The founders of the Urantia Brotherhood visualized the educational function of the Brotherhood basic to its future. Accordingly they organized the Brotherhood School and trained Certified Leaders and Ordained Teachers. The students of this from the Chicago area. It was soon apparent the Brotherhood School needed to find ways to extend its outreach. The Summer Study Session, now known as the General Conference, was initiated to partially meet this need.

The continuing challenge of extending the service of the Brotherhood School along with new approaches to education in our culture have necessitated rethinking the philosophy, curriculum, methods, and goals of the Brotherhood School. The Committee on Education has started this task during the past year. The Workshop was initiated to facilitate the restructuring process of the Brotherhood School.

We are planning a program whereby we will get extensive feedback from all segments .of the Brotherhood which will help shape the policies of the Brotherhood School. At present we visualize a school with considerable flexibility and diversity to promote maximum educational activity while at the same time controlling the quality of educational goals. We are not overly concerned about current status or methodologies but the end goals of our educational experience.

Last summer I accepted the chairmanship of the Committee on Education with some misgivings concerning the problem which the distance between Fort Wayne and Chicago would precipitate. Although we got along reasonably well, the monthly trips to meet with the Executive Committee required shifting of classes and other schedule changes. Irene's illness this spring along with a year of experience brought me to several conclusions:

1) The chairman of the committees of the Brotherhood should live in the Chicago area or the Executive Committee should meet on a Saturday.

2) Expediting plans for the General Conference and Workshop should be in the Chicago office and immediate decisions in planning the conference should be in the hands of a small committee in the Chicago area.

I, therefore, have advised Paul to appoint a chairman of the Committee on Education who lives in the Chicago area.

Cordially,

Meredith J. Sprunger