© 1998 Cathy Jones, Dorothy Elder
© 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.
¶ Apologies
If you have been wondering why you did not receive a Newsflash for the month of September, it is because we were unable to produce one. Please accept our apologies if you were waiting but we had staff shortages due to vacation leave. We are also combining this one to cover both October and November as we will have more staff shortages during December. We will do our best to keep this newsletter monthly but when the work piles up and our resources are limited we will just do the best we can.
This year has been a busy and fruitful year for the Foundation and we feel positive about the future of the revelation thanks to the efforts Of all who have dedicated their time and energies to serve. We’d like to take this opportunity to send you our best wishes for Christmas and the New Year and look forward to continuing on together next year.
¶ Christmas Open House at 533
There will be an open house at the Foundation on December 12, 1998 from 3:00 to 8:OOpm. The Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association will be assisting the Foundation with preparations and decorating. A brief program will be presented by the First Society of Chicago. All are welcome.
¶ November Weekend Event
For those of you who were unabe to attend the recent event here in Chicago over the weekend of November 6-8, we will give you a preliminary report here. A comprehensive report to let you know the results of the workshops will be mailed as soon as it is complete.
The weekend was a tremendous success with approximately 120 people in attendance. The purpose of the weekend was explained in the intoduction letter, a portion of which follows:
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Urantia Foundation and thank you for taking the time to come and participate in the planning sessions for the dissemination of the teachings of the Urantia Book Your presence is encouraging and greatly appreciated.
The weekend will consist of a combination of workshop sessions and social time. The overall objective of the weekend is to explore together practical and effective ways of doing that which we have been asked to do : spread the teachings of the fifth epochal revelation to all the peoples of the world.
The early leaders were asked to form thousands of study groups to enhance readers’ understanding of the teachings.
They were asked to develop leaders and teachers who could assist students of the book in their study, as well as to take the message of the book to our fellow mortals. They were asked to translate the book into other languages so that people from all cultures could have the opportunity to rea d the book in their native tongue.
Traditionally Urantia Foundation and reader groups have focused a lot of their group efforts to achieve these ends. Events over the past decade have fragmented the movement and stalled much of the work that needs to be done. The Trustees of Urantia Foundation feel that it is time to heal the wounds from the past and to gather teams of committed men and women who are willing to work on programs andprojects to ensure a safe and effective delivery of the fifth epochal revelation to the world. We hope these workshop sessions will be the beginning of a new surge of teamwork and service…
The weekend began on Friday evening with registration and social time at the Foundation. All of Saturday’s activities were held at the Dewes Mansion which is only one block from the Foundation and it accommodated everyone comfortably" Saturday morning began with an introduction to the weekend by Richard Keeler and Tonia Baney, who introduced the new leather zipper book, followed by an inspiring key note speech by Jeffrey Wattles on the principles and teachings of The Urantia Book that need to be spread to the world. The rest of the day was spent in workshops.
There were five workshops running simultaneously and everyone attended three out of the five. The workshops were:
- Leaders and Teachers lead by Dorothy Elder and Carrie Prentice
- Study Groups lead by Carolyn Kendall and Jane Ploetz
- Education lead by Pat Goodson and Betty Zehr
- The Role of Service Groups lead by Lee Armstrong and Nancy Shaffer
- Translations lead by Seppo Kanerva, Geroges Michelson-Dupont, and Michael Hanian.
All the leaders did a tremendous job in preparing and presenting their workshops with intelligent enthusiasm and vigor.
Saturday evening began with a social on the first floor of the Dewes Mansion, then everyone was ushered up to the third floor ballroom where the atmosphere had been tastefully prepared for remembrance and worship before dinner. We were treated to a surprise performance by Joel Barry, an Italian opera singer who brought the house down with his soulful, heart rendering performance.
After dinner there were presentations by Georges Michelson-Dupont, Gard Jameson, and Tonia Baney. Georges presented a wonderful new information brochure on the translation project. The presentations were followed by music, dancing, and general socializing.
A display of samples of possible new book cover designs for The Urantia Book were spread around the walls of the ballroom and people were asked to fill out a survey/ballot form expressing their three favorite choices.
Everyone gathered again at the Foundation on Sunday morning for a continental breakfast and more socializing. The atmosphere was high spirited and people felt that the weekend was well spent. The leaders of the workshops will be analyzing the results of the discussions and communicating with those who volunteered to participate in this work.
¶ National Conference for the USA, 1999
The Southern Kindred Spirits (SKS) will be producing next year’s national conference for the USA in Nashville, Tennessee, April 29 through May 2, 1999. The conference will take place at the Scarritt-Bennett Center adjacent to Vanderbilt University. Registration will commence in the afternoon, Thursday, April 29. The team is working diligently to produce a conference commensurate with the SKS’ reputation for sponsoring conferences with great presentations and in-depth research and study. Additional information and registration forms will be mailed early January.
We look forward to seeing you there.
¶ Nevada Urantia Association Chartered
By Cathy Jones
On Sunday October 4, 1998 the Nevada Urantia Association became a reality. As one member commented, “it finally happened!”
The meeting was held in Boulder City. If one were not aware of the contrasting spirit of the Las Vegas strip, you would never guess its existence just a few miles away. Gard and Florence Jameson graciously opened their spacious and exquisitely decorated home, overlooking Lake Mead, for the occasion.
Members are mostly from Nevada with two from the Arizona border. There is a beautiful blend of personality and diversity of background. The main ingredient permeating the day was love. Few of the people had met previously, but there was an instant recognition of kindred spirits. The Nevada Urantia Association is bound together with the common goal of striving to do the Father’s will, disseminating the teachings of The Urantia Book, and focusing on service.
The total membership is 21; 14 regular and 7 “Friends of IUA” who have met all the membership requirements with the exception of reading The Urantia Book in its entirety. Officers are:
- President - Margaret Canpinar
- Vice-President - Jan Bernard
- Secretary - Chuck Fallon.
¶ New Foundation Representative — Lithuania
Thanks to devoted readers who are spreading the information, interest in The Urantia Book and the number of its readers have increased tangibly in Lithuania this year. Therefore we are pleased to announce that Algimantas Jokubenas, from Lithuania, has joined the corps of Urantia Foundation Representatives.
This brings the number of Foundation Representatives to a total of ten. Urantia Foundation now has official representation in Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Estonia, Belgium, Norway, and Lithuania.
¶ Internet Copyright Protection Strengthened
Legislation passed Congress and has been sent for Presidential signature that implements two treaties adopted in 1996 by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization. The measure strengthens protection for copyrighted works transmitted on line while ensuring the public still has access to information on the Internet. The bill also addresses to what extent Internet service providers can be held liable for copyright infringement for acts committed by their subscribers. Under the legislation, the providers are not strictly liable, but they are required to remove infringing material if the copyright holder informs them that a subscriber has posted it.
¶ Copyright Extension
The Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act, S505, became law last week. Copyrights of the type which subsist in The Urantia Book (a composite work) will now have a life of ninety-five (95) years from the date of initial issuance. Since the copyright of The Urantia Book was initially secured in 1955, the initial copyright will now remain in effect till 2050.
¶ New Zipper Book
$39.95 until December 31, 1998
The Foundation is proud to announce its newest product, The Urantia Book leathered zipper edition. This book is small enough and thin enough to accommodate travel and fits comfortably into an average size handbag. It comes in a choice of two colors -royal blue or brown. A special introductory price of $39.95 is being offered until December 31, 1998. After that it will be sold for $49.95. Readers who have seen it consider it a “must have” for travel purposes.
¶ Product Price Changes
Beginning in January 1999, the price of The Urantia Book hard cover English edition will be increased to $34.95. In addition, the price of The Urantia Book Concordance will be lowered from $65.00 to $34.95. Please call our office for more details.
¶ University Library Program
For many years the Foundation has sponsored a general library Placement Program in which individual readers may request a free copy of The Urantia Book and The Urantia Book Concordance to be placed in a library of their choice.
A few years ago, Liz Engstrom undertook a leadership role in an exceedingly successful project of placing the book, at $5.00 per copy, in prison libraries within the United States.
To date no one has targeted University libraries so we are presently seeking someone to assume leadership of this project to place the book in College and University Libraries around the world. If you or someone you know would be interested in this project, please let us know.
¶ Prison Books
The program to provide copies of The Urantia Book to individual prisoners for a $5.00 fee has been temporarily suspended. The exhaustion of our damaged books, (the source of the prison books) has created this situation. This, however has not affected the placement of books in prison libraries.
¶ Family Day in L.A.
By Dorothy Elder
(Editor’s note: We received the following e-mail from Dorothy Elder and could not resist passing along its delightful message to you.)
Want to read something that’s totally good news? Want to be refueled by the energy of the fruits of service? Want to hear about the results of cooperative efforts of individuals who happily removed their organizational hats and turned an idea into an inspiring experience? Then read my post about “Family Day in L.A.”
Families, friends, new readers, long-time readers, non readers, toddlers, teenagers, grandparents, singles, extended families, and neighbors joined hands to experience, learn and celebrate the universality of family during a day-long program this past weekend in Los Angeles. My friends, words cannot describe the essence of the experience. It was simply a perfect day. All the elements were there: three short presentations, skits, music, poster making, creating a “family crest T-shirt”, great food and fellowship all blended to honor, demonstrate, and make real the final sentence of our wonderful book: “When all is said and done, the Father idea is still the highest human concept of God.” Grateful appreciation goes to the teachers and leaders from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego who came together in the spirit of love and service to demonstrate the meaning of Family under the loving watch care of the Fatherhood of God.
Friends, the URANTIA BROTHERHOOD is out there, alive and well.
Love, Dorothy
¶ New Booklets
You will find enclosed two new booklets recently produced by the Foundation. The one titled “Introduction to The Urantia Book and Urantia Foundation” is a view-book that gives a brief ovewiew of what The Urantia Book and Urantia Foundation is all about for the benefit of new readers who contact the Foundation. This booklet will be used by the Reader Service Department as part of the information packet we send out to thousands of inquirers every year.
Until now information sent to new readers has been scanty and did not say very much about who we are or what we do.
Increasingly, people are wanting more information about the origin and history of The Urantia Book and the Foundation, as well as what it is we stand for. This brochure is light and cost only .54c to produce. We hope this booklet will answer most initial questions.
The second booklet is on “Planned Giving,” which is an information piece about various ways people can gain tax benefits from donating funds and assets to non-profit organizations. Again this piece is in response to individuals’ needs to plan their estates.