ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
~ In Person / Online Event ~
GLMUA will host their Annual Membership Meeting at Urantia Foundation on Saturday, April 13th, 2024.
The day will begin with a GLMUA business meeting, including the election of new officers. Following the business meeting at noon, lunch will be provided for all members who attend. After lunch, a topical study which will be led by GLMUA Secretary Dr. Tom Sadler will follow lunch, with a Remembrance Communion scheduled as well, during sometime in the afternoon.
I CAN HELP WITH THAT!
~ In Person / Virtual Events ~
GLMUA hosts and sponsors events all throughout the year. Most people don’t realize the work, time, resources, and effort that goes into planning an event… and generally we all want to attend an event to have a wonderful time. Have you considered helping to make one of the events a success and to even the load on the volunteers?
Usually there are a few dedicated servants who are called upon every year to make an event happen. Sometimes a large gathering requires much preparation of food, carrying provisions for everyone, setting up the venue, serving food, hosting, entertaining the guests, and cleanup afterward when you are exhausted. With only a few more volunteers, the load isn’t so heavy and the tasks don’t seem so daunting, especially to those who are growing older and more fragile. Won’t you please sign the volunteer sheet to help with one or more of our future events, such as the Dunes Picnic or Holiday Party?
All planned Future Events and service opportunities are listed at the link below. Please visit often to view the updated list of assigned tasks, volunteers, and what resources are requested to make the event a success!
Volunteers are needed – Click Here to Sign Up
URANTIA CRUISE 2024
~ In Person Event ~
Please mark your calendar:
June 12, 2024 – July 5, 2024
Leaving from Barcelona, Spain
Returning to Venice, Italy
23-day Mediterranean Tapestry and Empires. Ship: Oosterdam. Inside cabins are $3599. Everyone is welcome to attend. Shronda Turner is the Personal Cruise Consultant with Holland America Line who is booking the tour for The Urantia Book Sailing 2024.
Will Sherwood is already booked for the cruise and is helping to promote the cruise via his network of friends in the Urantia community. Shondra would be happy to answer all of your questions and assist you in booking this dream vacation, assisting you throughout the reservation process from start to finish with: selecting your cruise itinerary from our carefully crafted journeys, booking your cruise reservation with the best available fare, arranging your hotel accommodations, transportation, and flights, customizing your experience with stateroom and dining preferences, and providing you with travel tips and recommendations.
Shronda Turner, Personal Cruise Consultant – Holland America Line
800-355-3017 ext. 29049 / Office: (206) 626-7350
Monday-Friday 9:30 AM-6:00 PM Pacific Time
Do you find yourself wishing to be more involved? We always welcome help and appreciate those with a servant’s heart! To volunteer, just fill out this quick form and we’ll get back to you with some ideas!
Contact Info Update
GLMUA Members & Friends – stay informed! Please verify that your contact info is complete and correct.
STAY INFORMED!
Contact Information Update Requested!
Since the virus, we especially realize just how important it is to stay connected and to support each other during good times and the challenging times when they come along. Also, we understand that email addresses change far too often!
We wish to send you important news about future events and we are counting on you to help us stay connected. Please assist us in reaching you with all of the latest news by providing your current contact information, and most importantly, an active email address! See the link below to fill out our easy, user-friendly form. Thank you! CLICK HERE
Recap of our past year:
GLMUA continues to offer its new service project in the “dark” months of winter for a second season, offering a Moonlight Worship Series featuring talented regional musicians performing a brief monthly 1st Sunday evening worship session during the full moon nights of winter. The shorter seasonal days and long winter nights lend themselves to a social time of music and fellowship at a reasonable hour! We decided that growing attendance in the first year warranted planning for another season in ’23-24! There certainly are many great musicians in our Urantia community! See listings above to register for Moonlight Worship.
GLMUA co-hosted the annual Holiday Program & Party which is done in partnership with First Society for Readers of The Urantia Book and Urantia Foundation. This event was held in person and via zoom. A lovely meal was offered at historic Urantia Foundation, which was decked out with all of its festive winter beauty. GLMUA President Alice Wood greeted guests on behalf of Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association. A wonderful evening for all!
GLMUA hosted its annual Jesus’ Birthday Celebration picnic which took place at Silver Beach and was reminiscent of the Apostles on the seaside with Jesus. There was plenty of good food and fellowship in a stunning outdoor setting. Adults and children alike had an opportunity for joyful relaxation and socialization with people from across our region. Planning is currently underway for next year’s picnic, which will be held for the 4th year at the same location, Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan on or around Jesus’ birthday in August, 2024.
GLMUA recently hosted their Annual Membership Meeting at Urantia Foundation on April 1st and even though traffic, zoom links, and missing lunches qualified the day as a true April Fools Day, all went well and normal business was completed. After the spontaneous good-natured lunch scramble, everyone enjoyed a topical study led by Benet Rutenberg.
GLMUA continued its commitment to another year of Growing Together, a goal-oriented program that supports students of The Urantia Book in the pursuit of any goal of their choosing that relates to truth, beauty, or goodness. Growing Together was appreciated, and was brought back for a second year due to popular demand – with Julia Kelly-Smith facilitating the 2023 season ending in July. It is possible that a 3rd season of Growing Together may be in the works for 2024. Stay tuned…
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS:
Michael Buselli, Trudi Cooper, Janet Kratzat, Megan Fleming, and Robert Middendorf!
Please make sure to extend a warm welcome to each of our newest members!
Michael Buselli is a second-generation student of The Urantia Book, having been raised “in the know” by being the only son of study group promoters and legendary scholars, Bob and Linda Buselli. Michael has become much more active in following his parents’ stellar paths of service and is actively involved in co-facilitating a virtual study group with his father. Michael has a young son and lives in northern Illinois. He is a tech consultant, and he is a wonderful addition to our GLMUA team! We are thrilled to welcome Michael!
Trudi Cooper has been involved in Urantia activities for many years, including hosting study group and attending events with her husband Eric, who is also a student of The Urantia Book. Trudi is lovely and her positive and free spirit vibe makes any gathering more enjoyable. Trudi has recently devoted herself to creative writing for the Discover Jesus website sponsored by The Center For Unity, among other service projects that she is passionate about. We feel very pleased to have Trudi on our team, and we’re thrilled to welcome her!
Janet Kratzat and her husband John reside in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area and Janet has been involved in the Fort Wayne Society activities for several years – attending weekly meetings at the Meredith and Irene Sprunger home, and Janet is a regular attendee of and contributor to more than one Urantia study group. Being devoted individuals, Janet’s husband is also involved in faith ministry. We are very pleased to welcome Janet into our Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association fold – we feel she is a perfect fit, and we are thrilled to welcome Janet!
Megan Fleming, an accomplished artist, and her husband, who is an author, spent a rewarding year in Egypt recently, bringing their young family to experience a different culture. Megan has been involved with organizing study group activities in Goshen, Indiana area for several years. We look forward to Megan’s future involvement with GLMUA as she brings considerable talent and experience to our team! We are thrilled to welcome Megan!
Robert Middendorf is our most recently added full member of Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association, and we are pleased to welcome Robert to the fold. Our president Alice Wood has spoken with Robert a couple of times to discuss his membership application, and said he’s a very kind man in his 70s. He’s been reading the book for about 30 years by himself, but with his wife passing away a month ago he finds himself wanting to reach out to The Urantia Book readers. He has lots of enthusiasm for talking about The Urantia Book – 30 years of wanting to talk about it pours out of him. He’s lived a few different places but currently lives in Detroit. They moved there because they wanted to be a part of a revitalization of the city. This week he is buying flowers to give away to the neighbors to plant on their properties. He wants very much to be of service. We are thrilled to welcome Robert!
SPRING – TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP!
Have you paid membership dues for 2024?
They are due by April 1st.
MEMBERSHIP: We have a user-friendly online payment option to make paying membership dues much easier and more convenient for most members with online access to our portal.
Member dues remain $20 for 2024.
NOT A MEMBER YET – WHY NOT?
We are a great group of service-minded and education-oriented individuals! We will never recruit you, but we welcome you to apply for membership at the link listed below. There are many great ideas for service projects just waiting for the necessary willing hearts to show up, get busy, and get the job done!
Membership Dues help us to tithe our support of Urantia Foundation, Urantia Association International, and Urantia Association of the United States, as well as our local association. Your dues and donations allow us to fund and host our local events, such as the GLMUA Annual Spring Luncheon / Study Event, Jesus’ Birthday Celebration in August, the Holiday Program & Party at Urantia Foundation, Growing Together, and Moonlight Worship, just to name a few!
DONATIONS: We appreciate your donations as well. If you wish to make a financial contribution to Greater Lake Michigan Urantia Association (GLMUA) send your contribution to PayPal using this email address for recipient: GLMUA60614@gmail.com. The link below will provide you with different options to choose from also, including much appreciated monthly donations.