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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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President's Message
![Michele Klimesh]() (71:5.3) Throughout
the earlier ages of any world, competition is essential to progressive
civilization. As the evolution of man progresses, co-operation becomes
increasingly effective. In advanced civilizations co-operation is more
efficient than competition. Early man is stimulated by competition.
Early evolution is characterized by the survival of the biologically
fit, but later civilizations are the better promoted by intelligent
co-operation, understanding fraternity, and spiritual brotherhood. On
December 1, 2011, I sent a Declaration of Cooperation on behalf of the
Fellowship's Executive Committee to the boards of the Urantia Foundation
and Urantia Association International for their consideration, and
hopefully, their signatures. The text of the Declaration:
We,
the leaders of our respective organizations, declare our commitment to
cooperate with each other in our efforts to spread the Fifth Epochal
Revelation to all the peoples of the world. We further agree to share
this Declaration of Cooperation with all known readers, and prospective
readers, in their native languages.On
April 18, 2012, we received a response from the Urantia Foundation
trustees expressing their appreciation of our offer and their desire
to "defer signing the declaration until such time as representatives
from the three organizations are able to meet in person to discuss the
specifics of cooperation." While our organizations move slowly through
their paces, I would like to ask each of you, "Would you personally sign
this pledge?" We, the members
of our respective organizations, declare our commitment to cooperate
with each other in our efforts to spread the Fifth Epochal Revelation to
all the peoples of the world. We further agree to share this
Declaration of Cooperation with all known readers, and prospective
readers, in their native languages.Please let the impact of these words settle into your heart and mind. To Progress! Michelle Klimesh |
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
This year's Fellowship Summer Study Session will be held from August 1 - to August 6, 2012 at the Techny Towers retreat center just outside of Chicago.
Our keynote speakers will be:
Steve McIntosh
Title: "The New Evolutionary Philosophy, Affinity with The Urantia Book"
Reservations are booking quickly - Don't wait book today.
Register directly online by clicking here.
It's time for you to register now for the Summer Study Session. ![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.
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Meredith J. Sprunger Graduates
The Brotherhood of Believers
Salutes a Urantian Hero
Dr. Meredith Justin Sprunger left this world on April 17th, he was 97 years old. ![Dr. Meredith Sprunger]()
Meredith had a remarkable career as a college president, professor, and executive administrator, a licensed psychologist and therapist,
and an ordained minister. He served congregations in the Midwest and
taught at Elmherst College and the Indiana Institute of Technology,
functioning as the head of the Department of Psychology, Chairman of the
Division of Liberal Arts, and as President. He was the last living
colleague of Dr. William Sadler (1875-1969).
Dr. Sprunger was a devoted scholar of the Urantia Book
who served in numerous capacities including President of Urantia
Brotherhood. He authored many secondary works to the Urantia Book,
including A History of The Urantia Papers (which he co-authored with
Larry Mullins), Spiritual Psychology and most recently The Abridged Urantia Papers. Dr. Sprunger was also founder of The Spiritual Fellowship organization.
"He had so many admirable qualities, and I say, "Hail and bon voyage to Meredith Sprunger!"
What people have been saying:
"Meredith was a very special mentor in my life.
He was the one who gave my dad the Urantia Book when I was about six
years of age. He was the person my parents went to for counseling
when their marriage was falling apart, and he always took personal
interest in our whole family's well being."
"I remember 10 years ago, at the International Conference in 02, when we brought Meredith and Irene Sprunger up on stage in front of our community, and sang, The Wind Beneath My Wings, to them and honored them as movement heroes? I'm so glad we let them know how much they mean to us."
"May His Soul Forever Dwell in High Places!"
"We were so thrilled to have Meredith officiate
- he put the right touch of Urantia favor on our wedding and I still
have beautiful memories of our wedding, in June, surrounded by the roses
blooming."
"Even more than his inspiring story, I was moved by his joyful demeanor and indelible and infectious enthusiasm. I will never forget it."
"There is hardly a UB reader who has not gained much by hearing Meredith speak
reading things he has written, or enjoying his company (especially
those of us who knew him). He and Irene were MUCH LOVED because of how
much love they so freely distributed."
"Bless you, Dr. Sprunger. May you and Irene be reunited on the mansion worlds and begin your great eternal adventure."
"While remembering Meredith, I was looking at a copy of his book The Abridged Urantia Papers
(published by Square Circles) noticed that all proceeds go to Free
Schools World Literacy. He was indeed a scholar, and a minister and
also a noble soul."
"I am so thankful to have enjoyed some moments with Meredith over the years.
I greatly enjoyed his wonderful spiritual character and am so thankful
for his ministry-what a tremendous inspiration. When I think of Meredith, I think of a wholehearted, sincere, righteous Agondonter."
"I assume that by now Meredith has arrived in the mansion worlds and is meeting loved ones and getting familiar with his surroundings. We look forward to seeing him again when our time comes."
The admission that tears came down his face while reading the Jesus Papers makes me say, "YES, INDEED."
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Brief History of The Spiritual Fellowship
by Dick Bain
Dr. Meredith Sprunger had a dream; The Spiritual Fellowship was intended to make that dream a reality.
His
broad definition of the mission of TSF (The Spiritual Fellowship) and
the mechanism to accomplish this, as stated on the TSF website, is this:"The
Spiritual Fellowship is seeking to establish the grass roots religious
foundations that will carry the transforming message of the Urantia
papers to the spiritually hungry people of the world."
Read More ->
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Joshua ben Joseph Project
Surprises, Advances and Setbacks
![Mount Gilboa]() | | Mount Gilboa |
The
biggest surprise of the Joshua ben Joseph project has been the
wonderful people we've come to know who work in Israel as caretakers of sites related to the bestowal.
The
priest who manages the Church of the Adolescent Jesus on the Nazazreth
hilltop, the Benedictine sister who manages the chapel at the site of
Bethsaida, caretakers at national parks, archaeologists -- a wonderful
array of individuals in love with some aspect of the bestowal and
devoting their lives to it.
Our
biggest setback has been the cancellation of contract negotiations by a
production company that said their mission was to "ensure an accurate
representation of the life, times, and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as
recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." After
seeing our script outline they determined that we were not Biblically
accurate. We've already put alternatives into place but it is
disappointing to run into situations like this when both parties are
concerned about bringing a fuller story of the Master's life to
audiences.
![scythopolis]() | | Scythopolis |
A
wonderful advance is the opportunity to capture video at the site of a
synagogue excavation on the shore of the Sea of Galilee being managed by
a highly respected archaeologist, Dr. Jodi Magness of the University of
North Carolina. She is a veteran of some significant excavations
in Israel. You can hear an interview with her about this summer's
dig at
http://tbts.info/episodes?search=Jodi+Magness.
Select interview #1316, "The Synagogue at Huqoq". We will
also be spending time in June in Jordan, capturing video at the sites of
the cities of the Decapolis. We have also located an ancient
church in Jordan which has a mosaic dedicated to the work of the
seventy--we will be recording there as well.
The
Joshua ben Joseph project is creating a series of high definition
videos and computer generated maps to supplement the story in Part 4 of
The Urantia Book as well as provide some compelling outreach materials.
Check out our latest video at
![Eric and David]() | | Eric Cosh and David Kantor |
or visit the project website at to learn more.
In the continuing adventure,
David and Eric
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"A loving tribute to Pat
on the 1st anniversary of her passing."
PATRICIA JARMAN FEAREY
Artist and Designer
Born August 10, 1924
Graduated April 30, 2011 in Concord, CA,
of natural causes
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![Pat Feary]() Gifted
creative artist and dearly beloved friend Patricia "Pat" Fearey quietly
departed this life on the morning of April 30th, 2011 in her room at an
assisted living home. For many months Pat had struggled with declining
health and the results of injuries, including a fracture to her pelvis.
The pain and discomfort from her condition may well have hastened her
departure.
The
legacy she leaves to us is filled with accomplishments in computer art,
graphic design, and editorship that raise the bar on spiritual teaching
and personal growth in religious life.
She
was the only daughter of a marriage between children of East Coast
genteel families, went to boarding school at Chatham Hall and then to
Smith College, where she earned a degree in art and design. After
graduation, her quick mind and discerning eye soon brought her into the
field of editing manuscripts and design-art for magazines in the New
York area.
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A Hindu Girl Finds Jesus by Larry Watkins
When she was 19 years old, "Angel," who is now 25, accepted Jesus![]() into her life.
Her life in tradition-bound Southern India had not been easy. She faced
discrimination because of her dark skin tone, she missed a lot of the
kind of family love most of us take for granted. Angel grew up angry and
rebellious. She says that her father has a "drunken habit" and that her
mother, at one point, had planned to kill herself, Angel and Angel's
younger brother and sister as well. Strong character brought this
determined Hindu girl to Jesus and Jesus transformed her life. Then,
because of her growing love for Jesus she went to the internet to see
what more she could learn and found Truthbook.com and The Urantia Book which has turned out to be the answer to so many of her prayers.
The Bible gave her the basis for her personal religious beliefs.
She reads it and it talks to her in today's terms, in ways that are
relevant to her daily life; the same is also true now with The Urantia
Book. She uses both as sacred books, not for the literal words on the
page but as tools, like arrows that point the way and address today's
problems and goals.
![]() English is her second language, Malayalam her first, but she reads arguably the most difficult and complicated book in the English language and she prays in English. She understands the concepts behind the challenging language of both the Bible and The Urantia Book.
Angel has started a blog with the intention of helping others find their own spiritual path to Jesus by learning from hers. Her blog can be found at: www.angeljohn.org
and is titled "Reflections." She'd like to hear from you if you would
care to take the time to read what is there. There are 8 sections, most
with multiple posts so don't try to hurry through it... just read and
contemplate. I think you'll appreciate it. She says she is Jesus'
daughter and that she wishes to be one of his Apostles and to continue
to help bring the kingdom of Heaven to this world. After reading her
blog, what do you think?
Note:
Larry Watkins lives in Colorado. He studies the Urantia Book several
times a week with Angel via a Skype Internet connection. Angel and Larry
(whom Angel lovingly calls Grandpa) are always happy to have guests to
join their study. If you would like more information, please let us know.
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Third Annual Heart of the Mountain Retreat
Urantians
and interested guests from up and down the East coast will gather once
again near Boone, North Carolina in August to celebrate the birth and
life of Jesus of Nazareth.
"The
Spirit of Truth works as one with the presence of the spirit of the
Divine Minister. This dual spirit liaison hovers over the worlds,
seeking to teach truth and to spiritually enlighten the minds of
men......." (UB 34.5.4)
Click here to see all the information.
Hope to see you there!
Wild Goose Festival ???
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. Link to website ->Register at Join
us May 11-13th in sunny San Diego as we sponsor a home-grown conference
designed to bring new readers in, strengthen existing study groups, and
gather for study and worship. Join us if you can! Click here for details.
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Adopt a Province
Our local society, Golden Gate Circle
recently voted to adopt a Cuban province for dissemination of the
Urantia Book. The name of our province is Cienfuegos, (A Hundred Fires)
and our contact person is Sr. Joel Rodriguez Cruz.![]()
What a wonderful service
opportunity for us readers in the San Francisco Bay Area who have had
the privilege of freedom of choice as to our spiritual path, now to
be able to assist our brothers and sisters in a Communist county.
Many thanks to Agustin Arellano and the readers from Mexico who started this project.
We encourage other Urantia groups and societies to join us in this worthy cause as we help to light the fire of truth in Cuba.
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Pipeline of Light Report
Dear Friends,
Since my last report, Pipeline of Light volunteers
have placed one hundred, forty-two copies of The Urantia Book into
sixteen countries. Your donations to the Pipeline helped us deliver
books to readers in Cuba, Colombia, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, El
Salvador, Canada, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa, Guatemala,
Brazil, and the United States. The Pipeline also is happy to say we've placed books into two new countries, Sri Lanka and Grenada.
Current efforts bring our Pipeline all-time totals
to three thousand, three hundred and forty-seven books placed into
seventy-five countries around the world. We deeply appreciate the
contributions of our volunteers and our donors. If you would like to contribute to this work, donations can be made online at:
or by mail to:
The Urantia BookFellowship, PO Box 6631, Broomfield, CO 80021
Thank you so much foryour support!
Michelle Klimesh,
Pipeline Coordinator |
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ONLINE STUDY GROUPS - SO EASY TO JOIN IN!
Tuesday Morning & Wednesday Night
Pato Banton and Antoinette Hall are opening their group on Tuesday morning at 10am pst and Wednesday night at 7pm pst.
Skype address is patobanton123
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
Atlanta Urantia Study Group
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
Saturday Morning
9 AM Mountain Daylight Time
The Cosmic Citizen is a show for progressive religionists
and spiritual people who are ready to find spirituality worthy of an
age of science and enlightenment. Our two hosts, Paula Thompson and
Christilyn Biek-Larson are both long time students of The Urantia Book.
We interview guests on topics related to modern and progressive
spiritual growth and religious interests. We always incorporate Urantia
Book teachings, welcome callers and have lively interactions in the live
chat room. We embrace diversity, intelligent dialogue and a willingness
to serve. We also feature a show for Spanish Speakers called Ciudadanos del Universo on Wednesdays at 9 AM Mountain Daylight Time. Please join us! Click here for the link. 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!
Click here to see what is available.
*****
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.
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.
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Urantia Book Fellowship Fundraiser $$$$![]()
Get your bumper
sticker here!!
$5.00
Make check payable to Maria Downing-Tamm
Mail to:
2635 Mapleton Ave #41
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