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OUR NEW WEB STORE
IS OPEN!
The Urantia Book Fellowship is pleased to announce
that we are now offering, via our web store, many of the books that used
to be offered in the Morning Star Catalog (formerly the Good Cheer
Catalog.) Our newly redesigned web store is now open for business and
contains many of the great books and study aids that Urantia Book
readers love as well as some brand new gems for your contemplation and
inspiration.
Click here to visit the new UVERSA PRESS CATALOG. |
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WE HAVE A NEW COVER!
Congratulations to Gary Tonge for submitting the winning entry in The Uversa Press Committee's cover contest. Our fourth printing of The Urantia Book, projected to be available in Summer 2012, will feature the Standard Reference Text and Tonge's beautifully inspiring cover art. A special thank you to John Hay, Chair
of Uversa Press and his committee, Paula Thompson, and Don Greene, for seeing this project to fruition.
click here to see a larger image
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President
Treasurer
Secretary General
Judicial Chair
Membership Chair
Interfaith Chair
Outreach Chair
Finance Chair
General Council
Lara Amyx
Andrea Barnes
Larry Bowman
Robert Bruyn
Robert Burns
Avi Dogim
Stephen Dreier
Janet Falbo
Tony Finstad
Cece Forrester
Janet Graham
Tim Hobbs
Merritt Horn
Jack Kane
Al Lockett
Charlene Morrow
Dolores Nice
Charles Olivea
Thomas Orjala
Phillip Taylor
Jo Ann Wiedman
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Click Here to Link to "Friends of the Urantia Book Fellowship" Facebook Page.
Join Us for Daily Discussions.
![Like us on Facebook]( "Like us on Facebook")
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2012 SUMMER STUDY SESSION:
Progressive Planetary Civilization August 1-6, 2012
Techny Towers, Chicago, Illinois
Pre-Conference - Aug 1, 2012 ![]()
Conference Seminar - Aug 2-5, 2012
General Council - Aug 5-6, 2012
The Education Committee of The Urantia Book Fellowship invites you to come and join us for the Fellowship Summer Study Session, August 1-5, 2012, at beautiful Techny Towers,
a conference and retreat center located in Chicago's North Shore. Plans
for the conference include a pre-conference retreat from Wednesday evening, August 1st through Friday morning,August 3rd, and a pre-conference guided City Tour of Chicago's lakefront architecture is also available. ![YaYa's]() We really want to make this a family event. In addition, the Youth and Young Adult Committee will have a very active 'voice' at this conference.
Prices have been kept as they were in 2010.
There will be no registration fees for children under 18, and we have
scholarships available especially for families in order to bring costs
down and allow attendees to bring children or grandchildren. A special children's program will be provided.
It's time for you to register now for the Summer Study Session.
Register directly online by clicking here. ![Techny Towers]() | |
Techny Towers Accommodations
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If you would like to conduct a workshop, a Workshop Proposal Form should be filled out and returned to Peter Laurence, Program Chair. The workshop dead line has been extended to March 30th. The
Education Committee will review the proposals and select the ones that
will provide a balanced and informative program. We invite proposals
from both those who are experienced workshop presenters and those who
may be presenting for the first time. The committee is encouraging people who've never created a workshop
to do so. We will partner with people one on one and give as much or as
little assistance as someone may need or want. Workshops may be focused
on the broader aspects of the topic or on any subset such as
'education' or 'religion.' The primary focus of the Summer Study Session is an in-depth study of The Urantia Book,
but proposals that link Urantia Book concepts to contemporary thought
and practice are welcome. There are numerous parts of the book that
speak to progressive planetary evolution and not just those that are
labeled as such. Workshops should examine the broad implications of the
theme so we that we have an interestingly diverse scope of programs. Study of the book can be greatly enriched by relating it to its present context. Space is limited, so hurry before it's too late.For more information and details go to:http://www.urantia-education.org/index.phpTo register online go to: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1030571#
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Our Fellowship Needs New Leaders We've learned that the Universe provides for organizational leadership. The
success of the Fellowship will always be dependent on the
dedicated efforts of the people who voluntarily step forward.
Triennial Delegate Assembly
will be held at Techny Towers
on August 1st
stay tuned for details...
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Havona in Havana: Mission to Cuba by Agustin Arellano
Six members of the Urantia Grupo Nambia from Mexico arrived in Havana on January 14th,
2012. Our first chore was to exchange our Mexican pesos for C.U.C.
(convertible Cuban pesos) We met with Sr. Reynaldo, who
coordinated our trip in Cuba. His help was the key factor in the success
of our journey, introducing us to his friends in every place we
visited. He maintained his enthusiasm through every step of our journey.
With his help and enthusiasm we managed to connect well with people
throughout the country.![]()
Given that our journey began and ended in Havana we called this our "Havona in Havana"
mission. We traveled from Pinar del Rio to Sancti Spiritus, visiting
half of the sixteen provinces on the island. We plan to visit the
remaining provinces on our next trip, hoping to be of greater service
through our additional understanding of the country and the needs of
groups of readers.
We didn't have enough materials
to hand out to all the existing readers as well as people new to the
book who wanted to study it after attending our presentations nor enough
time to spend with each group. But we did manage to
establish the foundations for two projects. One is "Blue Libraries"
(Urantia Book placement in public libraries throughout the country) and
the other is to establish at least one study group in each one of the
sixteen provinces in the country.
We could not
achieve our goal of creating the Cuban Sister Society of Mexico's Grupo
Orvonton because the costs would be over budget, about $5,000.00 in US
dollars. Also, we would need to stay in Cuba too long. Since we couldn't
reach that goal, we settled on creating a local organization with
members from all sixteen provinces. We will work with them to help
structure the organization to benefit all the members. Right now we are
sister organizations, not formally incorporated, with a commitment to
send them books and study materials every month, using postal service.
Do
you want to be part of this exciting Adopt a Province Project? Your
donations can be used to send a Urantia Outreach package to a leader in
each of the 16 provinces in Cuba. Each package (box) will contain two
Spanish language Urantia Books, secondary materials such as UB Basics,
21 Steps, When Things Go Wrong (made possible by The Urantia Book
Fellowship), as well as a UB Index, 3 DVDs with material for beginners, a
UB Spanish Audio, a USB flash drive, a gently used cell phone with
money to buy a SIM card and minutes for one month. These phones will be
essential for our new leaders to keep in touch with each other. (FYI:
Any extra space in these boxes is filled with donations from local
readers in Mexico, usually small personal items like soap, toothbrushes,
toothpaste, etc.)
Cost of materials and shipping for each Urantia Outreach box is $200 US. Donations can be made via Paypal. http://orvonton.org/index.php/page/Proyectos.html. (Open the page and scroll down to the bottom where the Paypal button is.)
Unfortunately,
our organization in Mexico is not set up to provide tax deductible
donations, but you will get a receipt with our thanks. If you'd like, we
can update you on this project and tell you how your money was used.
Help us cover travel costs for our return to Cuba. Only two people will
make this trip in early April. We plan to finish our commitment to
readers in the remaining eight provinces. We managed to complete so much
work using our own personal funds and resources. Imagine how much more
we could do with your help! "The act is ours, the consequences God's." The
contacts and deep friendships we created will help to build new study
and outreach groups. We decided to focus on Cuba for Mexico's 2013
annual conference. Cuban readers and leaders will be our special invited
guests. The conference will take place in Mexico City D.F. from March
28 - 31, 2013. There will be a pre-conference gathering with the
theme: ¡Hasta la Havona Siempre! or "Havona or Bust!" You can support sending translations of the Urantia Book to places like Cuba, via the Fellowship's Pipeline of Light . |
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WILD GOOSE FESTIVAL ???
By Pamela Chaddock Member at Large / Outreach
Organizer
and Irish peace activist Gareth Higgins explains that the Celtic
Church's image of the Wild Goose has long been held as a symbol for the
wild, unpredictable, and untamable nature of the Holy Spirit. The
Festival recognizes the beautiful mystery animating the action and
experience of all people of faith. Even so, why would any
intelligent Urantian in their right or left mind even consider
venturing into a humid cow-pied pastureland for something called The Wild Goose Festival?
![wild goose festival]() | | Wild Goose Festival 2011 |
Well, because among the
whimsical fireflies a personal metamorphosis takes place when you
realize that the authors of the Urantia Book were prophetic when they
said, "Thus does the so-called Christian church become the cocoon in
which the kingdom of Jesus' concept now
![wild goose]() | | Amazing Fellowship |
slumbers. The kingdom of the divine brotherhood is still alive and will
eventually and certainly come forth from this long submergence, just as
surely as the butterfly eventually emerges as the beautiful unfolding of
its less attractive creature of metamorphic development." UB 170.5.21.
The Wild Goose
Festival seeks to be a welcoming and hospitable space for everyone,
regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, background or
belief. The aim is to foster a space where artists, speakers, and
sponsors can approach the Wild Goose Community on common and uncommon
ground. But, it's not all fireflies - there's also palpable
conceptualizing and fun for the mind, soul, heart, and body. Amateur
musicians circle up to play, beer and philosophy flow, Frisbees fly,
kiddies slip-n-slide, and people linger around campfires into the early
morning hours.
![]() | | Awesome Speakers Abound! |
This year the Urantia Book Fellowship has signed on as a sponsor of the
event. Sponsoring the Festival gives us fantastic promotional
opportunities and allows us to have our very own Urantian presence and
perspective there! We were there last year and several of us are
already registered for the 2012 event. Won't you join us?
The
dates are June 21-24 and location is 26 miles SW of Chapel Hill, N.C.
The event is open to everyone and will be especially rewarding and
gratifying to those who are conversant with Christianity and the Bible. Click here to learn more or register. Also, check out this 5 minute video clip from the 2011 event on YouTube VideoCome
share your treasure, partake in the metamorphosis -- in this audacious
attempt to re-imagine Christianity under a wider, more inclusive tent.
Is that a rousing YOWSAH I hear?! Feel free to contact me if you have
questions about packing ;) GET ON BOARD for the generous 15% discount
for Urantians off any Wild Goose pass or combination of passes
(excluding camping fees) available between March 10 - 20 only.
Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2407342426/ and type "UrantiaGoose" in the "enter promotional code". |
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Because He Gave Birth So precious is a person's faith in God,
so precious;
never should we harm
that.
Because He gave birth to all
religions.
By St. Francis of Assisi
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Virtual Urantia Book Outreach - In Second Life
From Wikipedia:
Second Life is an
online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June
23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second
Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through
avatars. Residents can explore the world (known as the grid), meet other
residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities,
and create and trade virtual property and services with one another.
Second Life is intended for people aged 16 and over, and as of 2011 has
about one million active users.
![Danish ChangHigh Circus]()
My
name is Jean Ascher, in real life I am a performer and have been
traveling with my Danish ChangHigh Circus for 30 years. It is a very
special children's circus, where we teach and travel with kids of all
ages from all over Scandinavia, Europe and Middle East. In Second Life
my name is Yman Juran and I've created The ChangHigh Sisters Fireshow of
Light, Life and Love.
I
joined the virtual world with one purpose: To create a virtual
entertainment circus, in action, style and function, similar to the one I
had in reality. As I grew older, my free time grew larger. I needed new
challenges and when I read about Second Life in my newspaper I decided
to check it out. I joined up, flew in and stayed.
In
Second Life my sole purpose has been to create a performance somehow
comparable to the real one but I soon discovered that many of the tools
and effects I needed, especially the kind of fire I wanted to use, were
nonexistent and needed be created there from scratch. I began a thorough
investigation inside the game to find someone to "script" the fire I
wanted. I was very demanding, requesting realistic flames, smoke, sparks
and movements, all of an extraordinary quality. I also became familiar
with effects shops and soon had selected a rather spectacular collection
of special effects (FXs) I could use inside the performances to enhance
and uplift them. I have always been a notorious book reader, interested
in philosophy, cosmology and universal revelations of all kinds so it
was natural for me to add a spiritual element to the performance. I
decided to create an edutainment experience with a message of wisdom,
peace, enlightenment and love which could uplift the audience and the
entire culture inside Second Life.
A
saying from my younger days lingers in my mind, it is simply, "What you
find missing in this world - create it." I created a show based on The
Urantia Book, which is much more than just an enjoyable virtual show but
is also a performance which can potentially enrich and elevate the
souls and spirits of those who happen to see it. To create a
spiritual impression within the minds of the audience which would last
well beyond their time on Second Life.
In
Second Life, I have also created authentic virtual copies The Urantia
Book from all publishers. For the last 2 years I have held various
studying groups within Second Life. It became necessary to establish a
Urantia study group as performances brought me in contact with many
people who wanted to know more. I have successfully placed the virtual
Urantia Book in virtual libraries and try to hold monthly meetings which
include slide shows, charts and other illustrative paintings, all
related to the book. However, Second Life has its limitations. There is
no voice or facial expressions so irony and jokes can be easily
misunderstood and a debate can be hard to control in such an
environment.
I'd
like to extend our invitation to all to visit this virtual Urantia
community inside of Second Life. I can be contacted as Yman Juran. We
send a positive blessing for the upcoming year and hope the power of
life, light and love will be with you as we all walk forward on our
progressing path toward perfection.
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ONLINE STUDY GROUPS - SO EASY TO JOIN IN!
Tuesday Night Symmetry of Soul 6pm to 8pm PST www.symmetryofsoul.org A
weekly study of the unifying concepts of The Urantia Book, mindful of
the threefold nature of the cosmos: 'philosophy, religion, and science
are welded into a meaningful unity by the conjoined action of wisdom,
faith, and experience.'
Wednesday Night
www.atlantaurantiastudygroup.org
We post our meetings on line every week in video and mp3
format for anyone who would like to watch or listen. Our Wednesday night
study session is usually posted by Saturday each week. We are limited
to 10 people on Skype as a video call, but by posting the video on line
everyone can listen.
User Name rogerpauldc email rogerpauldc@yahoo.com
Friday Night
Please join us for the live Skype broadcast study group with Chris Halvorson, Friday evenings at 7:30 - 9:30pm MST.....Call 720-457-3606 or
search
Skype name "perfectinghorizons". Please call in 5-10 minutes early so
you are all set up before the start of class....we are unable
to
log anyone on after the start of class. This is not an interactive call
so PLEASE MUTE your phone or computer...just listen and enjoy.
Previous audio/video classes and study aids can be found at www.perfectinghorizons.org AND If you want to run virtual / telephone study groups, or support an existing physical one, I have the perfect free tool: http://www.freeconferencing.com/
I was amazed and thrilled after successfully testing this service with
three phones and screen sharing. Also, people not on an unlimited
calling plan can get in for free with Skype. This tool
enables the group leader/facilitator to let everyone have an equal
chance to talk and to hear what's going in. It levels the playing field
and encourages interaction: · Telephone Access · Skype Access · Up to 1,000 callers · Facilitator can mute individual callers · Facilitator can share slides pictures, a computer screen · The session can be recorded · Session can be up to 6 hours Link to FAQ'sHappy virtual study grouping! Sincerely, Chris Lepine
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WE NEED A FEW GOOD VOLUNTEERS FOR PROJECTS GOING ON NOW!
We
welcome your contributions to this online publication. We
accept articles no more than 10 paragraphs long that deal with
Urantia Book related events, ideas, outreach, gatherings, or
reminders. Articles should be submitted to volunteer@urantiabook.org before the 22nd of every month. |
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ANNOUNCING THE NEW UVERSA PRESS
ONLINE CATALOG
The Urantia Book Fellowship is pleased to announce that we are now![]()
offering, via our web store, many of the books that used to be offered
in the Morning Star Catalog (formerly the Good Cheer Catalog.) Our newly
redesigned web store is now open for business and contains
many of the great books and study aids that Urantia Book readers love
as well as some brand new gems for your contemplation and inspiration.
We intend to keep expanding the catalog as new works are created to
further serve the needs of the Urantia community. We hope you will find a
minute to browse and buy a book or two. For 56 years The Urantia
Book Fellowship has been devoted to our non-profit mission of
disseminating of the teachings of The Urantia Book. We view this
catalog as another important way in which we can fulfill that
mission. As you peruse this new online catalog, remember that it
represents how the revelation has personally inspired each individual
author. Most of our authors are not professional writers, but dedicated
and long-time students of the revelation who were moved to reflect, in
some humble way, the light of truth, beauty, and goodness found so
abundantly in The Urantia Book. Click here to visit the new UVERSA PRESS CATALOG.
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REMINDERS
Please support The Urantia Book Fellowship You can make a secure onetime contribution online at our website, Click Here
or perhaps consider giving a 'gift that keeps on giving' by agreeing to
make an affordable monthly donation (auto-debit donation) that is
automatically deducted from your bank account (available by clicking the
above link). As always, we'll send a deluxe leather Urantia Book to all new monthly auto-debit donors who pledge to make at least a $20.00 monthly donation or a onetime equivalent.
2012 Lone Star Roundup Conference
which will take place March 30 -- April 1, 2012, at the Briarwood
Retreat Center in Argyle, Texas--located in about the center of a
triangle connecting Dallas, Fort Worth, and Denton, Texas. Our
conference theme is: God and Man Need Each Other.
If you believe you would be interested in attending the conference or have questions, please contact:
David Glass
972-989-1958
dglass63@aol.com
NEW SOFTWARE TOOL - GLOSSARIZED URANTIA BOOK Please
be aware this software is available both ONLINE and OFFLINE (for local
PC use without the Internet). The ONLINE version can be accessed from
the Society's website at: www.urantia-nyc.org.
Click the home page menu link called: 'Glossarized Urantia Book'. NOTE:
This software has been certified for the following browsers: Safari
(Windows and MAC), Internet Explorer (Windows).
EASTER SPIRIT RENEWAL RETREAT
will be held on March 29-April 1, 2012 at the San Geronimo
Lodge in Taos, New Mexico. The price for the retreat is $265 which
includes everything - three night lodging, all nine meals and the
retreat fee. You can call San Geronimo Lodge at 1-800-894-4119 or at 575-751-3776 in order to make your registration directly at their spiritual retreat center.
The International Conference 2011 plenary sessions are now online.
To order a copy of the Conference videos click here => videos
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![Logo]( "0.8939393939393939")
FROM THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Are you a member of The
Urantia Book Fellowship? Maybe you're not sure? If not
please contact us and we'll let you know. Email Lenny Cowles at: lighting@wispertel.net
If you would like to become a member
please click on this link and fill out the easy online membership
form. Your credentials will be sent to the Membership Committee
for consideration.
Please join us! - click here for the online form.
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