The ANZURA national conference will be held very soon—it’s less than three months away! Have you registered and booked your tickets yet? We have so much planed—Julian McGarry has organised a great program which you will see further on in the conference article. We currently have a good number of attendees booked for the entire weekend and we will see quite a few day-trippers from Tasmania. It will be good to get together once again after the last two years of lockdowns.
We’ll be staying at the Stewarts Bay Lodge, which is a short walk to the historic Port Arthur. I can personally attest to the Port being a very worthwhile site to visit; there are a few surprises in our history, and it was not what I expected.
During the conference we will be holding ANZURA’s Annual General Meeting with the usual elections. Both mine and the Secretary’s first 2-year terms will be coming to an end but as we are allowed to do two consecutive terms, I will be nominating for a second term if the members will have me.
The National Study Day was held in May and several groups answered the call to meet for a day of study and socialisation. You will see some interesting reflections in this issue of the Arena.
I have enjoyed my time as President of ANZURA. As part of mine and the Vice President’s roles, we are also members of the Representative Council of Urantia Association International. At these meetings we get to see the bigger picture of what is going on around the globe for the international Association. The future is looking bright with new developments and initiatives.
I have also been a member of the Study Group Committee, which is one of the International Service Board (ISB) committees of the Association. We have been quite busy; one of the major projects has been to review the Study Group Guide and update it for today’s trends and technologies. We also presented and hosted the Study Group Symposium and hope to do another one at the end of this year. In addition, we have worked with the International Study Group Directory, and we are currently working on a Study Group Survey.
I have been working with Urantia Association’s Bylaws Revision committee that has been reviewing and revising the Bylaws to streamline and simplify them in accordance with United States non-profit laws. I’m very pleased with the results thus far, but there is still much work to do. Our organisational structure, policies and procedures will be much clearer for national, local, and emerging associations to understand.
I hope to see you in Tasmania!
In loving and sincere service to our father,
Phillip Marriott