by Marilynn Kulieke, secretary, Urantia Foundation, Lincolnshire, Illinois, USA
Urantia Foundation’s January meeting of the Board of Trustees included a yearly planning session with members of the expanded board and members of the board’s committees.
The session began with a presentation by Marilynn Kulieke of the results of the 2012 survey of readers of The Urantia Book. The survey was sponsored by Urantia Association International, the Urantia Book Fellowship, Urantia Foundation, and Truthbook.com [2]. In November and December, 3,196 readers from around the world participated. (See The 2012 Survey of Readers of The Urantia Book [3] for highlights.)
Marta Elders facilitated the planning session and led the group in a guided meditation. Next, she and Judy Van Cleave led a discussion about the Foundation’s vision, mission, values, and goals. Becoming more goal oriented and mission focused was the main outcome of the morning session.
In the afternoon, participants used the World Cafe format to start a dialogue about the important questions that face Urantia Foundation and the Urantia Book reader community now and in the future. Four areas were considered: the Urantia reader community, education, The Urantia Book, and Urantia Foundation. The day concluded with group leaders presenting highlights from their discussions, and Marta Elders compiled the findings.
Many thanks to Joanne Strobel for creating a festive ambiance for the World Cafe!
The following are some of the noteworthy decisions from the business part of the board meeting.
Books
The Book Committee completed an almost year-long process of designing a new book cover for the ever competitive North American spiritual book market. (See Urantia Foundation Announces New Book Covers for The Urantia Book [4] for more details on the book cover design process.) The book cover was approved for the North American book market and other select markets.
Additional print runs were approved for the English book and the Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian translations of The Urantia Book. The cost of these printings will be about $150,000. Your donations for these print runs are needed and greatly appreciated.
The board accepted an offer by the Urantia Book Fellowship to share a booth at the 2013 Korean book fair to be held in Seoul, South Korea. This is another opportunity for Urantia organizations to work together towards enhanced world-wide peace and understanding.
Renovation of the Third Floor of 533 W Diversey Parkway
Needed improvements to the electrical and plumbing systems of the third floor and attic have prompted the board to develop a renovation plan. Under consideration is the repurposing of the third floor from a rental apartment to a space for meetings and for educational purposes.
Education Committee Update
The Education Committee of Urantia Foundation is sponsoring a workshop on forgiveness that will take place in the fall of 2014. Readers associated with organizations that were affected by the events of 1989 are invited to attend. The Trustees of Urantia Foundation stand committed to do all they can so our community is a light unto the world as Jesus requested of believers.
This gospel of the kingdom belongs to both Jew and gentile, to rich and poor, to free and bond, to male and female, even to the little children. And you are all to proclaim this gospel of love and truth by the lives which you live in the flesh. You shall love one another with a new and startling affection, even as I have loved you. You will serve mankind with a new and amazing devotion, even as I have served you. And when men see you so love them, and when they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven, and they will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your lives, to the finding of eternal salvation. (2044.3) 191:6.2
The Education Committee is also sponsoring a program facilitated by Jeff Wattles in late spring. Please see Spiritual Truths of Cosmic Power [5] for more information.
Translations
A number of ideas were discussed in regard to translations and revisions of translations, and they will be a primary topic of the April Board meeting. In addition, the Board approved agreements with the Bulgarian translator to facilitate the arrival of the Bulgarian translation at Urantia Foundation sometime during 2013.