Petition by Sue Seccombe
Please consider signing this Petition by Sue Seccombe
Choose Urantia Unity
I believe the Urantia movement is approaching its tipping point – a point when it will seem like “suddenly” the whole world knows about this revelation. Most of us pray for that day, expecting it might be a time of enlightenment. And for some, many, it might be. But I also believe it will be a time of controversy and great testing for us.
Are we ready for this test?
Right now the perceptions of the Urantia community suffer from a self-inflicted wound. That wound is our split, the fracture that occurred in Urantia Brotherhood about 35 years ago. Since that time, our movement has steadily lost not only its initial momentum, but some credibility as well.
The Fellowship and Association, the two organizations that operate with literally identical purposes, continue to be in damaging competition. It is wasteful to duplicate effort and compete for donors and volunteers. It is demoralizing for those who have read and been inspired by The Urantia Book to look at us and wonder how we can expect to transform the world when we won’t first transform ourselves.
It hurts our credibility to hold on to pettiness and resentment. No one can truly read and understand even part of the Urantia Book and think that those qualities are harmonious with God’s plans for us.
There is no shame in the split. The shame is in what has happened in the wake of the split, and the ugly words both sides have spoken about the other - quite the opposite of truth, beauty, and goodness.
We must end this, today, together, and forever. The world is about to discover The Urantia Book, and will be taking a close look at those who claim to follow its teachings.
The decisions we make together have the potential to set us on a new path of growth and health. But progress - the watchword of the universe - will require a combination of boldness and wisdom.
Where are boldness and wisdom? When I talk to people in our community about the benefits of the two organizations becoming one, people often quote to me the part of the book about spiritual unity not uniformity. I am not talking about spiritual uniformity. I don’t think anyone can look at the diversity of expression and service in the Fellowship or Association and think for a second that we want uniformity. This excuse is not wise. It is absurd.
Some have said to me we need to just wait for the old guard to die off, the older generation, before we can pursue organizational unity. I reject that suggestion as passive, and frankly a little lazy. This suggestion is not bold, it's cowardly.
We are supposed to do the hard work. Where is our courage? Why would we just wait it out when there is a bigger victory that is waiting for us?
“The greatest affliction of the cosmos is never to have been afflicted. Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation.” [48:7.14 (556.14)]
The purpose of affliction is to have a chance to achieve a bigger victory, and the bigger victory before us is forgiveness.
Real forgiveness. Hard, but worth it.
And if you don’t believe me, just look at Jesus on the cross.
It will take intention and a steady effort to turn this big ship, to do the Father’s will without caving into emotion and the attitudes that have become the mental poisons about which we have been warned: “…fear, anger, envy, jealousy, suspicion, and intolerance likewise tremendously interfere with the spiritual progress of the evolving soul.” [110:1.5 (1204.3)]
Forgiving tolerance. Enduring peace.
We are stronger together. God placed us all at the beginning of this revelation, when he would need what Christy called Soldiers of the Circles. As these soldiers, it is our job to be the advance team, to seed this revelation and nurture it so that these new seeds take root in good soil and grow.
WE have to be good soil. WE have to cultivate good soil, and make hard and barren soil fertile through tolerance, acceptance, friendship, and love. Those things are like water and sunlight. They give seeds a safe place to grow and thrive.
Unity is attractive. Like a magnet, it draws people into its cohesive power. This unhealed part of our history is an incredible opportunity to demonstrate that we walk our talk, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
We must look at all challenges as solvable even if the solution is beyond our comprehension or desires.
Imagine being part of a movement that has been strengthened by conflict and healed through love and forgiveness? What a powerful testimony to the rewards of choosing the Father’s way.
I invite you to join me in this fervent pursuit of unity, no matter what it takes. Because the strong seeding of this revelation depends not on our ability to preach the gospel but to prove the gospel.
We are not alone. A host of celestial helpers stand ready to assist just as soon as we relinquish our stronghold on self-righteousness and really trust the Father.
The Prince of Peace rules our universe. And God waits for us to choose.
Your signature on this petition indicates you are in favor of organizational unity, eliminating competition for donors and volunteers between the main organizations, and reduce wasteful duplication of effort and redundancies.
It indicates you are committed to healing forgiveness and enduring peace. Your signature puts appropriate pressure on the leadership of both organizations to go back to the negotiation table and not leave until one new organization has been formed, an umbrella organization committed to effectively sharing the revelation and creating an exemplary community where seekers can spiritually thrive.
PLEASE NOTE: This petition is on Change.org so that all signatures can be in one place. You do NOT need to donate anything in order to sign, even though Change.org will tell you that your donation makes the petition travel farther. That is not true. Our community is small; sharing the link to this petition with other Urantia Book readers is the best way to spread the word.
Note by Paul Kemp: Donating large or small sums of money to Change.org IS NOT GOING TO HELP SPREAD THIS PETITION!!!
If you truly desire to help in this Unity effort ask the UAI and the Urantia Fellowship to open a fund dedicated to help facilitate the meetings and debates that can solve this breech in Unity and place your donations there where the funds can be useful in facilitating the healing. Change.org has already received $673.00 USD on this Petition. What will help is Sharing the link on Social Media or your Websites. Use the link above by right clicking the sign the petition image and copying the link without tracking codes added. This will be far more productive as it will attract revelation family who are on your social media. If you are a member of SFN simply click the far right hand share link near the page title and it will post on your Facebook Page.
