Every three years, The Urantia Book Fellowship hosts an international conference where Urantia Book readers from around the world gather to study and socialize through daily plenaries, workshops, musical performances, and evening events. This year’s conference, named IC23, was held in Chicago in July 2023. It was the first international conference since 2017; the 2020 conference had been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 250 people attended–about half the size of the 2017 conference. Eight current members of the Grand Canyon Society (GCS) attended. We collected some of our thoughts regarding memorable aspects of IC23, as well some thoughts about the future. A religious and worshipful tone Several of us were impressed by the musical offerings at IC23. Beth Wenger and her daughter Ruthie Wilde Wenger were particularly moved by the experience of singing in the choir, with the a cappella performance of “Lord Let My Heart Be Quiet” being a standout musical moment for Ruthie. Ruthie says, “I appreciated performing religious music with religious people.” As a classically trained and professional cellist, she has had plenty of experience performing overtly religious works such as Handel’s Dixit Dominus, but not always with true religious intent or spiritual energy behind the performances. Several of us remembered the “worship spaces” that were held prior to each plenary talk, during which attendees were quietly led through 10 minutes of spoken thoughts, presumably aimed to quiet and center the hearts, minds, and souls. Some found [...]