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In 1960 1 spoke to a number of Urantia Societies on the theme "Our Task." I should like to entitle this presentationy "Our Continuing Task." and to establish continuity I quote from the speech of 1960.

"Ours is one of the most fascinating and yet one of the most difficult tasks on our planet. For we are the custodians of the greatest message ever given to man but must acquire the forbearance to refrain from using broadcast., impetuous, or shortsighted methods of presenting this message which would thrust the Urantia revelation upon our present day society before modern man is adequately prepared to receive it.

"Our task as Urantia Societies is to become a living community of the higher way of truth, beauty., and goodness which the searchers of humanity may discover. In the present phase of activity as guardians of the Urantia revelation serving mainly in the capacity of study groups and engaging in discriminating personal evangelism we should endeavor to become the leaven which will eventually transform the religious institutions of the world.

"Our present goal is not to start a new religion or to organize another religious body designed to replace our present religious organizations. Our mission as Societies and as individuals., is to be the channel through which people and religious groups can discover the Urantia revelation under the most favorable conditions. If we do our job well, it may never be necessary for the Urantia Brotherhood to concern itself -as a major function - with the mechanics of organization building. Urantia Societies both within and independent of the religious institutions of the world could serve as continuing study groups which would be the perpetual leaven of the evolution of these institutions.

Since 1960 amazing changes have occurred in the activities and atmosphere of the religious life of America and Europe. Ecumenical developments between Catholics and Protestants and among independent Protestant groups are taking place which most of us assumed would take a hundred years to accomplish.

Changes in both Catholic and Protestant theological thinking has been revolutionary. Catholic theological positions are very rapidly assuming the attitudes of traditional Protestantism and in some places, such as the writings of Teilhard de Chardin., they are leading both Catholic and Protestant thinking. Among American Protestants the "death of God" theologians and "situation ethics" are creating a spiritual climate and opening doors of intellectual opportunity which appear to be tailor-made for the message of the Urantia Book.

The greatest barrier to new religious ideas has always been a dogmatic theology in the custody of a powerful religious institution. Today both of these are crumbling.. Thomas J. J. Altizers one of the death of God theologians, says, "Hopefully a new day has dawned for theology, a revolutionary day in which the gradual but decisive transformation of faith that has occurred in the modern world will be recognized....even though doing so may promise the end of most if not all of the established religious forms of the West.... The majority of Christian theologians whether Catholic or Protestant, acknowledge the end of Western Christendom as we have known it and with it the end of those cultural and social forms which once assumed a Christian name."

It is generally recognized that we have come to the close of a philosophic era. The intellectual world ushered in by the renaissance, structured by the reformation and the counter reformations and nourished by science and reason no longer speaks to the contemporary situation. In no field is this more apparent than religion. The often quoted German theologians Dietrich Bonhoeffers announced that the world has now come of age and pronounced the death of Christianity and the church as "separate" institutions of significance. The British theologians John A. T. Robinson, whose books Honest to God and The New Reformation have been widely read by American laymen calls for a complete re-thinking of -the Christian faith. The central objective of the American death of God theologians is a new and relevant theology. Apart from a negation of theology's former grounds, no fundamental transformation of theology is possible.... In this sense... the death of the theological tradition is at bottom its rebirth into new life.(Toward a New Christianity - Thomas J.J. Altizer, Harcourt, Brace and World, 1967)

All of these movements are a negation of traditional dogmatism in theology and authoritarianism in religious institutions along with a new appreciation of the person and religion of Jesus. If one were to outline a program which would prepare our society for the message of the Urantia Book, it would be difficult to improve on the evolution in religious thinking now taking place. The spiritual vacuum of Western Civilization will certainly increase creating an atmosphere in which a larger presentation of truth will find room to expand.

Not only has there been a stimulating change in the religious atmosphere in recent years laying foundations favorable to the reception of the Urantia message., the Urantia Movement itself has emerged from its near mute and anonymous infancy. Thousands of copies of the Urantia Book are in circulation throughout the world; the second edition of the Urantia Book has been ordered; a French edition has appeared; numerous societies and study groups have evolved; college students are being introduced to the Urantia Book and its philosophy in a critical academic atmosphere; and hundreds of people in all walks of life are beginning to ask questions about the origin., nature,. and message of the Urantia Book.

Because of these changing conditions our responsibilities are also changing. The quiet, almost secret era of the Urantia Movement is slowly phasing out. I see the next decade as a growing but preparatory period for what might be called the "coming out" era of the Urantia Movement sometime around 1980. In preparation for this more open and active period in which many if not most people in our academic communities will have heard of the Urantia Book and in which systematic contact work will be established in our colleges and universities, I hope the following achievements may be accomplished:

1. The publication of an intellectually respectable history of the Urantia. movement including reasonably open and objective statements regarding. the origin of the Urantia Book which, in the best way possible, speak to the questions constantly asked by people who are introduced to the Urantia Book.

2. The publication of the Index, visual aids, and other teaching aids for the Urantia Book.

3. The publication of a book presenting a philosophy which appeals to the contemporary mind and which parallels the philosophy of the Urantia Book which could be used as an introduction to the thought patterns of the Urantia Book or be converted into an apologetic to demonstrate the philosophic-religious reasonableness and excellence of the Urantia Book.

4. Draw up plans of procedure for the publication of a monthly magazine which would serve as the organ of the Urantia Brotherhood.

5. Look for an able individual who has abilities and interests in the field of finance and who will be retiring in the next ten or fifteen years and with his assistance make plans for his spending full time building the finances of the Urantia Foundation and the Urantia Brotherhood Corporation. Look for a vigorous and able individual who relates well with people., is vitally interested in the growth of the Urantia Movement, and who will be retiring in the next ten or fifteen years and with his assistance make plans for his spending full time contacting, organizing., and integrating societies and study groups as well as serving as a contact person with other religious groups. Look for a stimulating and able individual who has superior abilities in relating to and communicating with young people who might be employed by the Brotherhood and with his assistance make plans for his spending full time at colleges and universities presenting the Urantian philosophy and expediting the Urantia Movement. Although it seems evident that intangible evolutionary forces are preparing our world for the message of the Urantia Book, I believe that we must increasingly assume a more active response to this growing need. In the light of these developments the final paragraph of my speech of 1960 seems to be even more relevant today:

"The fields are indeed growing white for the harvest and we must prepare ourselves to be ready for the time when the storms of dogmatism and sectarianism have abated and the fresh winds of searching minds drive away the clouds of spiritual blindness enabling the sun of an enlarged and profound revelation to bring new light, warmth, and hope to mankind. Then our full ministry will begin."

Meredith J. Sprunger
August, 1967