A MESSAGE FROM THE URANTIA FOUNDATION: June 15, 1972
The Trustees of the Urantia Foundation believe that members of the Urantia Brotherhood are interested in information concerning the varied activities of the Foundation. We hope all society members will read this message with interest and thereby acquire further understanding of some of the problems met by the Trustees, and of the policies that were necessarily adopted to solve these problems and divert others.
Personnel Changes on October 16, 1971
a) Mr. Kenton Stephens, a Trustee, was elected a Vice President.
b) Mr. James C. Mills of Neenah, Wisconsin, was elected a Trustee and Vice President of the Urantia Foundation, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Miss E. L. Christensen.
e) Mr. Martin Meyers was appointed as agent for the Trustees.
The resignation of Miss Christensen, as a Trustee, was accepted with regret and it was requested that she remain on the Board as Secretary of the Foundation, as provided by the Declaration of Trust.
Trustees and officers as presently constituted:
William M. Hales, President
Thomas A. Kendall, Vice President
Kenton E. Stephens, Vice President
James C. Mills, Vice President
Edith B. Cook, Treasurer
Emma L. Christensen, Secretary and Trustee Emeritus
Martin W. Myers, AgentResolution, passed unanimously by the Trustees of the Foundation on October 16, 1971:
WHEREAS, Emma L. Christensen, one of the five founding Trustees of Urantia Foundation, has unstintingly given of her time and energies, her wisdom and foresight, in the furtherance of its aims, and
WHEREAS, this devoted Soldier of the Circles has displayed an uncommon response and loyalty to responsibilities that will have a lasting effect on generations to come and has at all times cheerfully accepted duties that required dedicated devotion, and
WHEREAS, Christy as a member of the Forum (which preceded the Urantia Brotherhood), then as President of the Urantia Brotherhood, and President of the First Urantia Society, as well as holder of other positions of leadership wherein her cheerful and helpful counsel has always been given generously and with the good of these groups always uppermost in her thoughts,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that upon this occasion of her resignation as an active Trustee, we do hereby express our sincere love and appreciation for her many years of devoted service as a Trustee. We know we may continue to benefit by her wise counsel.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution shall be given to Miss Christensen in suitable form.
533 Diversey Parkway
An most of you know, the building at 533 Diversey Parkway was devised by the will of Dr. William S. Sadler to the Urantia Foundation. Because a portion of the building is used for religious purposes, we have been able to obtain a substantial reduction in our real estate taxes.
Although this building is structurally sound, we have had to make some costly repairs to extend the effective life of the building, such as electrical wiring, tuckpointing, plumbing, painting, and screens. In addition, with increased activities of the Foundation and the Brotherhood, we are very soon going to need more space. We must decide whether to remodel the building, or to sell it and acquire more suitable quarters. A committee representing the Foundation and the Brotherhood has been appointed to study the problem.
At the request of the Otis Elevator company which carries insurance on the elevator at 533 Diversey Parkway, a telephone has been installed in it for safety purposes. Should the elevator become inoperable, the trapped passenger can phone for help.
Third Printing
In 1971, a third printing of 15,000 copies was made of the Urantia Book at a cost of $91,531.00. The retail price of the book was increased to $20.00 a copy, effect1ve March 1, 1971, to offset increased costs which are totally beyond our control.
In 1969, we were advised by our printers that they could no longer use our letterpress plates for printing the Urantia Book, that all printers now use the offset method of printing and do not have presses to print from plates. Thus, it was necessary before the third printing to convert the plates to acetate proofs.
At that time we employed a consulting firm to create a logotype for the name "Urantia" and to design a new cover, dust jacket, etc., using the new logotype.
The third print1ng was therefore made by the offset method and the book has a now cover and dust jacket.
Fourth Printing
Owing to the tremendous increase in sales this past year, a fourth printing will be undertaken in 1973.
Copyright
A statement formulated by the Foundation regarding the use of the Urantia Book materials is attached. It is our hope that all societies will advise their membership concerning the need for this policy in order to avoid infringements of the copyright. One of the Trustees' prime responsibilities is that of protecting the copyright of the Urantia Book, and our trademark which consists of the name URANTIA and the three concentric circles.
Cassette Recordings
Mrs. Sylvia Sunderland, assisted by Mrs. Ruth Renn, is preparing cassette tape recordings of the Urantia Book. This work is being done with the approval of the Foundation and· the tapes will become the property of the Foundation when they are completed. We believe these tapes will be of great value for the blind and for handicapped people. In the future these cassettes will be available from the Foundation.
Finnish Translation
Mr. Joel R. of Helsinki, Finland, visited the Chicago headquarters in January, 1972. He has for several years headed a very active study group in Helsinki, and he and several others are translating the Urantia Book into the Finnish language with the necessary approval of the Foundation. He advises us that he has finished Part I.
The Trustees have always felt that translations should be done only by persons not only extremely well versed in the language but where also thoroughly competent in knowledge of the concepts of the Urantia Book.
Problems
Financial. While the Foundation's financial position has steadily improved over the years, we still are not in a position to do the many things we would like to do--nor the things some of our friends think we should do. The contributions received to cover expenses are still inadequate.
People in a Hurry. One of our most time-consuming problems concerns individuals (members and non-members) who want to immediately change the world by an over-rapid distribution of the Urantia Book. This, despite the fact that they have been told many times that the world is not ready. It took Adam and Eve over 100 years to get impatient; we shouldn't become restless in less than 20 years. These good, but impatient, people want the Foundation to rush into all kinds of things--a proliferation of translations, advertising, and all kinds of promotional ideas and gimmicks which would be unwise, even if the Foundation had the necessary funds therefore. The Urantia Book is intended for the indefinite future, not just today.
People Who Want to Attach Themselves to the Urantia Movement for Their Own Purposes. This is another problem which takes a great amount of time--correspondence, interviews, etc.
It takes a great deal of time and patience to cope with these problems.
Progress
Urantia Foundation was organized January 11, 1950. Since that time we believe a lot of progress has been made. The Foundation started out with no funds--only the plates for printing the Urantia Book.
35,000 copies of the Urantia Book have been printed in English, and we have on1y about 7,500 copies left. The book has been translated into French of which two printings have been made, totaling approximately 6,000 copies.
As you know, the Foundation has not publicized the book; it has been our consistent policy not to do so, yet around 32,000 copies (English and French) have been distributed a1l over the world, almost entirely by person to person contact.
The marketing of the French translation, La Cosmogonie d'Urantia, in Canada, is the responsibility of the Foundation. The Trustees have appointed Daniel and Denise St. Laurent of Montreal as our Canadian distributors for the French edition only. They carry a stock of French sets on hand at their house for quick delivery to bookstores and individuals.
La Cosmogonie Canadian sales have been brisk, indicating a strong interest in the teachings. Shortly after the first of this year 350 French sets arrived in Montreal. By late April another 350 sets had to be ordered from Jacques Weiss to keep up with the demand.
One of the Trustees, Thomas Kendall, visited the St. Laurents in April 1972 to see their home and meet many of their fellow Urantia believers. The St. Laurents are a young couple who are very devoted to the Urantia teachings and who, we are certain, will be very influential in the spread of the Fifth Revelation among the French speaking people of Canada.
Correspondence and Visitors
We receive a tremendous amount of interesting correspondence and many visitors. There is a growing interest in the Urantia Revelation on the part individuals in all walks of life and in many countries of the world. Many young people are becoming interested.
The future looks bright!