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The past three years, serving as president of Urantia Brotherhood, have been good years filled with valuable experience. I accepted this position with considerable reservation because I have never felt a calling for presidential responsibilities. Nevertheless, I can now see that these years have broadened and deepened my experience so that I am better prepared to initiate the ministry to which I have felt a calling for over twenty years - the task of evolving an interface between the Christian Church and the Urantia movement.

I am optimistic about the long term growth and mission of Urantia Brotherhood; however, I am concerned about some of the present attitudes and actions within the Brotherhood. I worry about certain tendencies toward tacit secrecy and the subtle use of power which is common in manipulative cults. I fear that we are unconsciously developing institutionalizm more than spiritual growth and ministry. I grieve over unresolved antagonisms and the drift toward political-legal expediency in the place of brotherly love and spiritual statesmanship.

I am confident, however, that the Brotherhood will transcend these human foibles if we are vigilant and earnestly seek spiritual guidance and spiritual goals. May we learn to be more trusting and accepting of our brethren. Let us be forbearing of one another in love and maintain the unity of the Spirit in the fellowship of good will and the bond of peace.

My greatest satisfaction during the past three years is that we have established a greater openness and honesty in headquarters activities. Communications have improved and as a result there is new hope for growth and change and along with it, I believe, a deeper and more pluralistic unity in the Brotherhood. This stimulus toward a full participatory democracy will bear fruits in the decades ahead; we will eventually broaden our base of decision-making. As I bring my tenure as president to a close, I should like to thank all of you for your wonderful support and love.

The most important priority of Urantia Brotherhood is spiritual ministry. This is best accomplished by developing strong, indigenous, self-reliant, creative study groups and societies. History has demonstrated that organizations which encourage a large degree of local autonomy, as does the constitution of Urantia Brotherhood, develop the strongest resistance to evil and error and stimulate the highest levels of creativity and service.

Over the years my conviction has intensified that the most important things which are happening in the Urantia movement are taking place in the lives of individuals and among study groups and societies at the grass roots of the world. When we realize that the focus of activity and growth in Urantia Brotherhood should be in local study groups and societies, many of the concerns which some of us have had regarding headquarters' attitudes and decisions fade into insignificance.

Let us, therefore, place our emphasis on organizing and developing thousands of study groups. This is the real foundation of diversity and strength in the Urantia movement. The Brotherhood constitution is a marvelous document which allows societies the freedom to develop almost any service or ministry which headquarters might provide. Instead of depending on headquarters, local groups should initiate their own services and programs wherever possible. Encourage the creative expression of abilities which people have in your group. As able, dedicated people retire, you may wish to appoint or elect them to various types of full time service. When local groups grow in size and financial resources they may wish to hire their own full time people. When one visualizes the possibilities and potentialities of the Urantia movement across our land and throughout the world, the future is indeed bright.

There has been much frustration concerning limitations of publication imposed by the copyright law. Instead of pressuring the Foundation for permission to quote or publish material, use the many freedoms which are open to you. The new copyright law has fair use and photocopying provisions ( see Circular R 21 "Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians" published by the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 20559). Currently study aids could be published by using standard nomenclature (page, paragraph, line) references without violating the copyright law. Other literature can be written using the creative expression of the author without quoting or paraphrasing The Urantia Book. Where there is an honest difference of opinion as to the legality of any study group practice or any piece of literature, we should welcome court rulings to help us establish the true freedoms and limitations of the new copyright law.

We should realize that 2030 (the approximate date of the expiration of The Urantia Book copyright) is, historically speaking, only day after tomorrow.

Creative people could be encouraged to privately produce works of literature and art. Local study groups and societies can create archives where these works may be stored. In this way when 2030 arrives there will be a substantial body of literature and art ready for publication.

I continue to believe that it would be wise and good for Urantia Foundation to grant Urantia Societies the same discount policy allowed bookstores in purchasing Urantia Books. This would foster a co-worker relationship with societies in the place of the present authoritarian-legalistic relationship.

Finally, I should like to charge the General Council to fully assume its constitutional responsibility as the highest policy making body of the Brotherhood. During most of the past-twenty years the General Council has tended to rubber stamp the decisions and policies recommended by the Chicago Executive Committee. It is time for the General Council to actively assume its leadership in the determination of policies and guidelines and direct the Executive Committee to carry out these policies. This will assure a broader base for decision-making in the Brotherhood.

We are just beginning the grass roots flowering of the Urantia movement. May we cease all preoccupation with matters of secondary importance about The Urantia Book or about Urantia Brotherhood which tend to be divisive and joyfully concentrate on sharing the great spiritual truths of The Urantia Book with our fellowmen in those areas where we have a sense of calling and where the freedom of the spirit can produce fruits with enrich and fulfill.

As we learn to depend more and more on the Father's inner guidance and less and less on external coercions, great and wonderful things happen. The greatest danger of being diverted from the divine way for most of us comes not from the "forces of evil" but from the powerful shaping influence of our friends and in-group, the fear of censure or persecution, the desire for power, and the enticement of popular acclaim. The path directed by the spirit is often difficult but it is deeply satisfying and effective. It is literally true, we must learn "to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable." Truly, "in liaison with God nothing - absolutely nothing - is impossible." (p. 291)

May God bless each of you and lead you into fruitful activity in the years ahead.

Cordially, with love,

Meredith J. Sprunger
President, Urantia Brotherhood