If you ever wanted to attend a meeting of the Lone Star IUA, this is the year to do so!
The business meeting for association members will begin at 1 PM, followed by a picnic from 3-5 PM. Some fifty Urantia Book readers from the Dallas-Fort Worth area are being invited.
This marks the first time the Lone Star IUA will host both Association and Fellowship members. Guests and Trustees from the Foundation are also expected to attend, and perhaps members form the Oklahoma IUA. This mini-convention will provide an excellent opportunity to bring together like-minded individuals and to hear first hand the exciting events that are happening world-wide concerning The Urantia Book.
Suzanne Kelly-Ward is hosting the event, which will take place at the recreation area of Forest Point Estates. There is a pool, so bring your bathing suit if you want to swim.
Letter From The Editor
I recently spent a day catching up on some mail -- publications from various Urantia Groups across the country. One journal in particular, The Fellowship Herald, contained some excellent articles. I recommend it. Every newsletter reported progress in dissemination of The Urantia Book. People all over the world are beginning to gain access to the revelation.
That good news made me thing about the way I got the book. Why me, of all people? I certainly wasn’t special. I wasn’t even a seeker. I’d never gone to great lengths to find answers to weighty questions. So why did I got the book at a time when there were only about 50,000 copies in publication? When I figured it out, the answer made me humble.
I got The Urantia Book because somebody cared enough to give it to me.
That somebody was my brother, Jock Griffis. Jock was a seeker, and he found the book in California. Giving it to his family meant a lot to him. He said that he could rest easy because he had put in our hands. My brother didn’t live long after that. Although his death was hard, I was able to accept it because I knew his destiny. His legacy to me, was the truth that changed my life.
Our Lone Star IUA has been in existence for eight years now, and there are sill many of receiving this newsletter I have yet to meet. I hope you will come to the meeting in Euless. It would be wonderful to visit with your.
Although we are a small group, there is much we can accomplish. We need your help to move forward.
The message of The Urantia Book transforms individual. Individual transform nations. Nations transform the world.
Letter From The President
Hello Everyone,
I was in Chicago in November for the Planning and Education Conference, which some of you have heard about from the Foundation newsletters. It was very educational and a lot of fun. I will go into more detail at our meeting, but if you ever have the time and money to go to one of these conferences, it’s very worthwhile. The people from all over the world are just amazing.
I attended workshops on Leadership, Translations and Study Groups. It’s hard to explain how interesting and how much fun the three days were. The food was great, and the people were wonderful. Everyone had a good time and I felt a lot was accomplished. Look forward to full report at our meeting.
I’d like to make a special appeal to all of your to make a special effort in attending this year's meeting and to invite as many people as possible. There are many items of interest we need to be addressing for the coming year and the millennium. This is going to be a very exciting time for all of us involved with The Urantia Book.
Letter From The Secretary-Treasurer
Dear Fellow Soldiers of the Circles,
There is an enormous effort among Fellowships and IUA folks to find ways we can work together to accomplish our task of making our beautiful revelation available to as many people as possible. The work is before us, and we all need to be about the Father’s business.
There’s also an ongoing effort among our fellow soldiers to set up a loose know group of younger readers (35 and under), who might be more comfortable studying with people their age.
Michael MacIssac, whose mother and father are both students, has been working on that project, and he is putting up a website for communication among his friends. More information can be obtained from the Foundation about that effort.
Speaking of younger people, there is a small group of new readers in the San Antonio area. Jeff Diaz, who lives there, has been in contact with me, and I’ve given his name to several of you. Jeff has three friends who are studying the book, and they may start their own study group. Jeff is 22 years old, and a student a the Community College. The prospect of a new study group in San Antonio is really exciting to me.
The National Conference in Nashville is coming up on April 29 - May 2, 1999. I hope to see many of you there. Our own annual meeting will be June 26, and again, I hope you will be able to attend.
We have lots of wonderful things going on in our translation efforts. Seppo Kenerva is a very busy man trying to keep that important work moving in a positive way. The Korean translation will be published this year, and the Swedish is close behind.
The growth in book sales continues, and while the exact number sold last year was not available it will be in the he growth pattern range we’ve been experiencing over the last couple of years -- around 13%, year after year.
I was in Chicago the weekend of January 16, for Coordinating Committee meetings and Task Force work. It’s always nice to be able to review where we stand, and where we need to go, as we march on under Michael’s banner to spread the good news and try to live by it.
Until we meet in person soon, may peace be with you.
We have a new century ahead that is just brimming with potential. Life is designed to exploit potential.
For 21st century Texas, it is predictable that this state, whose love for Jesus is already great, will embrace the revelation. The questions facing the Lone Star IUA are these:
- Can we raise the study groups?
- Can we get The Urantia Book into every library, prison and university?
- Can we help with the enormous translation challenge?
- Should we present the book publicly in book shows and/or other venues?
Despite many attempts, nothing, including a university, radio broadcasts, illegal printings and advertising, has worked to bring more books to people than one-to-one contact and study group involvement. I believe the main thrust of the Texas IUA, at this time, should be a push to form study groups. Nothing legitimizes an exemplifies the Urantia movement in amore dynamic way than study groups.
Texas is about to start the 21st century with 10-20 known study groups. We need to start additional groups. Without too much effort, we have already exhibited a capacity to begin groups. Bryan mentioned his contact with Jeff Diaz. When I got his name, I was able to send him material on study group formation that Suzanne has just compiled. Jeff is raring to go, and there may be others who have thought about hosting, but need a nudge to actually try it. If someone form the IUA could be there for newly forming groups, it could be a real help to the new host. I’m not sure my group would have been successful without David Glass and Suzanne. At any rate, we can try to find people and seen them formation literature.
Library placement is 50% complete in Texas public libraries. Several books have been requested by prison libraries, and an unknown number of books are in other institutions.
We need to put books within the reach of every truth-seeking person. I am trying to get a *fast-track* placement program (a an experiment) in the remainder of the libraries. Whatever the outcome, I will restart to the placement endeavor when it feels right to do so.
Texas may not be directly linked to the translation effort since both indigenous languages are already in print. But it would serve the movement if we:
The Foundation has an offer every year, of one to one matching grants. We need to plan for and participate in that opportunity to help the Foundation.
We have almost 51 years (until the copyright expires) to prepare Texas and the world with study groups, not only in cities but even into little towns. A full 51 years to maintain and improve the organization necessary to accommodate the needs of the movement in Texas now and past 2050.
Texas population is rapidly closing on the 20 million mark. If five generations are born next century, and there is no increase in population (there will be), that is at least 100 million people whose spiritual future is in our hands. We may be few, but I truly believe if we simply have a plan, God will crown our efforts with success. To me, that simple plan is study group growth, book placement and global dissemination via translation. After 2050, the shredding of The Urantia Book begins. Will the unified text prevail? It depends on how well we’ve done our job.
The other matter is book shows. The Foundation has been successful at book fairs all over the planet. If we can find the right people to represent the books, we might stimulate interest which will increase the number of study groups and generate a reserve of volunteers for placement and translation. Volunteerism is an excellent way of directing service energy that might otherwise be wasted or misdirected into counter-productive activity. Some readers need projects.
Texas is a very wealthy state, both in spiritual intelligence and material possession. We must tap into our wealth by using our insight acquired form the revelation. Duty is calling.
An Original Story
by
Suzanne Kelly-Ward
Urantia Foundation
533 Diversey Parkway
Chicago, IL 60614
773/525-3319
http://www.urantia.org
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