To General Councilors, Society Presidents, and Field Representatives
Carolyn Kendall, Chairman of the Planning Committee for the 1978 Urantia
Brotherhood General Conference, gave an extensive report on plans being
considered. There was a consensus agreement in the Executive Committee
that the 1978 General Conference and the General Council meeting will be
held during the same calendar week. At this time we are planning for the
1978 General Council meeting to be held on a Sunday at 533 Diversey Parkway
with the General Conference to be held during the week following this day.
Plans are being made to hold the General Conference on the campus of George
Williams College on the shores of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. These plans are
still tentative.
Urantia Foundation, after much deliberation, which included discussions
with the Executive Committee of the Brotherhood, a member of the Oklahoma
Society, and Sandy Garrick, has denied Mr. Garrick's request to use direct
quotations from The Urantia Book as lyrics to music he composed to be published
and distributed. The Foundation felt that they should not permit Urantia
teachings to be woven into 20th century western culture through the agency
of officially authorized works of art. In their judgment such official
recognition could eventually hamper the spread of Urantia teachings to
other cultures. The trustees do not wish to discourage creative activity;
they would encourage artists to express Urantia concepts in their own words.
Urantia Foundation also recently granted the First Urantia Society of
Oklahoma permission to reproduce and distribute tapes of the 1976 Urantia
International Forum, but these tapes may not include any of the musical
portions of the program which used quotations from The Urantia Book as
lyrics.
Three study groups have recently expressed their desire to receive society
charters. The Executive Committee, after a long discussion, decided to
declare a moratorium on the consideration of requests for applications
for charters until the issue of the Confirmatory Agreement is resolved.
Since the Dallas study group has completed almost all of the requirements
for receiving a charter, the Executive Committee authorized the President
and Secretary-General to convey the spirit of this decision in person to
the Dallas group. We regret having to ask these groups to wait for the
consideration of their requests to become societies, but we are confident
that the Confirmatory Agreement issue will be settled in the spirit of
truth and brotherhood in the not too distant future. The prognosis for
unity in the Brotherhood is excellent.
Cece Forrester was appointed to the Domestic Extension Committee until
the next meeting of the General Council.
Rosa Schwelkert, James H. Johnson, Charles Arcieri, Cathie Ventola,
Barbara Ann Maier, Ronald R.Craig, Marc Freeman, and Joyce Forst have been
accepted as members-at-large.
We extend our best wishes to everyone attending the Florida Conference
at Lakeland, Florida, on November 13.
The spiritually perceptive person realizes that he owes much of his
sense of well-being to the love and service of his fellows and the Father
of all. May you have a warm and meaningful Thanksgiving.
Cordially,
Meredith J. Sprunger, President
MJS/MTR
