1987 REPORT OF THE
INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE OF
Urantia BROTHERHOOD
Berkeley Elliott
My report had to be in Chicago last year before the first of June, so I would like to back up a little-and report on our trip to Australia, as well as the Paris Conference and our visit in Finland.
John Hales, Tom Allen and I did a whirlwind trip to Australia, including stops in Tahiti, New Zealand and Fiji, as well as Melbourne, Perth and Balingup, in Australia. We attended a Conference in Melbourne with about 35 present, and met with many readers with each stop. It Is such a great feeling knowing so many wonderful people all over the planet are reading and living this great Revelation.
Around 100 Readers from many countries attended this wonderful Conference. It was actually the first International meeting outside the United States and was a very positive influence on making the planet a "Global Village." From France eight of us from the U.S. went to Finland and met with many (including the ones we had been with in Paris) readers there. We truly loved these wonderful, friendly people.
In October, 1986 the First Urantia Society of Oklahoma sponsored a Forum on "International Viewpoints on World Peace" which was attended by about 20 people, Including guests from France, Switzerland, Montreal, Ontario and Vancouver, Canada, as well as people from New York, Illinois, Texas. Florida, California, Georgia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Massachusetts, Tennessee, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Many guests participated in the program. After the Forum was over the Internationalization Design Team met for a couple of hours and planned a potential meeting in New York for a later date and went over input from each member of the team. We settled on the three most Important issues we should pursue at this time were getting Books in libraries all over the planet; Facilitating Fellowship and Translations.
January 23, 24 & 25, 1987 all the Design Teams met in Chicago and decisions were made if they wanted to continue and if they had more to offer. The Internationalization Design Team made "the cut" so we set up a definite meeting in New York. We met at David & Marta Elder's home April 24-26, 1987. Georges Michelson-DuPont from France, Jacques Tetrault from Montreal, Brent St. Denis from Gloucester, Lawrence Schkade from Arlington, Tx, Gard Jamison from Boulder City, NV. Philip Rolnick from Durham, NC, Peter Laurence from Armonk NY, Avi & Lila Dogim from Brooklyn, John Hales from Chicago, and of course David and Marta and I were all present. We had brief visits from Steve & Barbara Dreier, Paul Snider and Eileen Laurence. We came up with the definite ideas that personal get-togethers are most important and with some positive plans for the future.
This Design Team will meet with the IFC In Maine, August 1, 1987. Hopefully during the week of the Conference some of our plans can be put into action.
The annual meeting of the International Fellowship Committee will be held in Los Angeles, CA July 25th.
Seventeen readers of The Urantia book took a trip to China. While there we visited a Christian Church and through our translator had a great visit with the minister there. Tom Allen sang a song and Susan Wright played the piano and we had a great meditation time together. The minister advised that several small churches had opened up and he held several services each Sunday. Now that people are not afraid - they are truly interested in religious pursuit.
In Hong Kong we met with a Chinese reader and she took vacation time and spend days and nights with us. Not only was she a great person she is highly intelligent and most interested in a Chinese Translation. She will be visiting in Vancouver and the U.S. in July, but unfortunately will not be in the States for the Conference. We loved Saadi (her English name) LAU Lai Wah and look forward to being with her in the future.
The weekend of June 5-7, 1987 was spent in Ontario, Canada at their 7th annual Conference in Geneva Park. The setting was beautiful and the positive attitude of all the people there was most exciting. They are very interested in becoming the first Urantia Society outside of the U.S. and made plans to go forward with this commitment.
I am more and more convinced we are attempting to share the Fifth Epochal Revelation. and sometimes I feel we are more interested in sharing the Fourth. We have been given much more than positive clarification of the Fourth and If we study the Fifth enough we will become more and more as the fourth part of the Book shows us we can be. I once heard It stated that Part IV of the Book shows how people live when they know the other three parts. At least we can strive to live this way, Since there Is no "authority" on the planet, It seems Important to make the Fifth Revelation available-to as many as possible and let it speak for itself. Surely it is "seed-planting" time and hopefully the future will bring forth new and better ways of sharing this world-transforming Book. Let us all thank our Father for each and every opportunity he gives us to share, cooperate, love and find new and better ways to share this Revelation and do his will!
Thanks to each member of our Committee and all the personnel at headquarters as well as each person that has contributed so much this year (and there are many), to helping the Urantia Brotherhood become more International. May we be much more successful as time goes by. I appreciate the opportunity to serve.
Warm regards,
Berkeley Elliott, Chairman International Fellowship Committee
P.S. The new Guidelines for Progress were mailed out to all known readers outside of the U.S. and have been quite well received. They are also helping with placing Books in libraries.
The second International Conference outside of the U.S. to be held at
Ranelagh House, Robertson, N.S.W. Australia (near Sydney). October 10-14,
1988, should be a great opportunity to help make us a Global Village."
A Service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship