A fervent devotee of Jesus, in 1992 Diane Labrecque was guided to help give birth to the Urantia Family with the readers of the Urantia Book of all organizations on our blue planet. Throughout the years, Diane met many readers of the Blue Book from various countries who helped create a web of interconnectedness, which gradually contributed to laying a solid foundation of unity amongst readers of the Fifth Epochal Urantia Revelation. In 2009, this all came to fruition and gave birth to the triennial gathering of The United Urantia Family Festival (TUUFF), which will be inaugurated this summer in Montreal, Canada from July 1-5, 2010. The mission of this Urantia Family gathering is to help create a genuine family spirit and promote harmonious growth amongst all readers of the Urantia Book on our planet. For this reason, we warmly invite you to join us this summer in Montreal to celebrate the ownership of our true and beautiful loving Urantia Family, which will be commemorated in the most authentic manner - derived from the meaning of its name.
| The | article used to denote a person or a thing being spoken of |
| United | to help create a spirit of unity, a house united |
| Urantia | "that being the name of your planet" |
| Family | "the most important unit on earth" |
| Festival | the ultimate source of the word Festival is from the Latin festus meaning 'celebratory ceremonies, particularly of a religious nature' |
An early list of our confirmed distinguished presenters includes Mo Siegel, Gaétan Charland, Chris Halvorson, Paula Thompson, Derek Tennant, Jay Peregrine, Tom Choquette, Fred Harris, Moussa Ndiaye, and Vern Grimsley, and the list continues to grow. We’re committed to achieving balance, and to that end the schedule includes activities for all age groups and all areas of interest. This Festival is a family affair and ideas from all members of the Urantia family geared toward making this celebration an overwhelming success are welcome. Please contact Diane Labrecque, the coordinator of The United Urantia Family Festival, at diane@urantiafamily.org. Because this page is a work in progress, be sure to check back for updates frequently.
| Goal: | To unite The
Urantia Bookreaders together in the spirit of unity with diversity |
| Dates: | July 1 - 5, 2010 |
| Location: | Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) |
| Arrival: | Thursday (July 1st) in the afternoon |
| Opening: | Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. |
| Conference: | Friday - Saturday - Sunday, July 2nd thru July 4th, 2010 |
| Departure: | Monday (July 5th) around noon |
| Program: | The program is aimed at building up the various aspects of a Urantian family spirit |
| Theme: | Unity in Diversity - How each participant can help to bring family unity in diversity |
| Schedule: | Please click here to view the program schedule |
We will begin each day with prayer and worship at 8:30 a.m., right after breakfast. Participants may then join whichever events they are most interested in. The interactive events we have planned so far are listed below. Some of these activities will be ongoing throughout the Festival, and the outcomes of these will be unveiled at the end of the Festival. Please keep in mind the events listed below have not been finalized, but should help provide an idea of what to expect at the Festival.
Workshops and Presentations: We have several highly intriguing and inspiring presentations scheduled.
Click here to see what we have lined up. Please keep in mind this program is a work in progress, and will therefore be changing frequently so be sure to check back often for updates.
Calling All Angels: Each and every one of us has angels who choose to accompany us all the way to Paradise if we accept our divine invitation. Calling All Angels is a divinely inspired project designed to draw us closer to our angels and create a more conscious relationship with them as we travel together. Click here to read more about this workshop.
Truthseekers Excursions for UB Youth!: Young Adults (ages 14-21) will have an opportunity to participate with Truthseekers during The United Urantia Family Festival. Truthseekers is led by Tom Choquette, Fred Harris, Judy Langston & Susan Cook. This rendezvous of Truthseekers promises to be one of the most memorable to date, including a trip over the Lachine Class IV whitewater rapids, bicycle tours of the city of Montreal, lasertag, canoeing, watching fireworks, maybe the Jazz Festival, and whatever else we can envision.
Cost is $135 per person for the activities.
Truthseekers has reserved two 8-bedroom quads, so when you make your reservation for the Festival, indicate that you want your young adult to be included in the Truthseekers lodging.
First come, first serve, so don't delay!
Click here to see more details about Truthseekers and/or to contact Fred Harris with questions.
Musical Expression: Musically gifted singers and musicians will share their gifts performing well known inspirational songs so that anyone who cares to join in the merriment will be able to sing along. We are also delighted to announce that the very talented and beloved Pato Banton, internationally known Reggae musician and spokesperson for the Urantia movement, will be performing and inspiring all Festival attendees with his uplifting musical message.
The multi-talented Cristina Seaborn will be the head coordinator for the musical entertainment aspect of the Festival, and would love to speak with any and all Festival participants who wish to be involved in sharing the gift of their music. Cristina can be contacted at cristina@urantiafamily.org.
Urantia Media Arts Competition:
Between now and The United Urantia Family Festival, talented web designers and film-makers have been invited to submit their Urantia Book outreach-related projects. These projects will be shown at the Festival and awards will be presented on July 4. Click here to find out more details, especially if you want to participate.
Silent and Live Bid Auction: The United Urantia Family Festival organizers are looking for unique items for the Fund Raising Auction that will take place on Sunday night during the Festival banquet. We are currently seeking quality items or services to be auctioned, e.g., Jewelry, Artwork, Sculptures, an autographed or early edition Urantia Book. We can also use services, e.g., Vacation Time Shares, a Massage Session, Life Coaching Services. Be creative! Any good useable item that has marketable value and can be transported to and from the Festival will be considered and appreciated.
The Auction will support our commitment to the continued growth of the triennial Urantia Family gathering, and your donations are tax deductible. Please call Aurora Hill for more information at 208-640-0660 or you can contact her via e-mail at aurora2810@yahoo.com.
Family Reunions - One, Two, and Three: Each day of the Festival, we will devote an hour and a half as a group to "building community" within our Urantia family. Christilyn Biek Larson will initiate Family Reunion Number One on Friday afternoon by presenting a talk on "Learning HOW to Love Others: The Jesusonian Approach to Human Relations". We are very fortunate to have Harry Menton on board throughout the Festival, and he will follow Christilyn's talk on Friday afternoon. He will not only be facilitating community building during each of the three Family Reunion periods, Harry will also be conducting a workshop Friday morning and afternoon. The title of his workshop is "Communitizing: The Foundation Stone Principles". Information about his workshop can be found by clicking here to go to the Breakout Schedules Page.
Click here to read more about the Family Reunions - sure to be a fantastic opportunity for personal and spiritual growth.
Public Outreach Event: As part of our mission to reach out to all our brothers and sisters with truth, beauty and goodness, we would like to invite the public to an event during the Festival that will allow us to demonstrate what the Urantia Book and its readers are all about.
Click here to read more about it, and find out how to contribute ideas.
Soul Expression (Cosmic Café): The Cosmic Café concept was born from the desire of a group of readers to increase production of Fruits of the Spirit. The Cosmic Café is a simple concept of choosing a topic of uplifting value and then discussing it in a small group. This provides an opportunity to develop listening skills, speaking ability, and to foster relationships, thereby building community while promoting the brotherhood of man.
Click here to read more about the Cosmic Café experience.
Creative Expression:
An opportunity for sharing through music, poetry, storytelling and humor as well as a place for meditation and other activities will be offered in an area set aside from the other workshops. There will be a time schedule to sign up and reserve your space. See Mark & Kathy George-Moore at the time of registration to request a time slot.
Other activities we have planned include announcements of UB related news such as recent scientific discoveries, current service projects, and ventures in the mission of UB outreach. If you or your organization would like to give a presentation to let other readers know the current status of your efforts to bring about light and life, please don’t hesitate to contact us with details. We're also planning on announcing anniversaries of UB readership and will present a special gift of recognition to honor the individual who has been reading the Urantia Book for the longest.
Plans are underway for Movie Night, where we can gather together as a family and enjoy sharing popcorn and peanuts and a spiritually inspiring movie. At this time we're planning on showing the inspiring film "Oceans" in homage to amazing work of The Life Carriers.
Additional interactive workshops and activities are being planned, including a creative writing exercise and artistic expression workshop, and activities each day specifically designed to inspire and entertain children.
We are also pleased and excited to announce that The Cosmic Citizen on Blogtalk Radio is planning on doing a simulcast of the radio program, live from the Festival!
Offsite Evening Activities: Montreal is described as romantic, elegant, a city full of joie de vivre. It’s said to resemble Vienna, a vibrant place full of memories, dreams and festivals. Located on an island at the junction of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, Montreal possesses all those characteristics…but also has a solid history as a gigantic trading post. There will be a number of very exciting activities occurring around the time of the Festival, including the Montreal Jazz Fesitval, and an incredible international pyrotechnics competition ~ L'International des Feux Loto-Québec.
If you've never visited the fascinating, historic city of Montreal, you're in for quite a memorable treat. The list of things to do and places to see is much too long to enumerate here. For a complete listing of excursions and attractions for tourists to enjoy, please check out this comprehensive website www.go-montreal.com.