© 1998 Urantia Foundation
A monthly News Bulletin from Urantia Foundation to IUA Officers, Foundation Office Managers, Coordinating Committee members, Foundation Representatives, Translators, and other readers for the purpose of disseminating this information to readers in local areas.
This publication is the first of a monthly bulletin that will be sent to all Governing Board members of IUA, Foundation Office Managers, Coordinating Committee members, Urantia Foundation Representatives, and Translators working with the Foundation. In other words, to all of you who are our key people in the field who have regular contact with the readers.
It is intended to be an informal communication vehicle to give you up-to-date news on Foundation matters. We ask that you disseminate the information with other readers in your local groups through your local newsletters or any other method you choose, as not everyone will be getting this.
URANTIAN News is a semi-annually publication which goes to the entire Foundation mailing list of approximately 13,000 readers, traditionally has been polished, and is professional and conservative. Because of the vast constituency, it tends to be impersonal and news is often announced months after the event. Newsflash is designed to get news out quickly to key people in the readership who work with the Foundation. Not a lot of attention will be made to format we will only be interested in imparting information in a timely fashion to you. You are viewed by the Foundation as an essential part of our team you’re our hands and feet you are the ones who are in touch with grass-roots levels of the movement and we want you to know what is going on so you can assist us in keeping the readership informed and up-to-date with news and events.
We realize that a lack of communication from the Foundation has oftentimes contributed to allowing the spread of misinformation and negativity to work against us. It is important that readers are well apprised of what we do so that they can be in a better position to discern the truth about the Foundation’s approach to its work and its trust.
We encourage you to contact us if you require clarification on any issue or concern, or if we have not informed you clearly in any way. We will need feedback to know if we are serving your needs adequately.
Here are the first of a set of monthly announcements:
For some time now, National Associations, Staff, and the Coordinating Committee have been asking the Trustees to provide a position or positions for IUA administration and coordination. This is so that there can be full time staff devoted to addressing the administrative needs of the IUA and assisting in the development and coordination of association activities. We are pleased to announce the appointment of Cathy Jones of Phoenix, Arizona to the position of IUA Administrator, and Trevor Swadling, a full time volunteer at 533 in Chicago (on loan from Sydney, Australia), as the IUA Coordinator. Their job descriptions are as follows:
IUA Administrator:
IUA Coordinator:
The Foundation has opened offices in some countries to deal with book distribution and reader services in the surrounding regions. However, as the Foundation is starting to deal with more and more countries as new translations are being published, it is not economically viable to open an office in each country. Nor do the laws in some countries allow for non-profit organizations to function as freely as in some others.
To circumvent this problem, the Foundation has decided to enter into formal agreements with individual readers who are willing to work with the Foundation. These readers become official Foundation representatives. The following is their job description:
A Foundation Representative shall:
So far the following Foundation Representatives have been established:
Monsieur Francois Dupont, Brussels, Belgium; Senhor Luiz Carlos Dolabella Chagas, São Paulo, Brazil; Señor Mario Casassus Bulnes, Santiago de Chile, Chile; Señor Ramón Jacobo Ortiz, Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia; Mr. Peep Sõber, Tallinn, Estonia; Señor Gabriel Juárez Salazar, Zacatecas, Mexico; Señor Alfonso Luque Vásquez, Arequipa, Peru; Mrs. Victoria Strauss, Bern, Switzerland; Señor Carlos Ortega, Caracas, Venezuela.
Three more readers (in Norway, Lithuania, and Holland) have been invited to assume the role of representative but their response is still pending.
Due to the increased work involved with the coordination and administration of the translation project and the International Representative program, a new position titled “Manager of Translations and International Representatives” has been created to manage these two very important areas of work. Urantia Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Seppo Kanerva from Helsinki, Finland to this position.
Seppo is a multi-linguist and we are most fortunate to have access to his talents and services. He will be managing and coordinating all of the translation efforts, as well as the International Representatives.
The following is a brief description of his duties:
As Translations Manager his duties will include: providing advice on translation issues, assisting in decision-making with regard to translations, acting as the interface between the Trustees and the translators, assessing the practicability of any new book translation efforts, and monitoring and assisting ongoing translation efforts.
As Foundation Representative Manager his duties will include: providing the representatives with assistance, instruction, and information on their duties, acting as an interface between the representatives and the Foundation executive management, and receiving regular reports from the representatives and submitting a synthesis of them to the Executive Director.
The Coordinating Committee met at the Foundation in Chicago on February 28, 1998. The purpose of the meeting was to create the new Coordinating Committee and to define its role in support of Urantia Foundation, the Trustees, the Staff, and the readership. Travis Binion has been appointed Chair and Cathy Jones Vice Chair.
The Role of the Coordinating Committee:
The role of the Coordinating Committee has altered in that it is now a voluntary arm of the Trustees and office staff devoted to assisting the Foundation and IUA in getting work done. Each CC member will head a functional sub-committee—the duties of which have been stated in specific job descriptions. Each CC member will liaise with office staff and will choose their own committee members with the approval of the CC Chair. The CC’s job is multi-functional:
A brief description of the CC subcommittees, and the CC members heading the committees are as follows:
Human Resources, Lee Armstrong: will assist Urantia Foundation in its role as an employer in personnel matters.
Association Development, Cathy Jones: will assist the establishment of local and national associations.
Charter, Jo Anne Nelson: will oversee revisions to the WA charter and bylaws.
International Relations, Trevor Swadling: will work with and assist the National Associations.
Study Group, Suzanne Kelly-Ward: will assist readers to form study groups.
Education, Pat Goodson: will work to encourage the development of study aids and other educational material.
History, Sioux Harvey: will develop material to document a history of the Foundation.
Financial, Bill Page: will help oversee the financial affairs and audits of the Foundation.
Publications, Carolyn Prentice: will help to define the editorial policy for, and monitor the quality of secondary works that will be identified with the Foundation’s trademarks.
Legal, Nancy Shaffer: will assist as a consultant in legal training.
Public Relations, Bryan Snowden: will help anticipate and advise on issues that may impact the Foundation’s public relations, and develop press releases and answers to frequently asked questions.
Internet, Les Tibbals: will help to develop websites and will also monitor the use of trademarks and text on the Web.
Translations, Hannu Stenroos: will translate all secondary publications into other languages.
Internet School, Michael Zehr: will develop a website as a kind of electronic correspondence school for study of The Urantia Book in conjunction with the Education committee.
For all of you who are wondering about travel plans to Finland for the Helsinki conference, we have made arrangements with Wildwest Travel for a group package for travel from the USA. This package has been designed to suit those who wish to take a side tour after the conference. We have only reserved 50 seats so we advise that you book now to guarantee this group rate. You will need to contact Jill at Wildwest Travel to make the reservations. Her Phone number is 1-800-526-9429, and fax is (307) 789-5402.
The price is $918.77 (ifyou pay by credit card an additional 3% will be charged). We save about $400 on the round trip fare if we go this way.
Note: Tbis group package price is only for the flights from the USA to Helsinki and back. It does not include accommodation or side tours.
Details and deadlines are below. Check with the travel agent for details on visa requirements. We do know that no visas are required for Finland or England for U.S., Canadian, Australian, and Mexican citizens.
As you will be able to see from the itinerary, we have allowed a “window” of 4 days after the Helsinki conference before departure back to the United States, with a 2 night stop-over in London. This free time can be used for side trips which you will need to arrange independently with the travel agent. Also you will need to make independent arrangements for accommodation for 2 nights in London on the way home.
There is a train that travels between Helsinki and St. Petersburg for those who wish to take a trip into Russia. You can book a trip through Jill at Wildwest. If you are interested in staying in St. Petersburg overnight, a hotel must be booked also. There are other details about an overnight stay in Russia that you will need to know about — Jill can give you that information.
Note: Estonian Conference: There is a URANTIA Book readers conference in Estonia, August 11th through the 14th, right after the Helsinki conference, which some of you may wish to attend. The cost for the conference ranges from US$30 to US$60 depending on the accommodation chosen. This cost includes lodging and meals. For further information contact the Foundation. If you wish to attend this conference you will need to apply to the conference organizers in Estonia and make your fravel arrangements from Helsinki and back through the travel agent.
Following is the itinerary for the group package:
| Aug 5 | Depart Newark, (NJ) | 6:35pm |
| Aug 6 | Arrive London | 6:35am |
| Aug 6 | Depart London | 11:40am |
| Aug 6 | Arrive Helsinki | 4:40pm |
| * Aug 14 | Depart Helsinki | 5:40pm |
| * Aug 14 | Arrive London alternative: |
6:50pm |
| ** Aug 14 | Depart Helsinki | (Still to be confirmed) |
| ** Aug 14 | Arrive London | " |
| Aug 16 | Depart London | 3:05pm |
| Aug 16 | Arrive Newark, NJ | 5:55pm |
* This flightcan take 12 people
** This flight can take 38 people
Deadlines:
If you have any further questions, call Kathleen or Connie at the Foundation, or Jill at Wildwest travel.
Last month the Trustees and Tonia Baney visited the West Coast in an effort to give readers there an opportunity to meet with them, ask questions, and voice concerns. Readers from both the IUA and Fellowship groups were encouraged to attend. Open meetings, sponsored by the local IUA groups, were held in Vancouver, San Diego, San Francisco, and Portland. Smaller meetings were held in Seattle and Los Angeles. Overall the meetings were a great success. They met with over 240 people, shared a lot information, and made many new friendships. The recent moves towards unity seems to be filling many readers from all groups with a sense of hope. Barriers are coming down and people are feeling good about talking with one another. More trips to visit with readers in other states are planned for later in the year.
“You do not have to see alike or feel alike or even think alike in order spiritually to be alike.” [The URANTIA Book UB 141:5.1]v
During the first quarterly meeting of 1998, the Trustees of URANTIA Foundation developed a policy of support for the unity of all readers and reader groups involved in the dissemination of the teachings of The URANTIA Book to the peoples of the world.
Formerly, URANTIA Foundation has not had a publicly stated policy on this subject. The Trustees feel that it is imperative to the growth ofthis revelation that all readers work toward the same goal, unified in purpose, and diversified in means; that URANTIA Foundation support those who want to disseminate the teachings, as long as the principles follow those within The URANTIA Book, and are not distorted, nor represent a negative View of the URANTIA Papers.
URANTIA Foundation calls on all readers and groups to work together in cooperation to solve the many challenges ahead. The Trustees know that we as a group will not succeed in our mission if we are divided. We call on all who are involved to look inward and find the courage and energy to accomplish this great challenge of unity within a spirit of fratemal affection and intelligent cooperation.
The higher a creature’s education, the more respect he has for the knowledge, experience, and opinions of others. UB 25:3.12
The appointment of two former members of the Fellowship’s Executive Committee has occasioned a number of questions from members of the International Urantia Association. We thought that you might be interested in the most frequently asked questions and our answers.
Question: Is Urantia Foundation going to license any other organization to publish The Urantia Book?
Answer: No. Publishing the book is a business function and therefore a Foundation matter.
There are two broad functions associated with The Urantia Book: business, and social-fraternal. Both of these were assigned to the Foundation by the Declaration of Trust creating Urantia Foundation. The Trustees chose to delegate the social-fraternal function to the former Brotherhood and more recently to the International Urantia Association. The Urantia Foundation handles the “business” matters such as publication, translation, distribution, and protection of The Urantia Book.
Question: Is the Urantia Foundation going to print a book with two columns and with angels or Jesus or both on the cover?
Answer: No. Urantia Foundation has no plans to print The Urantia Book with two columns or to change its cover design. It will continue to print The Urantia Book, formatted and paginated as it was in 1955 and having the same physical appearances as it did in 1955. In addition, all translations in content, format, pagination, and physical appearance will continue, as much as possible, to be “true to the original” English text. Our goal is to have Urantia Books appear on bookshelves that have the same basic classical image that we have enjoyed in the past. However, any suggestions to improve the quality of the Foundation’s products are always welcome.
Question: Has the Foundation increased its emphasis on fund-raising?
Answer: There has always been, and we believe there will always be, sufficient funds to enable Urantia Foundation to execute its Trust. At the same time, we know that running a rapidly growing multinational organization requires professional management, wise stewardship, and adequate funding.
Sales and expenses are about triple what they were five years ago. Today, 5 translations have been published and about a dozen are in progress. Five years ago, only 2 translations were being published, and only 2 were in progress. Five years ago, the Foundation had no Executive Director and employed only 4 staff members. Today, the Foundation employs 7 persons full-time and has 2 full-time volunteers. Five years ago, there were no computer, CD-ROM, and audio versions. Five years ago, there were only 3 associations of IUA. Today, there are 26 associations with over 700 members.
As the Foundation seeks to undertake more projects to increase the availability of The Urantia Book and to provide services to readers, the work load increases. Therefore we must pay attention to the fact that additional funding is needed to support the work that needs to be done.
Notwithstanding that the Trustees desire that the Foundation be professionally managed and financially secure, their top priority continues to be the execution of the Declaration of Trust with emphasis on the “Principal Object,” and the “Concordant Objects.”
PRINCIPAL OBJECT: The object for which this Foundation is created is the promotion, improvement, and expansion among the peoples of the world of the comprehension and understanding of Cosmology and the relation of the planet on which we live to the Universe, of the genesis and destiny of Man and his relation to God, and of the true teachings of Jesus Christ; and for the inculcation and encouragement of the realization and appreciation of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man—in order to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well being of Man, as an individual and as a member of society, through the fostering of a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man’s intellectual and cultural development.
CONCORDANT OBJECTS: The concordant objects for which the Foundation is created are to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of The Urantia Book and to disseminate the principles, teachings, and doctrines of The Urantia Book [emphasis added].
Question: Can a member of the Fellowship also be a member of IUA?
Answer: Yes. Anyone is eligible to join an association of IUA if they have read the entire Urantia Book, accept its teachings, and support the Foundation, the Declaration of Trust, and the Foundation’s ownership of the copyright and marks. An individual desiring membership in IUA applies to their nearest regional association and that association’s membership committee decides for or against acceptance.
Question: What is the difference between membership in the International Urantia Association and membership in some other organization of readers of The Urantia Book?
Answer: The members of IUA are formally interdependent with Urantia Foundation. They sign a document stating that they accept the teachings of The Urantia Book, and that they support the Urantia Foundation, the Declaration of Trust, and the Foundation’s ownership of the copyright and marks.
The International Urantia Association was organized by a collaborative effort between the Trustees and friends and supporters of the Foundation worldwide.
IUA is a democratic organization whose purposes are the in-depth study of the book and the orderly dissemination of its teachings. IUA is a “task-driven” fraternal organization with particular emphasis on servicing the needs of readers and potential readers worldwide.
On Friday, April 17, 1998, members of the Coordinating Committee and representatives of the International URANTIA Association from five nations met in Chicago with the Executive Committee of the Fellowship and some members of their General Council to explore common interests. The Trustees attended this meeting in the capacity as the Board of Directors of IUA. The goal was to discuss common interests, address differences, and seek agreement which might lead tojoint projects.
The meeting began with each organization outlining its vision and organizational structure. Lee Armstrong, IUA Coordinating Committee Human Resources Chair, characterized the International URANIA Association as a task-oriented group of readers committed to addressing readership issues, fostering the in-depth study of The URANTIA Book and the orderly dissemination of its teachings. IUA members provide services to readers and students of The URANTIA Book and are committed to preserving the revelation for future generations. Armstrong outlined IUA’s organizational structure and discussed how local and national associations come into being, as service projects and reader needs create demand. He also explained the activities of the Coordinating Committee as administrators for, and advisors to the Trustees of URANTIA Foundation.
Speakers for the Fellowship included President Janet Farrington-Graham, Dan Massey, Lori Krasny, and Steve Dreier. Their presentations outlined the structure, history, projects, and vision of the Fellowship. An important objective of the Fellowship is to embrace diversity of viewpoints, expression, and philosophies. The Fellowship’s projects, activities, workshops, and initiatives highlighted the positive nature of the organization’s outreach programs. Of particular interest was the Fellowshipts new Family Life program, and its focus on educational programs and activities for children.
One of the objectives of the IUA representatives in this meeting was to “seek first to understand” the differences between the two organizations. Another objective was to understand the Fellowship’s position regarding the materials published on its web page, some of which are openly disparaging of the Foundation and it supporters. The Fellowship leaders emphasized that they exert no authority over the activities of individual members of the Fellowship or its societies, including the content of materials posted by individuals on the Fellowship’s web page. The Fellowship representatives explained that under the Fellowship Constitution, the Executive Committee and General Council are prohibited from interfering with the activities of individual members or of its societies, which are strictly autonomous. Consequently, individuals are free to embark on projects and publish their own viewpoints on the Fellowship’s website. Janet FarringtonGraham explained that only statements bearing her signature represent official positions of the Fellowship.
Exploration of the missions, scope, and structure of the organizations revealed clear and distinct differences between the established cultures of the organizations and framed some of the challenges and issues that remain.
The overall tone of the meeting was optimistic and progressive. The organizations agreed to:
In addition, both organizations agreed to have further discussions in smaller groups regarding matters of mutual interest, including:
International Urantia Association, the Coordinating Committee, and Urantia Foundation sincerely support the movement toward unity among all readers of The Urantia Book. We desire to cooperate with organizations throughout the world whose actions are consistent with the values taught in The Urantia Book. We look forward to progress in future meetings with the leadership of the Fellowship and in the pursuit of unity among readers.