Snow Hill is a lovely little historic village on Maryland's Eastern Shore. I've been reading the book for 52 years. I attended study groups regularly in NYC, New Jersey, and Atlanta. Curious people who have not read the book are also welcome to come or to call any time--to get an introduction. (Or read my book review on GoodReads.)
Since April 2023, we have been hosting a weekly topical/conversational virtual meeting for Chinese speakers with full Chinese translation. The translation is spoken--from English to Chinese--and the Chinese and English text are both displayed side by side. (We believe this is the best Chinese translation available right now.) Each paragraph is not just translated but also carefully explained, first in English. This process means we move slowly but just about everything in the Urantia Book that we read together is FULLY understandable to everyone who listens.
I also answer questions and sometimes speak about related things--alway CAREFULLY differentiating what comes from the book and what does not. I am exceedingly careful to explain what the author is saying and not to put my own spin on it. (I can do this more easily than most since I am a trained professional technical writer/editor for 25 years. I am very used to explaining very complex technical and academic writing and translating it into plain English for any audience, making it perfectly understandable.)
I am always willing to host a real-life meeting for locals and/or a virtual meeting for English speakers--weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly--at any level--time to be determined. English speakers who want to read/hear the Urantia Book very carefully-explained and discussed, are also welcome to attend the international/Chinese group. We record each meeting and soon the recordings will be available on YouTube. Just search for, "Merry Agondonters."
We choose the papers we read first according to how relevent and useful they will be to the current lives of our readers/participants. We recently completed the paper about the history of the Chinese religions, the Solitary Messengers (a Solitay Messenger wrote the papers on the Thought Adjusters) and the fascinating papers on our Thought Adjusters. We will soon be reading about the Midwayers and then all of Section Four--the LIfe and Teachings of Jesus (written by a commission of Midwayers).
We are unlike most study groups in many ways. Our focus is on how the book can be helpful for our everyday lives and challenges. We discuss ways to gain more contol and to elevate the frequency of thoughts, feelings, and actions -- to alleviate depression, lonliness, doubt, and confusion, as well as simple effective ways to get closer to God and more easily receive his guidance. Among other things, we study (and remain very aware of and grateful to) the authors of each paper.
See you in the future!
