Hello Rocky Mountain Urantians !!!
Summer is finally upon us and the Rockies are beautiful. Once more I'm thanking God for life in the Mountains!
As president of RMSF I want to talk about an important topic being discussed among Front Range members. That is the reorganizing of “The Rocky Mountain Spiritual Fellowship" into 3 Fellowship Societies, under the Regional Identifier of RMSF.
Please consider the following:
- Of our 19 Fellowship Societies, only 4 can boast of over 75 members.
- 8 Societies have 30 members or less.
- The RMSF membership can boast a roster of roughly a 140 names.
- RMSF can easily re-organize into 3 Societies with more than 30 members each.
- Representationally speaking, during last year's TDA, RMSF was 1 lone voice out of 19. It's possible that at the next TDA, that could be 3 voices out of 21.
Ok, those are the basic STATS. Now let's look at some other rationale, starting with logistics.
During the early years of the Society, the Front Range provided a natural corridor for the Revelation to travel along, while at the same time building a strong RMSF membership along the way. We are certainly thankful and proud that our numbers have grown, but now logistically speaking, we must recognize that distances, travel times and traffic have also grown.
Consider that Fort Collins to Pueblo is 178 miles, 2 hours & 43 minutes without traffic on the I-25 corridor. (thankyoumapsgoogle.com) and once you're off that I-25 corridor, it's going to be a lot more stop-and-go driving. So in practical terms, for most members this means in order to attend meetings and events, the driving time has grown longer and more inconvenient.
It's these distances (in part) that hinder folks from attending our functions and events. If the event was closer, it would be easier for all members to participate on a regular basis. In other words, re-organizing allows us to re-focus our most precious resources: People - Urantians.
More Societies along the Front Range means flexibility and greater diversity.
It means more opportunities for folks in local study groups, to take on active leadership roles in their immediate area. It means utilizing resources to focus on our own backyards, rather than us trying to mobilize the whole state!
Society status facilitates access to Fellowship resources. Resources of all types are available thru the Fellowship; study aids, speaker bureau, books, etc., along with a host of tools for developing local Urantia outreach events.
For example, currently the EC is sponsoring $1,000 grants specifically to Fellowship Societies for projects that align with the purpose of The Fellowship.
Society status puts a local group at the head of such lines. Having three Societies on the Front Range rewards all Colorado Urantians with more opportunities to access such resources.
And speaking of Fellowship Resources in general, do you hold valuable views on how these amazing resources are applied to Dissemination efforts? Would you be surprised to know that the Fellowship wants to know your thoughts? Did you know that the Fellowship would like to work with you in making those ideas a reality?
FYI – RMSF has applied for one of these grants on behalf of the Joshua ben Joseph Project, a project which is capturing high definition video and still photography of regions in which Jesus lived. Additional Grants could focus locally in Denver or in Pueblo.
Each summer our Societies meet in conclave to discuss those issues of import to the general membership. These are important discussions that differ greatly from the work of the General Council. When a consensus is gained, these views and proposals are then forwarded to the Council for action. With additional Societies representing our area, we will gain a significantly greater voice in these discussions, in theory three times the opportunity to express that which is important to Colorado Urantians.
There are inherent benefits in being associated with and working thru a Urantia Book Fellowship Society. What are those benefits? Well for starters, group wisdom and great pot-lucks full of local cuisine! But perhaps the most significant reason to segment RMSF into three Societies is that it will provide more local, backyard practical access, more diversity for our work on behalf the Revelation.
We have available to RMSF members a full roster listing each member by city, north to south. I'm sure RMSF members will find it to be very helpful when discussing the new alignments. Members, please call or email any officer for your personal copy.
Click here for a version here which contains city/location information so that you can see the wide geographic dispersion of our membership.
As you will see we've arbitrarily divided the Front Range by the North, Central & South, using the three major cities of Boulder – Denver – Pueblo--with Monument bordering the South and Westminster still to declare!
Now regardless of these arbitrary border lines, remember – each individual member can declare their own allegiance regardless of their geographical location. Keep in mind, The Fellowship's organizational model holds true to the principles of Home Rule, and in this instance, this means local Societies decide their own rules and requirements for membership in good standing. Did you know, RMSF has 27 members living outside of the state?
As this process goes forward, I am making a formal call, for at least 10 Urantians in both the Denver & the Pueblo areas, to volunteer and stand ready to be a signatory on one of the 2 NEW Society Charters. These will be two new historical documents. So come on now, who wouldn't want to be a charter signatory--now's your chance. Just think, why a thousand years from now your ancestors ….
(Please note 10 is only a minimum requirement, there is no maximum--soooo bring a friend to the signing)
At present, to facilitate the transition, I am recommending that Boulder temporarily remain RMSF, until such time as the 2 new Societies are initiated, at which time Boulder will formerly change its name from RMSF to something new and announce that RMSF now represents a Regional Identity for all of Colorado (pretty much as it does now).
Signatory Volunteers, please contact one of your RMSF officers.
On behalf of all of us, Be of Good Cheer!
Lenny Cowles
RMSF President |
