The Urantia Uganda Conference 2022

THE BIRTH OF THE URANTIA BOOK TEACHINGS IN UGANDA

The Urantia Uganda Conference 2022 was the first ever in Uganda. The conference was to have been held in August 2020 but, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, limited funds, and leadership challenges, it was not possible until this August.

The Urantia Book and its teachings have finally arrived in Uganda, the pearl of Africa. It is with great hope and faith that the truth seekers here will greatly enjoy the teachings of the book as they enrich their ever-growing spirituality, guided by love and the will to service. This is but a start to a long journey of spiritual adventure towards Paradise but most of all for all Ugandans, it brings spiritual enlightenment that shall create unity and harmony (brotherhood of man) among Ugandans in their affirmation of God as the Father (Fatherhood of God) within them. We thank God it has come to pass that The Urantia Book and its teachings have been initiated publicly in Uganda.

Under the sponsorship of Urantia Association, five of us were funded to attend this conference and I do thank God we did because our attendance shaped the program and designed the conference to meet a Urantia Book conference standard. We were asked by the secretary Matte to help develop a program on the day we arrived. We designed the program and the next day we presented an introduction to The Urantia Book, its history, the Publication Mandate, and leadership structure worldwide. 

During this presentation, the pace and focus on the book and its teachings were set, and every presenter followed accordingly. It should be noted that the presenters, being Pentecostals, had designed the conference such that sermons/preaching could be given by the bishops, pastors and other members within the congregation. But after our recommendations, those were all dropped.

Most of the presenters sought advice from us about how their presentations could meet conference standards. This call helped us guide them, and indeed we had good presentations from them; the entire conference successfully achieved its purpose of uniting—encouraging social cohesion among Urantia Book readers in Uganda.

The five participants sponsored by Urantia Association

 

During this conference, the participants learned how to form and manage study groups in their different regions and districts across the country, how to read and reflect on the book’s teachings (through our morning meditation sessions), and how to pray and worship. Participants got to understand concepts of The Urantia Book such as promoting and fostering the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God among all Urantians. Participants learned that they were all students and have a duty to practice/live a loving service to their fellows, which in turn promotes their spiritual growth. Some misconceptions about the book’s teachings were clarified, for example, whether The Urantia Book is a new religion, and if The Urantia Book is a religious book, or not. Group discussions were centered on how best to promote The Urantia Book and its teachings in Uganda and the focus was on fostering study groups. Among suggestions were: visiting institutions/organizations to share the book’s teachings through seminars and workshops, visiting families and communities to share the book’s teachings, and our personal experiences.

Generally, the conference was a success, and being the first, we learned a lot about conference organization and management. This experience will make the next conference better. Successfully we managed to:

• Identify potential group leaders
• Identify various study groups
• Design a national structure for Urantia Book readers in Uganda
• Embrace diverse denominations; Christians, Muslims, Bishops, Pastors, etc.
• Identify new readers and people who need books
• Learn how to better organize and manage the next conference

The following were observed during the conference:

• Most readers, including the leaders, were new to the revelation and needed guidance and more time to synthesize the concepts of the book
• The conference seemed to have been organized in a hurry and so there was no clear program until we designed one
• The program was so full that there was no time for relaxation and personal reflection
• The conference room was congested, not suitable for our numbers
• There were so many participants that some may not have benefited much
• There were no criteria of who and how one should attend the conference
• Participants thought that they were going to be preached to, like it is with the Bible or Quran
• Most participants were not briefed on what the conference was about in terms of purpose and objectives

With the above observations, one can appreciate that being the first conference of its kind, most things were done haphazardly. This means that next time with good mentorship and guidance we shall have better organization, and a clear objective and purpose. We hope that by that time many will have read the entire book at least once and various groups will have been formed.

During the meeting with conference organizers and group leaders we discussed and agreed on the following:

• To have a core group that would act as an umbrella group for all the study groups in Uganda. The core group will be registered in Uganda as a not-for-profit organization with the sole purpose of promoting The Urantia Book and its teachings
• Have seasoned readers help in mentoring and guiding study groups, especially the study group leaders
• All leaders should have read the book entirely at least once
• The Urantia Book is not to be preached to avoid personal interpretation of its teachings to individuals.
• Design a clear leadership structure within the study groups and at the core level (country level)
• Most participants wanted simplified reading materials. These can be sourced from organizations such as Urantia Association, Urantia Foundation, Urantia Book International School, etc.

Truly, there is thirst and hunger for truth and God among Ugandans. This is fertile soil to nurture and grow the seeds of truth, spiritual growth, God consciousness, and to promote the concept of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. With this, we hope and are assured of Ugandan brothers and sisters to be able to share the love of God and be of loving service to their fellows.

Khatukhira Bernard
Cosmic Citizens in Uganda  

Read more about Conference Archives, Reader Activity Reports, Uganda.

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Homecoming

is envisioned as a broad gathering of spiritual seekers, a new kind of hour-long hybrid event on Zoom — combining an initial conversation on that day's theme, followed by quiet communion in worship and small-group breakouts.

Everyone is welcome!

The opening conversations feature a variety of dynamic guests from different backgrounds, exchanging views on each week’s theme. The quiet worship allows us to commune with the Spirit within. And the breakouts give everyone an opportunity to share their stories, as we celebrate the many paths we walk along the unfolding spiritual journey.

Please join us for our Homecoming online worship celebration on

Sunday, September 4, 2022

10:00-11:00 a.m. PDT

The River of God's Love:

Flowing in Through Worship

   Flowing out in Service

With special guests

Kaye Cooper, Gard Jameson, and Will Rucker

We cannot function well without the nurture, the nourishment, of God’s love.  In the deep rest of daily worship, immersion in God’s love, we are restored — transformed and made whole as spiritual sons and daughters. 

 

Only when our cups are thus regularly filled, can we naturally overflow in love for others.  And every act of love, large and small, is sweet service in our Creator’s spiritual family.

 

Please join Marvin and his guests, as we all share our experiences of the flow of Divine love in our lives.

CLICK TO VIEW

The image of the child musician crying was classified as
one of the most emotional photographs of modern
history.

This photo was taken of a 12-year-old Brazilian boy
(Diego Frazzo Turkato), playing the violin at the funeral of
his teacher who rescued him from the environment of
poverty and crime in which he lived.

In this image, humanity speaks with the strongest voice
in the world:

"Cultivate love and kindness in a child to sow the seeds
of compassion. And only then you will build a great
civilization, a great nation ".

We endeavor to reach the  the 
unfortunate ones on planet 
Earth. The Great voice of 
Christ Michael our Lord and 
loving saviour.

I am from the  Youth Urantia Scholars Group. This was a very special moment and a blessing to me for attending a four day conference where many of the Urantia students from all over Uganda got a chance to be trained and broad-minded on understanding the Revelations of the Urantia book.

Me as a new Urantia book reader l got a chance to deeply understand part 4 of the Urantia book where the speakers at the conference would give you a moment to deeply ask and understand more of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ well known as Michael.

I also got a chance to share and discuss more about the UB revelation with my fellow Urantia students in Uganda plus creating friendship with them and really it was a good moment to meet them.

The accommodation was 100% good because of Jinja City Hotel's well contained bedrooms were given to us. Lunch was served in a timely manner and everything was good.

I really extend the message to my fellow Urantia students in Uganda that don't always miss a good moment like attending the Urantia Conference really you always miss a lot because truth was showed to us and the Urantia Book Revelation was too show us the way as we continue to understanding the teachings in the Urantia Book.

I am from the  Youth Urantia Scholars Group. This was a very special moment and a blessing to me for attending a four day conference where many of the Urantia students from all over Uganda got a chance to be trained and broad-minded on understanding the Revelations of the Urantia book.

Me as a new Urantia book reader l got a chance to deeply understand part 4 of the Urantia book where the speakers at the conference would give you a moment to deeply ask and understand more of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ well known as Michael.

I also got a chance to share and discuss more about the UB revelation with my fellow Urantia students in Uganda plus creating friendship with them and really it was a good moment to meet them.

The accommodation was 100% good because of Jinja City Hotel's well contained bedrooms were given to us. Lunch was served in a timely manner and everything was good.

I really extend the message to my fellow Urantia students in Uganda that don't always miss a good moment like attending the Urantia Conference really you always miss a lot because truth was showed to us and the Urantia Book Revelation was too show us the way as we continue to understanding the teachings in the Urantia Book.

source article

FRIDAY AUGUST 12 2022

By BILL ODIDI
More by this Author

Legendary British artist Pato Banton and his wife, keyboard player Antoinette "Rootsdawtah" Hall in Nairobi in August 2022. PHOTO | POOLA legendary artist who had a string of global hit songs in the 1990s was in Kenya last week on his first ever visit to the country. The BDLife caught up with British singer and rapper Pato Banton at his hotel at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport just as he prepared to take a road trip to Kitui.

“I am not on a music trip right now; I am very undercover,” said the singer who is best known for his cover of the classic Baby Come Back which topped the UK charts in 1994.

Accompanied by his wife, Antoinette “Rootsdawtah” Hall and a film crew, the 60-year-old performer was in the country shooting an upcoming documentary called Ubuntu celebrating the bonds among communities across Africa.

Antoinette, who is among the creative directors of the film being shot across 12 countries in Africa, is also the keyboardist in Pato’s band. She has played for Jamaican greats like Gregory Isaacs, Beres Hammond, and Glen Washington with whom she performed in Kenya in 2005.Pato Banton, who was born Patrick Murray in London and moved to Birmingham at the age of 8, grew up in a household that was bustling with music thanks to his stepfather, who was a DJ running a sound system.

One room in their tiny house was converted into a dancehall and, young Pato would man the entrance during the late-night sessions, which is how he acquired the nickname “Pato” from an owl that, according to Jamaican folklore, stays up all night crying “patoo patoo”.

Being among the first-generation-born of Caribbean immigrants in England presented many challenges.

“The environment was very racist; the police were racist and the judicial system was very biased and when we saw racism anywhere in the world we sympathised and understood how deep it was rooted.”

“Even though I never experienced a hot country as a child, I knew something was wrong with the English weather and I used to cry when I had to go to school in the snow saying ‘God, why I am I in this country.’”

He started DJ’ing at the age of 11, using the stage name Ranking Pato and when he auditioned for a contract with Fashion Records in London the label asked him to rap over vinyl records of different genres, from blues and jazz.

“I just improvised regardless of the style of music and when they finished, the label bosses said ‘No more Ranking Pato; now you are Pato Banton” (Banton is slang for an accomplished lyricist).

The infectious sing-along anthem Go Pato in 1992 was among the first hits to launch him into the mainstream. But the highlight of his success came with a version of Baby Come Back, originally a 1967 hit by Eddy Grant and the Equals, which became a UK number one single for four weeks in 1994.

“When the record label enquired who I wanted to do the work with, I asked if UB40 would sing the cover song because they are very good with covers, and I would then add my own lyrics.”

He had already recorded two tracks with UB40 on the album Baggariddim in 1985 including Hip Hop Lyrical Robot which was the B-side of the US No. 1 single I Got You Babe.

Pato Banton was back in the UK Top 20 later in 1995 with Bubbling Hot featuring Ranking Roger. That same year, one of the world’s best-selling pop artists, Sting sent his single The Cowboy Song to the same producer who did Baby Come Back who then asked Pato if he wanted to add some lyrics for a remix.

“Sting didn’t know anything about it, so I put some rapping on it and the producer sent it back to Sting who loved it.”

Sting, who had just finished shooting the video for the song, told the production company to re-set the scenes and edit Pato into the video for the single which hit the UK Top 40 charts.

“Sting had promised to return the favour whenever I needed to do a song with him and it just so happened that I was performing his song Spirits in A Material World so I asked him if we could we re-do that.”

Sting flew Pato and his band to Spain to record the video and then used the band to back him during a concert with Madonna and Elton John. The song was also featured on the soundtrack to the Hollywood comedy Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls.

Reflecting on his legacy, Pato Banton who now lives in Los Angeles tips the current generation of artists to keep their music clean and positive.

“We have a responsibility as artists to educate, to elevate and in 10 years’ time when you look back at your catalogue, you want to be proud and say ‘look, everything that I had to say, we can play today with pride’”.

Bodidi@yahoo.com