Greetings

THE GLMUA VISION

By Susan Gr= zeskowiak

Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association was planned and organized in late 1993 with the help of Urantia Foundation employee, Damian Bondi & UAI Administrator Cathy J= ones. GLMUA was founded upon a ba= se of devoted readers of The Urantia Book from all over Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. In the organizational meeti= ngs we elected officers from nominations which were received for natural leaders w= hich had emerged from local study groups over the years. We decided to elect Mik= e Ferree of Dyer, Indiana as President, Mike Mason of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Hammond, Indiana = as Vice President and Mark Kurtz of Go= shen, Indiana as Secretary. I was honored to represent my local area of South Bend / Mishawaka, Indiana as our first Treasurer.

We believe that The Urantia Book is a divine revelatio= n, a bestowal of truth given in modern times when humans are asking many questio= ns of God and trying to understand how our lives and destinies fit into His eternal purpose and plan. God has sent us the answers we so desperately nee= d. To clarify for new readers, although we are aware that life may exist elsew= here in the universe, this revelation of epochal significance was mandated by and came from spiritual beings, celestial not extra-terrestrial, hence t= he term “divine revelation”. We believe that we live in a grand, organized universe with a spiritual, eternal administration. The “big blue book” is filled with spiritual wisdom, fascinating history and cosmology but most importantly, there is a thrilling and touching in-depth = look at the spiritual life of the “Son of Man”, whom we call Jesus of Nazareth, and it changed our lives.

We came to a decision for choosing our new organization’s name after considerable discussion in hopes of honoring and equally representing all f= our of the states that surrounded the “big lake”. In March of 1994 there were visitors who came from all around the world to witness and share= in the celebration of the chartering of our local association. Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association was born, and people returned to South America, France and all parts of the United States with the news of a new association of readers and believers. The chartering ceremony was very special with some of the original members of the Forum present. Helen Carlso= n and Lewis Boggs, along with visiting trustees of Urantia Foundation, Richard Keeler, Geor= ges Michelson-Dupont, Eddie King, Dr. William Sadler’s granddaughter Patricia Sadler Mundelius= , and other distinguished guests looked on as we penned our signatures to the charter. To view photos of the event please click on the “PHOTO ALBUM= S” button on our home page!

Since that time dedicated readers from all four of the states have stepped up to serve in various positions of trust, all on a volunteer basis and with no o= ther motive than to serve the readers of our area who discover our beloved revelation and mankind in general. Each new president and governing board h= as added their unique flavor to the GLMUA vision and to the pro= jects that we have undertaken.

Our newsletter name, CIRCLE SEEKER,= was confirmed late in= the year 1993 by a majority vote from members who had a sentimental attachment = to the study group newsletter of the same name, which dated back to 1980. The = job of editor of the CIRCLE SEEKER has passed to a few devoted, selfless individuals, such as Mark Kurtz, who lift= ed the newsletter to new heights of professional journalism & gave it a fo= rmat worthy of a newsletter of regional importance. Thanks to the efforts of Rick Lyon, the CS= increased in size and circulation, gaining the respect of the entire Urantia community as a quali= ty journal with news of all local, national and international importance.

Our initial effort to convert the newsletter to an electronic format was unsuccessful back in 1994, but the world was a different place in those day= s, not everyone had a personal computer. We had a beautiful website, thanks to Damian Bondi, but it was ahead of its time. In = the past couple of years, the <= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Copperplat= e Gothic Light"'>UAUS webmaster, our own GLMUA President Rick Lyon, established another website for us and he did a fine job of creating a beautiful place for readers of The Urantia Book to visit and stay connected with the local people and events as well as fin= ding links to many other useful and interesting websites, discussion groups, secondary works and commentaries on related topics.

Rick has passed the torch for the website to me, and my dream is to try to uphold Rick’s standard of excellence. That is a tall order and tough shoes to fill, but we now have a modern electronic version of the newsletter and we = are getting “hits” more and more frequently as the word spreads abo= ut the Fifth Epo= chal Revelation and as it begins to reach people of our region and the entire world.

In addition to the annual events we sponsor, such as the general membership meeting/study in March, we also co-host the Indiana Dunes Picnic Celebratio= n of Jesus’ birthday in August, and the Christmas Party in early December = at Urantia Foundation. In 2004 GLMUA hosted the Internatio= nal Conference in Chicago and since that time = we are committed to sponsoring a yearly Fall Study Mini Conference in Chesterton, Indiana. We do this to provide in-depth educational opportunities for all of those w= ho would like to develop their understanding of The Urantia Book in a relaxed group setting.

We encourage and support study groups in the four state region and our members= and friends have grown from about 60 at the time of our chartering in 1994 to o= ver 300 and counting! We take our job very seriously in helping readers find ea= ch other and to help them build up their areas with healthy study groups who encourage serious contemplation of the wisdom we have received. We continue= our original trust of serving the readership first, as well as lending our supp= ort to Urantia Foundation’s commitment to= the cause of providing our beloved book in as many languages as possible. By our last count there were translations in twenty different languages. The effor= t to reach those who are seeking for truth all over our world is of prime import= ance to all UB believers.

We financially support our national organization, UAUS - Urantia Association of the United States, and our international organization, UAI - Urantia Association International in their strategic initiative for helping to bring about “friendship with God” in the individual hearts of men and= we help in any way we can to implement all of their worthy causes. I am proud = to be among such selfless and devoted individuals. Their service only inspires= me to do more, and to open myself up to the possibilities that come to those w= ho seek to live the will of God. It is true that the more you give, you find peace.

We embrace a philosophy of truth and service to mankind, and share Jesus’ commitment to respect each individual’s right to choose his own relig= ion and to follow his own path to God through faith. If a person is searching f= or truth, it will be found. If you ask God, it shall be given. If you knock, t= he door will be opened. The Urantia Book is available and waiting for all truth hungry mortals to discover it. Our m= otto is “Embracing Joyful, Active Participation” and our vision is to help the world, one person at a time, to understand the basic truth of the “Fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man”.

P.1745 - §1 When Jesus had thus spoken, he withdrew and prepared for the evening conference with his followers. At this conference it was decided to underta= ke a united mission throughout all

the cities and villages of the Decapolis as = soon as Jesus and the twelve should return from their proposed visit to Caesarea-Philippi. The Master participated in planning for the Decapolis mission and, in dismissing the company, s= aid: "I say to you, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees= . Be not deceived by their show of much learning and by their profound loyalty to the forms of religion. Be only concerned with the spirit of living truth and the power of true religion. It is not the fear of a dead religion that will save you but rather your faith in a living experience in the spiritual realities of the kingdom. Do not allow yourselves to become blinded by prejudice and paralyzed by fear. Neither permit reverence for the traditions so to pervert your understanding that your eyes see not and your ears hear not. It is not the purpose of true religion mere= ly to bring peace but rather to insure progress. And there can be no peace in = the heart or progress in the mind unless you fall wholeheartedly in love with truth, the ideals of eternal realities. The issues of life and death are be= ing set before you--the sinful pleasures of time against the righteous realitie= s of eternity. Even now you should begin to find deliverance from the bondage of fear and doubt as you enter upon the living of the new life of faith and ho= pe. And when the feelings of service for your fellow men arise within your soul= , do not stifle them; when the emotions of love for your neighbor well up within your heart, give expression to such urges of affection in intelligent minis= try to the real needs of your fellows."