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Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2003 10:09 pm +0000
Posts: 1817
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Hello Yoder --
I'm really happy to hear of your intention to set up a booth at a campus. After a certain while, many readers begin to feel the desire to do something valuable with what they've learned from their studies and outreach is one of the major places to contribute. For decades there have been prison outreach programs -- they tend to make the person involved feel like they're accomplishing something, but there's very little other meaningful payback. Which would you prefer to have attend a study group at your home, a rehabilitated felon or a college student? Like any organization, the Urantia movement needs new readers and young bright inquisitive minds are imperative -- a college campus is the best soil for planting the seeds of the revelation. Sadly, in the whole of the USA there is only one active campus outreach program. There are lots of good intentions, but few will follow through and do the necessary, persistent, consistent work.
The requirements are minimal. Someone has to resolve to dedicate time to the booth so they must have spare time to donate, whether it's just an hour a week or an hour a month -- committed time needs to be consistent. They have to be willing to sit at the booth, be there to answer questions or just be there as students pass by and ignore them.
The one active campus UB outreach booth is at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and has been in continuous operation since about 1985 due to the efforts of one man. He has worked with the university administration to make the Urantia Book Club a recognized University club, which gives the added benefit of being able to hold events at the university as a student organization, receiving a substantial discount for using university facilities. All the necessary information can be found at http://www.urantia-book-club.org/ and I'd suggest you start there.
The payback to a campus outreach booth may not be obvious although at the Boulder club new readers from the university have later come to attend one of the several active study groups in the Boulder area. In this instance, at UC Boulder, a table is set up attractively, displaying The Urantia Book. It's in an area near food courts so there's a lot of student traffic. They walk by and they may glance at the table. They see "The Urantia Book" -- it's big. They continue on, or maybe one or two a day will stop and pick up a handout. Once in a while someone will want to talk or ask questions. But for the most part, a thousand kids may walk by at lunch time and the words "The Urantia Book" will be subconsciously registered. Maybe 5 or 10 years later, when they're confronted by real life and have real life concerns they may be surfing the web or browsing in a book store and they'll recognize "The Urantia Book" from having seen it at college and they'll check into it further. They do, after all, have guardian angels and Thought Adjusters -- which the booth has provided recognition to work with.
So, if you're looking for immediate results, new recruits, new readers, spiritually excited young adults... this is not going to happen most likely. You'll not see a lot of obvious results from this work, you'll spend a lot of time crocheting or listening to music or twiddling your thumbs, but you will have the soul satisfaction of being instrumental in helping to wake up some young and inquisitive minds to new possibilities.
Best wishes,
Larry
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