Urantia Foundation 50th Anniversary Fundraiser
Chicago March 18 - 19, 2000

I just returned from the (feels long) weekend of the Foundation 50th Anniversary fundraiser. I have to say it was pretty amazing. I don't think even that many people that have been working closely with the Foundation had any idea how much has been done in just the last few years.

In just the last five years, both the number of translations has doubled (from 3 to 6), and so has the number of books sold around the world (from 250k to 500k). There are 11 more translations scheduled for completion within just the next couple of years. A lot of money was raised this weekend for that purpose only. It was really exciting.

What I found most exciting was that the weekend was not made up of only Foundation employees and IUA people. There were quite a lot of Fellowship people there (including me), all working together for the same goal -- more quality books for the world. There were people there from countries all over the world too. The focus was not on the organizations, but almost entirely on the work.

What was even more exciting was the number of people I saw that haven't been around in almost a decade. A lot of people got really turned off over the split 10 years ago. A number of them are returning now that they see the right work really getting done. I think a major goal for now is just to inform people (on all sides) how enthusiastic everybody is to be working together again.

Mike, you really should have been here. There was more than a bit of mention about how excited everyone is about the huge number of young readers that have been active and identified. The mini-youth conference was just that. Mini. Though it was fun. It was essentially me, Isaac, Jeremy, Faith, and Chris and the entire Wood clan. Though I did hear a lot of commentary on how much work Chris had done all week. Everybody that showed up was really welcomed in.

Exciting times ...

Peace Friends, Josh Snider