conference at the Briarwood Retreat Center in north Texas visit during a program break. The program included a superb in-depth exploration of “The Religion of the Spirit,” including lovely readings from the exceptional poetry of award-winning poetess K. Brendi Poppel of Santa Barbara, CA.
A time for quiet conversacion following a service in the rose garden at Unity Village, MO, was enjoyed by participants at the Heart of America Society’s conference in September. Conference presenters explored the nature of the Creative Mother Spirit, and the weekend also included a meeting of the Fellowship’s General Council,
¶ Happy 50th Video
As you know next year is the 50th birthday of The Urantia Book. A large part of IC05 will be in celebration of this incredible event. I’m putting together a video for the conference of study groups, societies, IUA groups, trustees etc. saying “Harry Birthday” to The Urantia Book. Get to me a videotape or DVD of your group. In order to allow as many groups as possible to participate, it shouldn’t be any longer than 30 to 40 seconds. We need you to make this memorable event in history a successful one. Let’s give readers of the futute something that can play at their centennial conference. It’s going to take time to edit, add music etc. So, get creative and get it to me no later than March 1st. Gary Deinstadt. c/o The Urantia Book Fellowship, P.O. Box 4583, Grand Central station, New York, NY 10163 or e-mail me at dynstat@optonline.net
¶ We need you…
The Urantia Book Fellowship, as a non-profit organization, needs your financial support. The Fellowship is dedicated to cultivating the spirit of religion through worldwide dissemination of the teachings of The Urantia Book. Here are a few things to remember when considering your donation to The Fellowship.
The Urantia Book Fellowship is the original social fraternal organization of believers in The Urantia Book. Since our inception we have dedicated out efforts to serving the revelation and all who serve it. Our primary focus has been the dissemination of the teachings worldwide and the cultivation of a diverse and spiritually fragrant community of believers as a result of that dissemination.
For over 50 years we have consistently created opportunities for reader/believers to connect around service, study, and socialization. We have in every way fostered the scholarly study of the book as well as encouraged the artistic expression of its sublime inspiration. By bringing readers together we supply the social fulcrum of our faith movement leveraging the talents and resourccs of many scattered reader/believers around the world.
Our accomplishments include:
- We published the first version of The Urantia Book to include a comprehensive index, as well as a universal referencing system that includes paper, section, and paragraph. We also publish study aids such as The Paramony, The Wrightwood Series, The Glossary of Terms, and others, which facilitate a deeper study and better understanding of the book.
- We have held a triennial International Conference of readers occurring regularly since 1967 that has hosted an average of 1.000 readers per conference since 1990.
- We have provided many thousands of dollars in grants for grassroots efforts at outreach and dissemination.
- We have a committed interfaith program that has presented the Book to countless ministers, placed it in hundreds of religious libraries and presented it at each of the last three Parliaments of the World’s Religions.
- We have a committed Outreach program that has placed thousands of books domestically, doing numerous public lectures, and hundreds of public expositions in the last decade alone.
- We have a dedicated international readership program that nurtures and sponsors burgeoning Urantia communities around the world, providing books, connecting readers, and fostering study and socialization.
- Our website, www.urantiabook.org, is a virtual resource library of the scholarly and inspired works of Urantia Book readers for the last 50 years, as well as an excellent source of outreach ministry and movement history.
- For 50 years we have provided outstanding printed publications, provided freely to all who desire them, showcasing the best thoughts and inspirations of a revelation that is epochally significant.
- We have cultivated an open culture that is inclusive of all Urantia Book readers, one that values wisdom and is willing to self-evaluate and evolve.
The list goes on. Most importantly, these services to our planet are made available through your support. There are billions of people on this planet and only thousands of dedicated readers. The Urantia Book Fellowship use your donation wisely and for the purpose of spreading this epochal revelation to the world.
¶ You Are Invited!
Enter your design ideas for the “Create a Vision for the Next 50 Years” competition.
Winning entries will be displayed at the IC05 conference in Villanova July 30 - Aug 4.
Entrants may use words and artistic works to enhance their vision of how our planet will look as we take the revelation to all the peoples of Uranria. What steps will we be back on that made a big difference? Where were our turning points? What new and unusual methods did we implement to bring about these transforming changes?
The judges will be looking for:
- Originality — a creative peering into the unseen future;
- Visionary-ness — the ability to inspire us now,
- Do-ability — it contains ideas and insights that we can use.
While this is being done for fun and insight, we are considering offering prizes to compliment the already exalted state of Winner! Perhaps someone will step forward with a worthy prize like hard cash. Until then, out first prize will be a completely underlined Urantia Book with the added bonus feature of colorful highlighting throughout in your choice of colors. Trully a must have.
Deadline is June 15th 2005. Late entries will be accepted, but grumbled about.
Send entries to: Thomas Orjala, 782 South Ruby Rd, Coeur d 'Alerte, Idaho 83814 or e-mail tomo@imbris.net.
¶ Upcoming Events
- March 18-20, 2005 - Golden Gate Circle will have their Spring Retreat in Soquel, CA at the home of Claudia Ayers and Lee Smith. The theme is Faith, A Living Attribute. For information contact Dolores Nice at dlnice@worldnet.att.net.
- April 1-3, 2025 - The Retreat Network invites you to their annual retreat for Urantia Book students to be held at the Casa Maria Retreat House, Santa Barbara, CA. The theme is The Life To Which We Have Been Called. For more information please contact Dolores Nice at dlnice@worldnet.att.net.
- July 29-30, 2005 Experiencing Spirit in Everyday Life is the theme for the IC05 Preconference Retreat to at Villanova University near Philadelphia, PA. Please contact Dolores Nice at dlnice@worldnet.att.net for information.
¶ You Should Know…
- The General Council of The Urantia Book Fellowsllip will hold annual mid-year meeting in Atlanta, GA, on Saturday and Sunday, January 29th and 30th. 2005, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport. The Council meeting will be open to all readers who wish to observe the proceedings, and the Councilors look forward to meeting members of local study groups.
- The audio archive on the Fellowship website has been expanded to include the musical compositions of the late Sandy Garrick. An internationally known composer and producer, Sandy was fond of setting his favorite passages from The Urantia Book to music. Recordings of his performances of this music are available in MP3 format at http:/urantiabook.org/audio/Garrick/index.html.
- Sometime in early November, readers in Lithuania should have receive their books the Lithuanian translation is going into distribution. The Fellowship is currently making plans to participate in a Lithuanian book fair in February of 2005.
¶ External Links
- Newsletter in Urantia Book Historical Society: https://ubhs.hosted-by-files.com/http/FrameDocTypesBZ.html