A Visit From The Council To Ontario’s Huron Branch February 6 2016 – Janine Sade

30 Mar A Visit From The Council To Ontario’s Huron Branch February 6 2016 – Janine Sade

This February – the 6^th – was a day the Branch had planned for over a year and a half. The Council of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada, which had gathered from across the country in Toronto, came up to spend a Saturday in Barrie. We are so lucky to have access to welcoming spaces here, and this day we made good use of them:

While the Council met in Camphill’s Janus House for their own morning meeting, Branch members were able to gather for their Class meeting at Natura, a few doors up the street. Then pots of soup, homemade rolls and butter, cheeses, salads, fruit, flowers, and a yummy dessert made their way down the street to the Janus kitchen, where tables were being set up for lunch. This created a convivial atmosphere for getting to know new people. Most of us had met our two Toronto Councillors, Dorothy LeBaron and Doug Wylie, but many of us had had little contact with Arie van Ameringen from Montreal and Judy King from Halifax. John Glanzer from Calgary and Karen Liedl from southern Québec, who may join the Council this spring, also joined us. We were twenty-one people altogether when we formed a ring to sing a blessing on our meal.

The convivial atmosphere reigned also during the meeting in the afternoon – although it contained a surprise for us members from Barrie: We had believed we were going to be discussing the relationship between individuals and groups here on the periphery with the two central anthroposophical bodies – the Council of the Society in Canada, and the Goetheanum in Switzerland. What is the nature of this relationship now, and how could it be improved? Is the present set-up still appropriate for the 21^st century? And how can we establish a real heart connection with the people involved? Due to a communication glitch, however, we ended up working on the sentence that had been chosen in Dornach as a theme for the year instead. This change was a surprise! However, it was a mix-up that we at the Branch were later able to turn to good account, as we simply transferred our own topic to our next and the following meetings of the Huronia Branch. It’s been quite interesting!

The Council’s theme was, ‘The I knows itself in the light of Michaelic world affirmation and world connection.’ We used a Lectio Divina technique, where the theme is first brought before the whole group for contemplation, and then, after breaking up into small collaborative groups to work further on it, different aspects of the now opened and transformed theme are brought back again and shared with the larger group.   This process allows the results to take on a distinctive character and mood, depending on the different individuals participating in each group.

After the meeting, Council members had a chance to get a brief glance into some of the activities going on here in Barrie. They bundled into coats, hats, and mitts and walked up the street to Natura, the heritage building in which Dr Fabian has established his medical office. There are spaces there for adjunctive medical practices: therapeutic eurythmy, painting therapy, and nutrition counselling. The Branch and the Class also meet there, and it is the home of the Huronia Library for Anthroposophy. It has also been the location of numerous workshops, dinners and other activities over the years, and the Natura kitchen has been a perpetually warm spot for extending the various sessions over coffee and cake.

After Natura, Council members piled into cars to visit ‘The Store,’ on nearby Dunlop Street, a new enterprise that Camphill has recently initiated to showcase crafts and art made by Camphill ‘companions’ and others, and to further integrate Camphill into the community. Already there have been special Store events there – such as Julian Mulock’s reading of Dylan Thomas’s ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales.’ In April there will be a special tribute dinner to honour Barrie sculptor and goldsmith, Don Stuart.

After that, we waved goodbye to our six guests, feeling happy the get-together had taken place in such a mutually convivial and warm atmosphere.