© 1997 Avi Dogim, Meredith J. Sprunger, Peter Laurence
© 1997 The Urantia Book Fellowship
¶ Summer Study Session ‘06
“Celestial Ministry - Seen and Unseen” is the theme of this summer’s study session to be held July 7-9 at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. Accommodations are air-conditioned, and the beautiful campus is easily reached from O’hare airport.
Workshop positions are still open to those interested in presenting programs based on the theme. The fascinating possibilities for programs range from examining individual types of unseen helpers to understanding the results of their ministry to us and to the planet as a whole. (See page 2 for further information.)
Registration for conference attendees will begin at 3:00 pm on Thursday, July 6, and the opening session of the program will start at 9:00 am on Friday, July 7. The summer study session will conclude at noon on Sunday, July 9.
The Triennial Delegate Assembly will begin their deliberations on Wednesday, July 5 at 7:00 pm and will elect candidates to fill twelve 9-year terms on the General Council, as well as three others to fill shorter term vacancies. There will also be other issues for the TDA to debate and then send their recommendations to the General Council to act upon.
Beginning on Sunday afternoon, the General Council will meet to elect officers, and fill vacancies on standing committees. Following the elections, visitors are invited to observe the meeting, which will resume again on Monday at 9 am.
Included in the agenda for the weekend will be a guided tour of 533 Diversey.
If you have further questions, call the Fellowship office toll-free at 877-288-3772 or e-mail us at fellowship@urantiabook.org.
¶ Presenters Sought for SSS ‘06
The Summer Study Session of The Urantia Book Fellowship will be held on the campus of the Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, from Wednesday, July 5th, through Monday, July 10th. Workshops and associated plenary/worship services will be held between Friday morning, the 7th, through approximately noon on Sunday, the 9th.
This is an invitation for individuals or partnerships to consider preparing and conducting a workshop during that time. The theme is: “Celestial Ministry—Seen And Unseen.”
The workshop committee hopes the Summer Study Session of ‘06 will prove to illuminate the good work carried out upon our behalf and conducted for the glory of the Universal Father. We all enjoy the benefits of spirit agencies and persons that ensure we are never alone. It is a subject worth exploring further. Please join us!
The workshop committee would like to put more “study” back into these summer sessions, to provide for a strong, basic educational grounding in the subject matter. To do this is our principal aim. All topics must be based primarily on The Urantia Book. For the sake of clarifying the scope and depth of each workshop to those who will attend this summer, any person interested in developing and presenting a workshop must submit a written description to include:
- the title of the workshop
- goal(s) of the workshop
- materials to be used
- overall description of the format/activity or activities of the workshop
- should participants bring copies of The Urantia Book?
- brief autobiographical account
- how many time slots do you think you would need?
I wish to express my gratitude in advance for cooperating with the above list within a reasonable amount of time.
These written descriptions or profiles of your workshops should be sent to:
Charles Olivea
3320 Camino Prado Vista
Santa Fe, NM 87507
(505) 438-7746 (h)
COLIVEA@cs.com
The following list contains some suggested topics:
- Adam & Eve
- Adamic Sons & Daughters
- Seraphic Planetary Government
- Guardian Angels
- Angels in one or more roles other than guardian angels, e.g., angels of health, records, progress, religion
- The Most Highs
- United Midwayers of Urantia or a study of the Secondary ones apart from the Primary ones or vice-versa
- Melchizedek administration and teaching
- Machiventa Melchizedek
- Planetary Prince of Urantia or Secondary Lanonandek administration more broadly
- System Sovereigns or Primary Lanonandek Sons’ administration
- Life Carriers
- Archangels
- Thought Adjusters
- Spirit of Truth
- Local Universe Mother Spirit
Please consider doing a workshop! To date (3/1/06), four persons have expressed an interest in the following: Machiventa Melchizedek, Guardian Angels, Master Seraphim, and the topic of Destiny as it relates to the Session’s theme. Much is still wide open. While the workshop committee is still in the process of fine-tuning the schedule for the two and one-half days of the study portion of the summer program, we hope to include a wrap up at the end of each day to give greater clarity and coherency to work of the day. It is our wish that a participant from each workshop would give a short summary of an important lesson learned or something significant that was experienced during the course of their workshop. Furthermore, we hope to have each presenter tie their particular topic to the Paradise Trinity of the Father, Son and Infinite Spirit to suggest a pattern in the universe of celestial service.
¶ John Hales Retires
On April 30, 2006, John Hales will retire as an employee of The Urantia Book Fellowship. John has served devotedly in various capacities since the early 1970s. Through these years, in times of peace and in times of struggle, John has been the voice of The Fellowship. He is well known to all who have had any interest in or contact with organizational matters. No other individual possesses his range of personal acquaintance and awareness of organizational history. While John will certainly continue to serve The Urantia Book and The Fellowship in a volunteer capacity, his daily presence in the office will be greatly missed. The Fellowship expresses its deep gratitude to John for his lifetime of dedication to the Fifth Epochal Revelation. We wish him peace and blessings as he moves forward into life’s next adventure.
A special reception will be held in John’s honor on Saturday evening, July 8, as a part of the Summer Study Session program. All conference attendees are invited to attend, as well as any others who would like to come.
Paula Thompson, well known to many readers of The Urantia Book, has accepted employment with The Fellowship. She will take over John’s duties. It will not be easy to fill the shoes of John Hales; however Paula, with her long history of dedicated service to the Urantia revelation, is well prepared to do that. We know she will do an outstanding job, and we wish her all the best as she assumes the responsibilities of her new position.
¶ A Personal Tribute…
John Hales is the kind of man with whom you would choose to share a foxhole, which is a high tribute to his strength of character, integrity, and reliability. It is said of him that he is truly a man for all seasons.
For many decades John has served as a bridge between the old Forumites and the young whippersnappers who stood ready to take their place. He has often been the point of connection, allowing fresh creative forces to flow into the Movement. Old and young regard him as a trusted friend. Without doubt, he knows more readers of The Urantia Book than any other person.
When John was still in his teen years, his heart inflamed with the discovery of the Revelation, he committed his life to work toward the accomplishment of its great mission, and in this service he has never flinched or faltered, even in the most difficult times.
I have known John for about 36 years. We have traveled together in Europe and Asia (on Berkeley Elliot’s grand adventures), driven together on many car trips to Urantia events, or to meet new readers and study groups. We have canoed together, shared rooms, and many warm evenings of discussion. Through all these years I have watched the spirit grow within him, unfolding the inner beauty of his evolving soul.
In whatever the other capacity he continues to serve the purposes of the Revelation, I believe John would be well suited to the job of Ambassador-at Large for the Fellowship. His comprehensive knowledge, his steadfastness, his understanding of history and traditions, and his extraordinary warmth and compassion will surely help create a culture within our growing community that would make the Master proud.
— Paul Snider
To become acquainted with one’s brothers and sisters, to know their problems and to learn to love them, is the supreme experience of living. [UB 130:2.6]
¶ Study Group News
From Alaska…
Greetings from ‘The Land of the Midnight Sun’ (as we write this in February we have six hours of daylight.) This Anchorage study group has been meeting weekly for 33 years! Several of these original members are pictured here at one of our meetings which usually have at least ten readers every Tuesday evening. We also host a Super Saturday Study Group twice each year, a full day of a Urantia Book topical study with food and some outdoor play. Last year we revised our Library Book Placement Project and mailed fifty Urantia Books throughout the state in honor of the book’s 50-year anniversary in print. And every year in August, we have a party in celebration of our Master’s birthday. We send our love and light as part of this wonderful worldwide community of believers in this awesome revelation and we invite you to come on up for a visit! Contact phone number: (907) 868-9075.
Standing left to right: Esther Bumbardner, Tony Finstad, Ed Harrigan, Randy Tomson, Richard Darden, Patric D’Eimon, Ron Rivas. Sitting left to right: Leanne Flickinger, Barb Maier, Marilyn Connor, Jeanne Phillips, Patti Hayes, Lisa Nelson, and Lydia Chamberlin.
To Texas…
Texas readers gathered in Dallas January 28 to meet and greet members of the General Council following their mid-year meeting.
And In Between…
Florida readers Bill and Share Beasley made a cross-country trip last summer, visiting various readers and study groups. (See their article in the upcoming Fellowship Herald.)
They have graciously supplied us with the following pictures of some of the groups visited, including Pueblo, CO; Boulder, CO; Coeur d’Alene, ID Cosmic Café; and Kansas City.
¶ Is Your Study Group Listed?
Is the listing accurate? A Urantia Book study group list can be found on
the Fellowship’s website at http://urantiabook.org/study_groups/domestic_study_groups.htm.
This list is constantly being updated by the volunteer efforts of Bobbie Dreier, of the New York Society. She needs to be sure the information on your group is current. If you have a group to add, or a correction to make on the current list, please contact Bobbie at bdreier@earthlink.net.
¶ Pipeline of Light by the Numbers
By Michelle Klimesh
Donations received: $8932 toward 2006 goal of $10,000 Donors: 30 since August (when 2006 campaign started) Books Sent: 546 since inception of Pipeline in 2002 Countries: 39 since inception.
According to Forbes.com, three of the most corrupt nations on earth this year are places to which we have shipped copies of The Urantia Book.
We have attempted to send four books to Myanmar, but they haven’t arrived yet, four months after shipping. This is one of the most savage military dictatorships still in power and one of the most closed societies. Its leadership exists largely to enrich itself by whatever means possible. The simple act of having a telephone installed requires a bribe, and the system appears to be institutionalized, with little interest by the military leadership to change matters, since it also helps perpetuate its hold on power. Smuggling of everything from drugs to jade is rife across the porous borders with China and Thailand. (GDP= $1,800 wiki, $700 econ) *
A total of five books have been shipped to readers in Nigeria. Under its current president, Nigeria is making a determined effort to clean up its act. President Olusegun Obasanjo has surrounded himself with a dozen senior government officials who are firmly opposed to the corruption that remains rampant. The president has begun issuing a monthly list of the amounts doled out to each of 33 states and more than 600 municipalities, so the funds can be monitored at the grassroots level. So far, it hasn’t had much impact. (GDP= $1,120 wiki, $470 econ)
Twelve books have been sent to our contact in Pakistan. With terrorism going hand in hand with corruption, this frontline nation in the war on terror has become quite committed to attacking corruption, especially since President Pervez Musharraf came to power. Terrorism is still closely linked to corruption since, as one international observer points out, “corruption makes the lives of people like that very much easier.” Though Pakistan has suffered from both blights for a very long time, recently some senior government officials and business executives have been convicted as awareness of the problem rises. (GDP = $2567 wiki, $540 econ)
Incidentally, the Pipeline has also sent six English books and ten French books to a seminary in the Republic of Guinea ($2,100/yr wiki, $2,080 econ). This African nation should not be confused with the tiny country of Equatorial Guinea, which is another African nation on the list of highly corrupt countries, nor with the African country of Guinea-Bissau.
Interested in helping? Donations to the Pipeline of Light can be made online at: http://urantiabook.org/support.htm
Or by mail to: The Fellowship PO Box 4583 Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163
* For reference, the figures in parenthesis at the end of each paragraph represent the current annual total domestic product per person (GDP) according to Wikipedia (wiki) or The Economist magazine’s latest survey of worldwide economic conditions (econ). As a comparison, the current annual GDP for the US= $37,240 (econ).
¶ To Make A Donation Online…
simply go to: www.urantiabook.org (http://www.urantiabook.org/) and click on: (http://urantiabook.org/support.htm). This will take you to the donation page. You can make a one time donation, or we ask you to consider an automatic monthly donation.You can make your donations to either the general fund for all our Outreach efforts or the Pipeline of Light (delivering books to third world countries) Either way, know your contribution is deeply appreciated. And it is easy and convenient. Remember, your donations are vital to our efforts, to our ability to disseminate the teachings of The Urantia Book to people around the world.
¶ South of the Border…
As many readers know, the spread of the revelation in Latin America has been phenomenal. While there are many people involved in this growth, one of the most active leaders and teachers is Agustin Arellano, who discovered the book in his home town of Mazatlán, Mexico, over twenty years ago.
Agustin serves in many ways; current priorities include translation, publications and distribution of secondary works, placement of “Libros de Urantia” (Urantia Books) throughout Mexico and Latin America, reactivation of old study groups, starting new groups, and the creation of a network of “sister” study groups throughout the Americas.
The sister study group project pairs each new study group with another group that has more experience and a desire to serve readers who are just beginning their exploration of the book. (A number of societies or study groups in the USA have also paired up with sister or companion groups in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. If you are interested in learning more about this, please contact me at susanr@indra.com. You do not necessarily need a second language to become a companion to a new group.)
During late 2005 and early 2006, Agustin traveled extensively throughout Mexico, as well as Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, and Belize. In the next several months he will travel to Spain, France, Italy, and the Czech Republic, to continue his work. The third annual “Conference of the Three Americas” will take place this May in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Conferences in Chile and Argentina are planned for the fall.
Agustin is a Member At Large and a General Councilor of the Fellowship. He is the founder of Grupo Orvonton, a national organization that serves readers of the Libro de Urantia in Mexico. As important as these affiliations may be to him, he is clear that Grupo Orvonton, and any group that he works with Latin America, is allowed to develop independently and as appropriate to the culture of the country.
¶ If Not You, Then Who?
We are at a remarkable crossroads in our movement. As a result of the freer atmosphere and the end of interorganizational hostilities we are seeing a growing attitude of cooperation and collaboration. Happily we can announce the tremendous success of Pipeline of Light and the International Development projects which have added 100’s of new books into the hands of international readership. We continue to offer The Mighty Messenger and the Herald without charge to our mailing list of over 10,000.
We are still in need of more members taking up the call to help with funding. Rather than pursuing only larger investors (who are now often involved in pursuing their own pet-projects and non-profit foundations) we are now on a campaign to get a much larger group to donate smaller amounts on a monthly basis, and to become more involved, both in their communities and on the national and international scale. Please go to http://urantiabook.org/support.htm link and donate generously.
Our objective is to get another 100 people to donate $20-50 per month (or more) within the next year. Our campaign which started in January 2005 brought in 90 donors who are donating monthly with the auto-debit program. It is bringing in over $6,000 a month. Can we double this in 2006? Thanks to all who participated.
Please join the 100+ readers who are now making monthly donations on our auto-debit program. It can be a relatively painless process and allows us to be freed up to spend more time in outreach, and education, rather than in fundraising activities. If you are unwilling or unable to make a monthly pledge, then please donate whatever you can, in the envelope provided or on-line as a one time donation. You can still receive a leather-bound Urantia Book as a gift for your generous contributions for all auto-debit donors of $20 a month or more.
¶ Societies Elect Delegates
Most Societies of The Urantia Book Fellowship have held or are about to hold their annual meeting. Every three years they all share at least one agenda item – the election of a Delegate and Alternate Delegate to attend the Triennial Delegate Assembly (TDA). The TDA is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, July 5th and continue through the next day at Dominican University, in River Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The Fellowship office should be notified within 15 days after an election and at least 60 days before the TDA, making May 5th the deadline.
The selection of a Delegate and an Alternate is a very important duty and privilege for a Society. Society representatives will elect 12 of the 36 members of the General Council (The Fellowship’s policy-making board) whose terms expire this year, plus fill at least 3 vacancies created by resignations. Secondly, the TDA can influence the General Council’s agenda by passing resolutions for the Council to consider.
Society representatives should be chosen for qualities that match the tasks of the TDA. The Assembly can select the best members for the Council when the delegates, themselves, have attended Council meetings, know how it functions, and appreciate the kind of volunteers the Council needs to function effectively. Knowledge of The Fellowship Constitution and how the organization functions is also important. Of course, there is no substitute for knowing candidates personally and being aware of their contributions to the revelation. Finally, Society representatives who are level-headed and team players contribute greatly to the Assembly’s deliberative process. Each Delegate must have read The Urantia Book in its entirety.
Intelligent and trained representation. The survival of democracy is dependent on successful representative government; and that is conditioned upon the practice of electing to public offices only those individuals who are technically trained, intellectually competent, socially loyal, and morally fit. [UB 71:2.14]
¶ This ‘n That
- The Fellowship International Conference IC ’08 will be held at San Diego State University July 16-20, 2008. If you would like to volunteer to be a part of the conference team, please e-mail conference coordinator Susan Cook at solonia@juno.com.
- New on Website - A wide range of new materials - study aids, historic materials, photographs, and audio programs - will be appearing on the Fellowship over the summer months. This is a result of a large-scale digitizing project currently being managed by Larry Watkins. To find out what is being published, check the What’s New? page on the website at http://urantiabook.org/whatswnew.htm. This page will list new materials as they are published.
- A partially complete Farsi translation of The Urantia Book is now available on the Internet at http://www.starcomone.com/farsi/ thanks to Hamid Mazdeh, Behzad Sarmast, and others working on this important project. As you will see if you scroll down the menu on the left-hand side of the home page, most of the completed papers are in Parts II and III.
¶ Free MP3 Audio Version of The Urantia Book Available
As announced at the IC05 conference, a free MP3 audio version of The Urantia Book is available for download. You can enjoy reading while on the road, working out, doing household chores, or just relaxing. This is an easy way to finish a 2,000+ page book in your spare time. Listening to the audio book version provides a new way to experience The Urantia Book, and is especially helpful for auditory learners. This audio book was created by incredibly natural sounding computer generated text to speech technology. Listen to this brief sample: http://www.archive.org/download/UrantiaBook4/136_Baptism_and_the_Forty_Days/p136s00.mp3
You can download and play the MP3 audio files on your computer, or copy them to a portable MP3 player, such as an iPod. Most portable MP3 players will remember where you stopped listening, and start up from there next time. The free MP3 audio version of The Urantia Book is available for download in four parts from the Internet Archive.
“Belief fixates, faith liberates.” [UB 101:8.2]
¶ Donation Made for Translations
The following letter was recently sent to the Urantia Foundation from the Gala Celebration Committee:
Dear Trustees:
I am happy to announce that after the final accounting for the Gala Celebration of the printing of The Urantia Book a check for $6,155.50 is being sent to Urantia Foundation as a donation to the Translation Fund. Under the inspiration of Joe Liszka, a group of Urantia Book readers met to plan the celebration. It was agreed that although it was not to be a fund raising event per se, any funds over our costs would be donated to the work of translations. Our thanks to all who made this gift possible.
May we all continue to work for the progress of the new revelation on Urantia.
In fellowship,
John Hales, 50th Celebration Committee
¶ Building An Archive Now
An archive is being built from all Urantia Book related materials that can be provided by individuals, organizations, or societies and your participation would be appreciated. The internet version is currently available at http://www.urantiabook.org/Document_Archive/ which is updated on a daily basis as new material is received. Some of the larger files may not be added to this internet version so it may not be possible to view everything shown there but the file entries and descriptions will be kept current.
What’s being collected? Materials of any historical nature relating to the Urantia revelation are being collected – see the internet home page for guidelines.
To add material to the archive:
- First check to see if it’s already there. Checking by author or date written is the easiest way to confirm whether the material has already been added to the archive. The archive is intended to preserve the look of the original – some documents! were not scanned in color and will be replaced as they become available. Although the archive is intended to preserve original documents copies will suffice until originals can be found. If a copy is in the archive and you have an original or if your document is a better facsimile than what’s currently there the archive copy should be replaced by your material.
- Scan it. Documents in PDF format scanned in color at 300dpi can be added to the archive just as they are. Scan all of the pages of a multi-page document and save the complete document as one PDF file. Either email PDF files to watkinsl@comcast.net or put multiple documents on a CD or DVD for snail mailing. You can scan and save into PDF format using Adobe Acrobat or one of the products available on the internet which will control a scanner and save the scan in PDF format – one such product is named ScanToPDF and is available on the internet for about $50.
- Mail it. If you don’t have the ability to scan documents you can mail them to Larry Watkins (watkinsl@comcast.net) who has offered to accept materials requiring scanning. Once the materials have been captured they can be returned to you. You can ship materials to Larry at:
Larry Watkins
14535 W. 32nd Street
Golden, CO 80401
If you send documents to Larry, please contact him by email or phone to let him know they are coming. His phone number is 303-278-9590.
“Knowledge is possessed only by sharing;” [UB 48:7.28]
¶ Upcoming Events…
- July 5-6, 2006 - The Urantia Book Fellowship Triennial Delegate Assembly at Dominican University, River Forest, IL. (See p. 8 this issue)
- July 7-9, 2006 - Summer Study Session ’06 at Dominican University, River Forest, IL. The theme is “Celestial Ministers—Seen and Unseen.” Registration form enclosed.
- July 9-10, 2006 - Fellowship General Council meeting. Visitors invited to observe the meeting following the closed session during which elections are held.
- July 14-18, 2006 - UAI International Conference in Sydney, Australia. Topic: “The Rewards of Isolation.” Further information is available at www.urantia.org.au/anzura/iuaconference 2006.
- August 4-21, 2006 - Various retreats at Silver Springs, Ontario. Further information available at www.ubretreats.ca or call toll free 1-800-546-5601.
- August 25-27, 2006 - Retreat Network Annual Retreat. Topic: “Surrendering to Spirit”, at Kindred Spirits Retreat Center, Eugene, Oregon. For further information, contact Jeannette Schafer at jeannetts@comcast.net.
- August 25-31, 2006 (7 nights) - Moussa Ndiaye will continue his advanced seminar for English speakers at Silver Springs Retreat Center, Ontario. More information available at www.ubretreats.ca.
¶ The Mighty Messenger Staff
Published by Uversa Press for the Publications Committee of The Urantia Book Fellowship.
Members: Linda Buselli, Chair Lynda D’Arcangelo, Laura Hay, Nancy Johnson, Joe Liszka, Sage Waitts
877.288.3772
fellowship@urantiabook.org
www.urantiabook.org