08 Jul Dear Members of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada: from Bert Chase
Dear Members of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada:
In recent days you will have received several letters for members of the General Anthroposophical Society from the Executive Committee at the Goetheanum. As a newly appointed General Secretary for Canada, I have not yet been involved in the ongoing work arising from the recent AGM at the Goetheanum. However, I feel it would be helpful for you to have the following letter from John Bloom, the General Secretary for the US Society, as further background on these recent event.
With Regards, Bert Chase
Dear Members of the Anthroposophical Society in the US,
By now you should have received the most recent communication from the Goetheanum regarding the changes in leadership and responsibilities for the General Anthroposophical Society and the General Section of the School for Spiritual Science. The Executive Council (Vorstand) with Goetheanum Leadership have worked deeply together to absorb and transform all that the departures of long-standing colleagues mean for carrying the extensive work of the World Society for the future. The vote taken at the Annual General Meeting marked a painful but important shift in recognizing a need for a revisioning of leadership, management, and governance. That shift, and the attendant communications, have also had the benefit of raising a new awareness among members of the country societies large and small about their connection to what is going on at the Goetheanum.
We as General Secretaries and Country Representatives, especially those present during the proceedings of the Annual General Meeting, see our relationship to the work at the Goetheanum in a new way as a circle of colleagues holding both Executive Council and Goetheanum Leadership and each other as bridges to our respective Societies. In the past there was a characterization of center and periphery, with the Goetheanum at the center. I sense a different view emerging which holds much more of a network quality. Of course, the work of the Goetheanum and the leadership for the School is rooted in the place itself and the work of Rudolf Steiner. There is also a growing recognition that leadership is happening in the “periphery” and that a sense of reciprocal and collaborative learning is developing. One might say as spiritual scientists we are all an active part of the great laboratory, or we should feel like we are. This is the way of the future. This is the responsibility of every member to some degree, and most particularly members of the School for Spiritual Science.
It should be clear from the communications from the Goetheanum that there has been a leadership change and a redistribution of roles and responsibilities. Further these changes are still quite new and needing support of both a moral and financial nature. We here in the US Society went through the proverbial eye of the needle now three years ago and have come out of it healthier and positioned to be more actively engaged with membership. We, of course, hope that you have experienced some of that activity through webinars and gatherings. And we hope that you are planning on attending the Annual General Meeting in October in New Orleans. That time together looks to be a watershed at which all the aspects of the work in the Society will come together in a spirit of convergence and shared focus.
The world is asking this of us as an Anthroposophical Society as we face a future that can be both challenging and transformative for humanity. To fully step into its social and spiritual mission, anthroposophy and members of the Society and School need to be visible, guiding, and active partners in the ecosystem of those working on behalf of a more human future. And we as the US Society need now more than ever to be active and collaborating partners with the Goetheanum.
John Bloom
General Secretary
Anthroposophical Society in America (US)
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