National USUA Conference in Nashville
"Disseminating the Teachings: Strategies for Sharing Personal Truth."
April 29 - May 2, 1999

A scholarship program was set up for this conference in Nashville, which helped youths who could afford to make the trip to Nashville but could afford only part or none of the registration, food and lodging fees. Carpools were planned and 13 or 14 of us attended. Together at a conference, it felt like suddenly there was the beginnings of a community, a solid network of young readers, who will enthusiastically continue to join the rest of the active readership. Since that conference other young readers have been starting projects. April Helen is starting a newsletter to go out to young readers, and Merindi Swadling just did a presentation at a conference in Australia about being a young reader and her recent experiences.

I'm constantly impressed as I get to know more and more readers of my generation that most of them have their priorities straight. At one point the young readers who were in Nashville, most of us having been raised by reader parents, were interviewed and video taped. Several long time older readers observed the interview and expressed how glad and surprised they were that we all seemed to "get it". They said that we "got" the overall picture and ability to see what is important, which it felt like it took them 20 years to "get", and things which some people still haven't "got" after 20 years of Urantia Book study. One of them jokingly said she felt like she could die, and the revelation would be left in good hands.

be of good cheer,
Mike MacIsaac