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June 29, 1985

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Urantia Brotherhood. We are a young organization with a past history of service and a future of great potential. We are a group of individuals of great diversity, but we come together in unity of purpose -- through the dissemination of The Urantia Book and its teachings we wish to help bring man closer to God and God closer to man.

Having been given the gift of the fifth epochal revelation we have the serious yet joyful responsibility to foster the new and expanded revelation of the true nature of our loving heavenly Father. To this end Urantia Brotherhood was created as an organizational-tool to help mobilize the creative energies of increasing numbers of truth-seeking mortals who desire to know God, do his will in their lives, and increasingly live the spiritual truth they proclaim -- to bear spiritual fruit.

While The Urantia Book itself is not an end, it is a most important means to an end. This is not to infer that we see ourselves as a chosen people, having special favor before God. Rather have we chosen to be of service to God. There are many organizations with a similar purpose. They, too, are made up of God-knowing individuals.

Considering the history of our planet, Urantia: there are probably now functioning many types of emergency groups of spirit-led men and women throughout the world, and among all nations, which are carrying on vital tasks. Among these groups none can have a more solemn obligation than our group. We have been called to the great work of taking the first steps in offering to mortal man a new light, a new revelation, of the love of God.

Lest we begin to think this is an easy task accomplished by an organ-ization, we are reminded on page 1466, "Man must become hungry for truth as a result of the experiences of living, or he must desire to know God as the result of contact with the lives of those who are acquainted with the divine Father before another human being can act as the means of leading such a fellow mortal to the Father in heaven. If we know God, our real business on earth is so to live as to permit the Father to reveal himself in our lives, and thus will all God-seeking persons see the Father and ask for our help in finding out more about the God who in this manner finds expression in our lives."

At the organizational level, Urantia Societies, through the recent meeting of the Triennial Delegate Assembly, have elected fourteen members to the General Council, nine of whom are new members. The Council gives direction to Brotherhood activities. It goes without saying that each member of the Council approaches this task with sincerity of purpose and thoughtful enthusiasm.

All of you have copies of reports of officers, departmental chairmen, and field representatives. Having read them thoroughly you will have the chance to ask the questions you have following the completion of my report.

As your President I can say that it has been an eventful year. our work has moved forward in many areas. However, some events brought with them a measure of sadness and personal disappointment. What follows is a review.

An Ad Hoc Committee on developing a philosophy statement for Urantia Brotherhood was established at the last Council meeting. Chairman Peter Laurence has worked with his Committee members over the past year by phone and mail and included a two-day meeting in Chicago in early June. He will be telling us some of the results of the Committee's efforts. . t

Office work at Urantia Brotherhood headquarters has increased. It has become evident that there is need for an additional full-time worker with the increased workload. This was made clear when Marian Rowley was out of the office for two months due to a back sprain -- roughly November and December. On short vacations it is possible for the staff to cover for another worker. It became increasingly obvious that Marian was doing the work of at least two people. We do make use of volunteer staffing, but this is not an adequate permanent solution. We continue to plan and implement programs which automate office work with the use of our computer. The staff is increasing its knowledge and application of this useful tool.

I think we all can be well-pleased with the Spanish translation fundraising campaign. Financially the goal of $350,000 has for all practical purposes been reached. A recent meeting in Chicago called by Urantia Foundation brought together a representative of the translation company along with some of those who will be involved in the checking of the translation to discuss some of the details of how the work flow will progress once the translation effort is underway. We all should be aware that this is a strenuous undertaking and a commitment of not only resources but great amounts of personal time on the part of volunteers.

The eighth printing of approximately 25,000 copies of The Urantia Book was completed in September. In February it was noted that an error had been made in the printing when two pages in the table of contents, xliii (43) and lxiii (63), had been transposed. The printer was notified immediately and the Foundation began negotiations to have the printing corrected at the printer's expense. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood stopped book shipments and notified its customers of the lack of books. The printer agreed to the Foundation's terms and by May 15 we had 5,000 corrected copies available for shipment. In two working days we shipped approximately 1,000 books to fill back orders. It should be noted that in response to our notification to customers only about five canceled their orders and several of these were reinstated. The remainder of the printing has now been hand-repaired and reboxed.

We continue to work at increasing the broader distribution of books. After great effort we were able to convince Ingram, this country's largest distributor, to stock The Urantia Book. Sales to them began in February and they have been ordering at a steady rate. We continue to seek out additional wholesale outlets.

As you are aware, there were vacancies on the Foundation Board. It was gratifying to see the Foundation appoint two highly qualified individuals as Trustees -- Mrs. Gloriann Harris and Mrs. Helena Sprague. They will certainly contribute greatly to the work of our sister organization.

In January rumors began to circulate that "new" messages about war were being received in Clayton, California. This later was confirmed when Carolyn Kendall returned from a vacation in that area. The details of this episode were covered in a letter to all Society Presidents and Councilors April 23. At the April meeting of the Executive Committee, Carolyn resigned from the General Council and therefore as Vice-President of the Brotherhood. The Executive Committee accepted the resignation with the recognition that Carolyn has felt she has always acted in the best interest of the Brotherhood. While I am saddened by these events, I commend Carolyn for making a most difficult personal decision and the Committee for facing the issues involved.

I have received letters from two societies which requests that the Council consider further action which may be taken in response to events of the last eighteen months. I share these letters with you now.

On the international level some forward strides have been taken to build bridges of fellowship and understanding. Last fall at the invitation of Jacques Dupont, Berkeley Elliott, Chairman of the International Fellowship Committee, and I visited France. It was an opportunity for French readers to meet Berkeley and also to tell her of their activities in forming study groups and disseminating the Urantia teachings. More recently, a tour group of Urantia Book readers on their way to the Holy Land stopped in Paris to provide the opportunity to host our French friends for an evening together at a local Paris restaurant. I cannot emphasize enough how important these personal contacts are in bridging cultural differences.

I also wish to report having been in communication with the Foundation on: the Brotherhood's recommendation to reproduce textbooks; dust jacket revision; errata sheet to The Urantia Book; machine readable form of The Urantia Book.

This is a summary of the major activities of the past year. The Committee reports give greater detail. If the Council feels discussion is needed on anything in this report, time will be provided.

I wish to thank all of you who have assisted in the organizational details in my responsibility as President. My special thanks to Marian Rowley, to my fellow officers, and Executive Committee members. It has been a pleasure serving with you all and I look forward to our continued working together in whatever capacity that may be.

Respectfully submitted,

John W. Hales President

JWH/bs