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Urantia Brotherhood
Intra-Office News Memorandum
October 20, 1971


Urantia BROTHERHOOD INTRA-OFFICE MEMORANDUM

October 20, 1971

FROM: A. L. Kulieke, President and E. L. Christensen, Vice President

TO: Urantia Societies and Study Groups

It is some months since we wrote to you and several events have take place since then. A great deal of activity continues to go on at Urantia Headquarters with ever-increasing correspondence, book sales, phone calls and visitors. We would like to comment briefly upon the Summer Study Session and General Council meeting.

Slightly more than one hundred individuals attended our five sessions dealing with the History and Development of Urantia concluding with the five epochal revelations on Urantia. It appeared to be the consensus of those attending that the presentations were highly informative and that the total experience was profitable and enjoyable. This session was different from previous sessions in that almost all present had considerable knowledge or background in the teachings of the Urantia Book. We experimented with simultaneous meetings in separate groups, with reports or summaries given at a general meeting after the group sessions. We may do more of this at subsequent study sessions, since we were approaching the capacity of our headquarters facilities for single sessions. the social event on the final night gave each one some opportunity to become acquainted with many Urantians from different parts of the country. We were pleased with the prevailing atmosphere of the Fifth Summer Study Session and also with the response to it by those participating.

On the day following the study session the General Council with thirty-four of the thirty-six Councilors present met.

The routine matter of coming to order, reading minutes of the previous meeting and census report were quickly taken care of.

Reports of committee chairmen and officers were given. A brief summary of the more significant items reported include the following.

  1. No real problems were referred to the Judicial Committee.
  2. The Houston Society was chartered in January 1971.
  3. Changes in churches and religions indicate possible greater readiness to accept the Urantia message.
  4. A new brochure containing a resume of the Urantia Book has been printed.
  5. We are attempting to place Urantia Books in libraries in foreign lands.
  6. An effort of re-examining the function of the Urantia Brotherhood School is in progress.
  7. There has been a great increase in the number of individuals in our country and abroad who are receiving the quarterly bulletin.
  8. There is need for additional funds in order adequately to carry on the activities of the Brotherhood and we need even more funds to expand these activities.
  9. Letters, visitors and phone calls continue to be received in ever-increasing numbers. The varied activities of the officers keep multiplying. Urantia headquarters is continuing to be a very busy place.
  10. A brief description of the many subjects considered by the Executive Committee were given.
  11. There is a growing need for secretarial help and also for a Field Secretary.
  12. Years ago before the book was printed -- those interested in the Urantia Papers experienced a time test of delay. More recently there has been an additional test--that of unity--and this test still continues. It is most important that we remain unified as we work for the steady, sure increase in acceptance of the Urantia teachings.

The Council then heard reports from the four Field Secretaries, each telling about the activities in his own area. These were impressive reports indicating great amounts of time and effort devoted to Urantia business by these individuals and their associates.

A report of the special Advisory Committee that had been appointed several months previously was presented. This contained over forty suggestions or recommendations that the Executive Committee is presently studying. A number of these items coincide with plans or proposals already being considered by the Executive Committee.

The First Urantia Society is having installation services for new members on Sunday, October 31 at 2:00 PM.

Simultaneously with the meetings on Sunday of the First Urantia Society, martin Myers is conducting a separate class for young readers who are just beginning to study the Urantia Book.

Mary Lou and Bill Hales, Martin and I are planning a visit to the Darien, Connecticut study group on Saturday, November 6. This group was organized by Mrs. Helena Wall some years ago and is now composed of approximately 35 members. We are eagerly looking forward to this visit in Darien.

Julia Fenderson writes us that she has resigned from some of her work at the university in order to devote more time to field representative work and to her husband, Bill, who has been ill for the past year. Julia has worked at such a fast pace for a long time that we are all happy to learn that she is having a little bit of leisure.

Berkeley Elliott called about a week ago to tell us of her many activities, visiting groups in Tulsa, Dallas and other spots as well as entertaining groups of people at her home nearly every week end.

Vern Grimsley is now on radio station WEAW, Evanston, Illinois at 9:45 each morning. You will find him at 1330 on the dial. We talked with Vern on the telephone Sunday evening and he tells us he and Nancy, Dave, Bettina and Harry are all working at top speed.

You might be interested to learn that G. Vonne Meussling has written a dissertation on "William S. Sadler: Chautauqua's Medic Orator" to fulfill the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the graduate school of Bowling Green State University. I am sure many of you would like to take a look at it some time when you are in Chicago. A complimentary copy is in Christy's hands.

We would like to conclude this letter with the final remarks of the Urantia Brotherhood President in his annual report to the General Council:

"As each of us has embarked upon the open seas of life's adventure, so has our Brotherhood set sail on a voyage of world enlightenment through this new revelation that has been given to the world. to those of us here has been entrusted the leadership of this venture. We have had some instructions, some charts, given to us to guide us, but we continue to plow through new waters and the charts have to be refined or changed periodically. May we all work together in continued cooperation, utilizing our best judgment and combined wisdom in making these decisions that will keep our course consistently aimed toward the haven of ultimate world acceptance of the Urantia teachings."