United In Purpose

UBtheNEWS has always enjoyed the participation of Urantia Book readers who span a wide spectrum of beliefs and opinions. We come together united in the effort to share this epochal revelation more effectively. The unprecedented results of this project are the natural result of honoring the claim made by the revelators the "the historic facts . . . will stand on the records of the ages to come."

Documenting the emerging credibility of that outrageous statement and sharing it with people, especially university students, unites Urantia Book readers.

As this project finishes its third year with nearly a two year history of being supported by the Urantia community, the UBtheNEWS project demonstrates that we can and do, in fact, work together effectively in moving this revelation forward. You can expect that this event will mark a turning point in our collective efforts to do increasingly effective outreach. By coming together for a conference that helps us all do outreach more effectively--by working together--we are the change we want to see, both in terms of conference events and community unity.

The Spirit Of Professionalism

Most importantly, this conference will embody the spirit of professionalism in outreach. Not necessarily professionalism in style. That’s a personal choice. What I mean is a professional attitude, i.e. an commitment to ongoing improvement and being the best we can be at what we are doing, an eagerness for learning from others and to share the value of one’s own experiences, to analyze and strategically address objects with the most current information available and with respect to the way times are changing.

The conference is for people inspired by idea of orchestrating group effort with a spirit of professionalism for the purpose of advancing awareness of and appreciation for The Urantia Book AND are coming prepared to do more than just talk about. I mean that. If you’re still kind of iffy about the UBtheNEWS project, this is not for you, not because you wouldn’t be welcomed, but rather because you won’t be comfortable hanging around all the enthusiastic AND activated energy that most certainly will be foundational to this conference. To be sure and to be clear, activated enthusiasm is part of the registration fee and it is both payable AND being collected every moment you are at the conference. More on the details of how this works later. . .

This conference is not only for those who are personally interested in speaking or otherwise having direct interactions with the public. In fact, that’s just the point. One of the great things—when it comes to getting the incredible results that can only come from lifting together—is that we do not have to do every aspect of the job ourselves. Being part of team not only means that you get to be a part of great achievements, but also that you get to do more of those things you’re good at and prefer doing. And let’s also remember that a lot of tools that we’re going to be learning apply just as well to one on one interactions.

Interactions with “the public” is meant to be taken in the broadest sense, this not just about doing slide presentations or doing it “the Halbert way.” Quite to the contrary, this is the actual process of enhancing the collective consciousness about outreach by providing a format that exposes it to collective scrutiny.

Taking the time regularly and systematically to improve skills and learn about new developments, both individually and collectively, is necessary for achieving professional quality results. Participating in events that enhance common interests is the spirit of enlightened professionalism.

Please join with us in taking Urantia Book outreach to the next level.

Certifying UBtheNEWS Presenters

Participants will have an opportunity to get “certified” as a UBtheNEWS presenter.

Because Halbert will not be traveling as much, UBtheNEWS would like to help set up presentations for people in their local areas and will develop some guidelines for this type of relationship. An initial contact from the “home office” gives you an extra measure of credibility, just as it gave Halbert credibility when you helped set up presentations for him in your local areas.

This conference will give us an opportunity to figure something out that allows for individual creativity while at the same time ensuring a standard that reasonably represents the UBtheNEWS project.

Events & Programs

Events:

Events will consist of plenary talks, plenary panel discussions, and plenary forums.

Plenary talks: A couple plenary talks are scheduled to followed up by group discussion.

Plenary Panels: These will consist of three to five persons speaking for 10 to 15 minutes each, followed by short break nad then a facilitated Q & A and open discussion period of 1 to 1.5 hours. Click here to view a current list of panels and panelists.

Plenary Forums: These will be moderated discussions on selected topics. For example:

What standards should UBtheNEWS adopt for certifying presenters?

What are the most important outreach issues of our day and what can we do to address them?

Programs:

The programs will help us develop outreach skills. We will create educational programs for:

1) Learning how to schedule and do slide presentations.

2) Enhancing our one-on-one introductions.

3) Handling group dynamics in unstructured conversations.

4) Crafting advertisements

5) Creating "give aways"

For those who would like to start doing public presentations or improve on the skills they already have, attendees of this conference will have the opportunity to create personally stylized slide presentations and an assortment of pamphlets—with or without the UBtheNEWS branding on it. We’ll work on saying things within set time frames and be able to get critical feedback from each to help assess and develop our effectiveness. We’ll do role playing that focuses building tools for the widest range of challenges that come up with dialogue situations.

Programs will be developed to share wisdom and hone skills.

Registration

In order to register for the conference, you need to provide us your name, address, phone number, and email address. If you give us permission to list you as a "yes" on the website by April 29, you will receive a "free" copy of the first edition of the Eugenics, Race, and The Urantia Book paper, which we expect to have completed by the time of the conference. Those willing to make a $500 contribution will receive a specially bound copy.

FAQ

If the website is not answering all my questions, who do I contact?

Contact Halbert by phone at (303) 589-1190 anytime between 8am and 8pm PT. Or email him at halbert@ubthenews.com.

What accommodations are available? Where exactly will it be held? What about food?

All of these basic logistical questions will not get answered until Halbert and Claire get moved to Boulder in January and begin the process of handling those issues more specifically. We will do whatever we can, of course, to help people be as comfortable as possible and have the type of lodging and meals they prefer.