Lettre de Arie van Ameringen - Juin 2011

Le festival de la  rencontre avec le Moi supérieur

Je viens de revenir d’une réunion avec le Collegium de l’Amérique du Nord.  Le groupe est constitué de représentants de la Section d’anthroposophie générale et  des autres sections.  Les participants se réunissent deux fois par année pour partager leurs recherches en Science de l’esprit.  Je fus chaleureusement accueilli comme un nouveau membre représentant le Canada.

En premier lieu, ma participation se limitait à écouter le partage de leurs recherches sur les quatre éthers.  À la fin de l’année, je devrais être en mesure de  vous communiquer des résultats sur ce sujet fort complexe.

Sur le chemin de retour de Kimberton (Pennsylvanie), je me suis arrêté au Lac George, un magnifique endroit au pied des Adirondacks.  Je suis arrivé dans un village qui préparait l’Americade, le plus grand rassemblement de motards au monde (plus de 50,000 personnes).  Mon sommeil fut écourté par les vagues de vrombissement des moteurs.

On peut affirmer que c’est le festival de la personne qui  cherche la liberté de mouvement.  

Quand nous parlons de la Pentecôte, nous nous référons à la liberté d’un autre niveau.  Qu’est-ce que cela veut dire?  Le festival de la Pentecôte permet la réunion de l’être humain avec le Saint Esprit; c’est   le travail de chaque individualité pour se libérer de sa nature terrestre et devenir un véritable être humain en établissant un lien avec son Moi supérieur.  Par un travail sur soi, il participe au développement de l’humanité entière.  Il ne travaille plus à partir du courant héréditaire mais prend sa racine dans la libre individualité.  Cela signifie qu’à notre époque l’impulsion christique de  l’action libre se fait au-delà des groupes, nationalités et origines ethniques.

Au Congrès de l’AGA à Vancouver, Philip Thatcher a attiré notre attention sur l’importance de l’action librement exécutée dans le processus du karma qui guérit. Paul Mackay a élaboré davantage cette idée lors de sa présentation. Il a posé la question suivante : Quelle est votre contribution au destin de notre temps? Il a mentionné trois étapes, comme aide, dans le développement personnel.

1 Qu’est-ce que je veux changer dans ma vie ?

2. Comment est-ce que je peux arriver à un changement qui perdure ? En l’amenant dans mon sommeil ce changement devient un idéal.

3.L’importance d’un dialogue intérieur dans ce processus de changement. Comment établir un pont entre l’idéal et les faits de la vie réelle ?

En portant un regard sur  l’assemblée annuelle au Goetheanum et les événements qui se sont déroulés avant et après, nous pouvons remarquer qu’il y a eu de l’incompréhension, de l’inquiétude par rapport à `l’information qui circulait. Aussi, la question de la représentation des membres lors des votes est devenue cruciale.

Des membres dans les différentes parties du Canada ont spontanément formé des cercles de chaleur de soutien aux membres qui se rencontraient à Dornach. Les rapports qui ont été écrits par des membres sur le déroulement de l’assemblée mentionnent  comment  le comité directeur s’est efforcé d’expliquer les décisions difficiles qui ont été prises au cours de l’année.

Qu’est-ce que nous pouvons apprendre de ces événements ?

Il est certain que cela nous ramène à la communication dans le vrai sens i.e. une information qui est partagée, commune et qui fait part de la construction de la communauté. L’information devient non-pertinente si elle n’est pas  prise en considération de façon positive. La rencontre entre les personnes  favorise ce processus de communication.

L’imagination de la Pentecôte présente une communauté spirituelle constituée de la réunion du moi supérieur de chaque individualité. Nous sommes appelés à participer à cette imagination.

Pour conclure, je voudrais remercier France Beaucage et Philip Thatcher pour le travail inspirant qu’ils ont fait pour la Société Anthroposophique au Canada. France a porté la question financière avec rigueur et un grand engagement moral. Philip, par ses nombreux voyages, ici comme à l’étranger, a créé des possibilités de rencontres réelles entre les membres.

Arie van Ameringen,

Secrétaire général

Letter from Arie van Ameringen

The festival of the meeting of the Higher Self

I have just returned from a meeting of the North American Collegium.  This group is made up of representatives of the General Anthroposophical Section and of all the other Sections.  The participants meet twice yearly to share their spiritual-scientific research.  I was warmly welcomed as a new member representing Canada.

For this initial meeting, my role was that of listener as the others shared the results of their work on the four ethers.  At the end of the year I feel I should be able to present some of the results of this very complex question.  

On my way back from Kimberton (Pennsylvania), I stopped at Lake George, a magnificent spot located at the foot of the Adirondacks.  I found myself in a town preparing for the Americade, the largest gathering of bikers in the world (more than 50,000 participants).  My sleep was cut short by wave upon wave of roaring engines.

One could say that this was a festival of the individual seeking freedom of movement.

When we speak of Whitsun, we speak of freedom on quite another level.  What does this mean?  The festival of Whitsun allows the meeting of the human being with the Holy Spirit; it is up to each individual to work to free oneself from one’s earthly nature and become a true human being by establishing a link with the higher self.  By working on oneself, a human being participates in the development of mankind as a whole.  In so doing, one no longer works out of the stream of heredity, but rather finds one’s roots in the free individuality.   This is to say that in our time the Christ-inspired impulse towards the free deed takes place on a level above that of any group, nationality or ethnic origin.

During our AGM conference in Vancouver, Philip Thatcher drew our attention to the importance of the freely-performed deed as a healing process for karma.  Paul Mackay elaborated on this idea in his talk.  He asked the following question: What is your contribution to the destiny of our time?  He mentioned three stages as an aid to personal development:

1. What do I want to change in my life?

2. How can I bring about a lasting change?  When I carry the idea of this change into sleep, this change can become an ideal.

3. The importance of an inner dialogue with oneself in this process of change.  How can I create a bridge between the ideal and the realities of daily life?

In looking back over the AGM at the Goetheanum and the events surrounding it, before and after, we become of aware of the uncertainties and the fears generated by all the information in circulation.  In addition, the question of the representation of the membership in the voting process became crucial.

Members in various parts of Canada spontaneously created circles of warmth to support those who were meeting in Dornach.   The reports written by members who attended mention how the Executive Committee made every effort to explain the difficult decisions that had to be made during the year.

What can we learn from these events?

Obviously, this brings us back to the question of communication in the true sense, i.e. information that is shared by all and as such helps to build true community.  Information loses all relevance when it is not taken up in a positive manner.  The meeting of individuals with one another encourages this process of communication.  

The Whitsun imagination is one of a spiritual community created by the meeting of the higher selves of each individual.  We are being called upon to participate in this imagination.

In conclusion, I wish to extend my thanks to France Beaucage and Philip Thatcher for their inspired work on behalf of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada.  France carried the financial aspect with rigor and a great sense of moral commitment.  Philip, through his many travels, both here and abroad, created real possibilities for meeting among members.

Arie van Ameringen,

General Secretary

Anthroposophical Biography of Steven Roboz

- by Michael Roboz

Steven came to Anthroposophy through his first wife in London, England, around 1948. There was a choice between seeing a movie or going to a lecture by W. J. Stein. She chose the lecture. Steven then attended Stein’s lectures at all opportunities when he was in London. He was the one at the door with the basket. Steven also accompanied Stein when Stein traveled to places, such as Camphills. Stein and his second wife often visited Steven and Charlotte in their apartment. It seems that Stein took a special interest in Steven.

When Steven got the job with British Be Beers, Stein gave Steven a special medicine against Malaria, as Steven was sent to West Africa to diamond drill for diamonds. Steven never got sick. Steven also survived the harsh heat and humidity by reading Steiner and not drinking. Steven was one of the few mining engineers that did not go nuts in this environment.

One of the few Steiner books that survived the breakup of Steven’s first marriage to Charlotte was The Gospel of St. Mathew. It was sent to him from London to British Guiana. Charlotte took all the rest of his books.

Whenever Steven was in New York, (Union Carbide’s head office was in Manhattan), he was visited 211 Madison Ave. It was there that he was accepted into the School of Spiritual Science by Henry Barnes.

Steven was one of the founding members of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada in Toronto, in 1953, when it split off from the Anthroposopical Society in America.

When Steven and Helga, Steven's second wife (and my mother), came to Vancouver in 1954, there were only the Friedebergs and another old lady, Mrs.Mayne, the grandmother of Ann Watson. . At first, the meetings were held at their rented house off S.W. Marine. By that time, there were the Oldhams (Jack was the British Trade Commissioner), Mrs. Halliday and a couple of German people. I was a baby at the time. The Watsons (Jack and Sheila) brought Ann in a bassenette. Helga stayed in the kitchen during the meetings to try to keep me quiet.

Later, the meetings were held at Mrs. Mayne’s. By 1965, the group applied to become the Albert Steffen Group, since Albert Steffen died that year. That proved to be a problem later when in Dornach, Steven would announce himself to people as Steven from the Vancouver Albert Steffen Group. He cojjld not get an audience at first, until he had a chance to explain the situation.

In 1970, Steven appealed to the group and raised the $10,000 needed for a down payment for the mortgage to buy the first Rudolf Steiner Centre at 4th. /Trutch in Vancouver. The two suites allowed it to be viable and self-supporting. Steven and a few others formed the Rudolf Steiner Centre Association to run the building with Steven as President, and Cora Verbrugh as Treasurer.

In 1971, Steven took over Steiner Book Centre (SBC) from Douglas Andress. Douglas and Else (the President of the Canadian Society at the time) had been visiting us in February of that year. He asked Steven to take over SBC if Douglas died. Six weeks later, Douglas was dead. Steven published over 30 titles and had a distributorship for anthroposophical books in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. .. Over the past year, we have had requests from Bosnia and Israel for them to translate Steven's booklet"Islam-study notes" into their respective languages.

Steven and Helga organized and carried out the festivals. Steven gave the talks and for many years arranged for visiting lecturers who often stayed at our house. Helga was like the social hub of the Society. There were times when we had both foreign and local visitors almost every day. The Wednesday study group, which Steven had started in 1954, continues today. Steven had withdrawn his influence on the Group slowly in the 2000s and since 2009, not gone at all. In the 1970s, we often had over 100 people attending a Wednesday. That was before other study groups and interest groups had formed.

Steven was also part of Committee that helped to start the Waldorf School. Steven was Secretary of the Vancouver Waldorf School Association in 1954..

Compte-rendu de l'Assemblée générale annuelle à Vancouver

- par Monique Walsh

Chers amis, membres de la Société anthroposophique au Canada,

J’aimerais  partager avec vous quelques réflexions sur notre assemblée générale annuelle de la semaine dernière.
  
La réunion a été fort positive, et nous y avons vécu plusieurs moments émouvants.  En effet, ce n’est pas souvent qu’on doit dire au revoir à des collègues et leur souhaiter bonne chance pour leurs nouvelles tâches.
Mais il s’agissait cette fois-ci de le faire pour deux collègues.  France Beaucage a siégé sur notre Conseil durant 10 ans.  Elle nous a apporté non seulement sa passion et ses connaissances dans le domaine de l’économie, mais aussi un profond souci pour tous les aspects de la vie de l’anthroposophie dans notre pays.  Il faut souligner également son engagement à travailler pour rendre l’anthroposophie plus accessible à tous les membres.  Ce n’est que maintenant que je comprends le don qu’elle possède pour trouver le soutien humain et monétaire nécessaire à la réalisation de notre vision commune.  France assumera maintenant sa nouvelle tâche de responsable de Classe à Montréal.

Et, bien sûr, Philip Thatcher, notre Secrétaire général.  Au moment où Philip a accepté cette tâche pour nous, il a dit clairement qu’il ne pouvait s’engager que pour sept années, mais que pendant ce temps il se dévouerait au service de la vie de l’anthroposophie de notre pays avec tous les moyens à sa disposition.  Et nous avons tous bénéficié de multiples façons de ce service rendu.  Non seulement Philip a-t-il voyagé partout au pays, mais encore il a su établir des liens entre les individus des différentes régions qui portaient les mêmes questions de recherche.  Plusieurs d’entre nous nous souvenons que c’est lors de sa rencontre avec son homologue norvégien, Frode Barkved, que l’inspiration lui est venue pour entamer les démarches qui ont abouti à la réalisation du grand congrès sur le Nord.  Cette impulsion a réuni les multiples aspects de son travail comme Secrétaire général, rassemblant les membres canadiens et partageant avec la Société anthroposophique mondiale notre façon bien à nous de travailler.

Et la présence de Paul Mackay parmi nous à cette assemblée générale a été une occasion exceptionnelle. Paul a pu partager avec nous ses propres réflexions et son appréciation personnelle du travail de ces deux individus.  

Et si, d’une part, nous avons dit au revoir, d’autre part nous avons pu accueillir notre nouveau Secrétaire général, Arie van Ameringen.  Nouveau, entendons-nous, comme Secrétaire général mais bien connu comme membre du Conseil depuis des années.  

Et nous avons eu le grand plaisir de présenter Jean Balekian et de l’accueillir au sein de notre Conseil.  Membre très actif dans la région de Montréal depuis beaucoup d’années, Jean a travaillé comme professeur  à l’École Rudolf Steiner de Montréal et il fait partie du cours de formation des professeurs.  Mais avant tout, on devrait présenter Jean en sa qualité d’artiste, et aussi comme un homme possédant une énorme chaleur humaine et un merveilleux sens de l’humour tout à fait original.  Partout là où il se trouve on entend des rires d’allégresse.

Et oui, on a quand même traité des points à l’ordre du jour pendant l’assemblée! Je voudrais attirer votre attention sur quatre questions pour vous donner une idée du travail qu’entreprendra le conseil durant l’année qui vient. 

En premier lieu, il y a la question de normaliser l’envoi de notre contribution au Goetheanum, question dont Doug Wylie a déjà parlé dans son rapport.  Soyez assurés que notre engagement financier envers le Goetheanum nous tient à cœur et que nous le respecterons.  Il s’agit seulement de nous conformer aux modalités approuvées par l’Agence du Revenu du Canada.

En deuxième lieu, la question du quorum.  Vous n’ignorez sans doute pas que, depuis quelques années déjà, de moins en moins de membres ont la possibilité de faire le voyage pour se rendre à l’AGA à partir des différentes régions de notre vaste pays.  Cette situation entraine inévitablement une réduction importante du nombre de membres présents et elle compromet sérieusement notre capacité de réunir le quorum nécessaire.  Nous étudions plusieurs solutions, que nous allons examiner en profondeur avant de les présenter à la prochaine AGA, qui aura lieu à Toronto.  Une de ces options serait de demander aux groupes des différentes régions du pays d’envoyer un individu pour assister à l’AGA, pas en tant que représentant, mais plutôt comme un participant qui pourrait partager avec nous les expériences vécues dans sa région et, en rentrant, présenter un compte rendu de l’AGA à son groupe local.  Ceci n’est pas sans rappeler l’époque où les membres des différents coins du pays travaillaient un thème et montaient ensuite, à partir de ce travail, une représentation artistique qui était présentée à l’AGA.

La troisième chose que je voudrais partager avec vous est la possibilité d’un « Prison Outreach Programme » ici au Canada (programme d’information et d’aide auprès des détenus).  Le conseil a été saisi de la question, et le requérant a demandé si nous pouvions appuyer une telle initiative sous l’égide de la Société anthroposophique au Canada.  Nous avons dit qu’en principe nous trouvions l’idée excellente, tout en reconnaissant en même temps qu’il faudrait d’abord que la question soit étudiée en profondeur; par exemple, il faudrait que nous sachions précisément ce que ce projet impliquerait, qui en porterait la responsabilité, comment les fonds nécessaires seraient séparés du fonds général de la Société.  Mais nous reconnaissons aussi qu’un des membres de notre conseil s’y intéresse et serait prêt à appuyer une telle initiative, et nous croyons donc que cela vaut la peine de faire des recherches dans ce sens. Nous partagerons les résultats de ces recherches par l’intermédiaire du bulletin et présenterons nos recommandations lors de la prochaine AGA.

Et une dernière chose, mais non la moindre – on a informé l’assemblée que la Société a versé un don de $25,000 à Hesperus. Vous trouverez des détails de ce don dans le présent numéro du bulletin.

En terminant, au nom du Conseil je tiens à remercier ceux qui ont pu se joindre à nous pour l’AGA et à exprimer ma reconnaissance à tous pour l’appui que vous continuez de nous témoigner.

Chaleureusement,

Monique Walsh

Report from the Annual General Meeting In Vancouver

Dear friends, members of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada,

I would like to share some thoughts from the annual general meeting on the May long-weekend.  It was a very positive meeting with a number of poignant moments.  After all, it is not often that we must say goodbye to colleagues, to wish them well in their future tasks.  But on this occasion we were parting with two members.

France Beaucage has served on Council for the past ten years, bringing not only her passion and wisdom in the field of economy but also her depth of caring for all aspects of the life of anthroposophy in this country, together with her commitment to make anthroposophy more accessible to the members.  Her ability to find practical support for our shared visions was a gift I only now truly understand. France will now take up her next task of Class Holder in Montreal.

And of course, Philip Thatcher, our General Secretary: when Philip agreed to carry this task for us, he was clear that he would only be able to commit for seven years but that he would dedicate himself to bringing whatever skills he had to the service of anthroposophy in this country. And we have all benefited in many ways from this service. Philip not only travelled throughout this country but he also made sure to put individuals in touch with each other from various areas that carried similar research questions. As many of us remember the story, he was inspired in his meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, Frode Barkved, to initiate what would become the Conference on the North. This impulse wove together the many aspects of his work as General Secretary in bringing together the members within Canada and in sharing our unique way of working with the world society.  It was truly special to have Paul Mackay with us at this moment, to be able to share his own observations and recognition of the work of these two individuals. 

And with saying goodbye, on the one hand, we were also able to welcome our new General Secretary, Arie van Ameringen--although not new to us on Council yet new in this task. And it was a great pleasure to introduce and welcome Jean Balekian onto the council. Jean has been a very active member in the Montreal area for many years. He has been a teacher at the Waldorf School and is also part of a training program for teachers. But Jean should really be first and foremost introduced as an artist, and a man of incredible warmth with a wonderfully refreshing sense of humour. Where Jean is, there is always laughter.

And yes, we did also conduct some business. There are four points I would like to share with you now as an introduction to questions that the council will be working with in this coming year.

First, Doug Wylie has already brought to your attention in his report the need to correct the situation around the sending of our contribution to the Goetheanum. Please know that we are committed to sending our annual contribution and are simply putting into place the CRA-approved way of doing so.

Second is the question of the quorum, which has arisen for the last two years. As you know, over the years fewer and fewer members have been able to travel to the AGM from other parts of our vast country. This has the inevitable effect of reducing the number of members present and seriously jeopardizes our ability to meet the prescribed quorum.  We are looking at various options, which we will research thoroughly before presenting them at the next AGM that will take place in Toronto. One idea is to ask groups from various areas to send someone, not as a representative, but as a participant that can then share his or her experiences of their area and bring back a report from the AGM to the group.  This is somewhat in the spirit of the times when members across the country worked with a theme and then put together an artistic manifestation of their work, which was then shared at the AGM.

The third point I wish to share from our meeting is the possibility of a Prison Outreach Program here in Canada. The question of a prison outreach has been brought to the council, asking if we could support such an initiative under the auspices of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada.  We have said that in principle we think it is a wonderful idea. At the same time, we recognize that there needs to be a lot of research done. We will need to know exactly what this project would entail, who would be responsible for it, how the finances for it would be separated out from the finances of the society, among other things.  But we also recognize that we have a council member that is interested and willing to support such an initiative, and we feel it is worth investigating.  We will share our findings with you visa Glimpses and bring our recommendation to the next AGM.

Last, but most definitely not least, was the sharing of the news of the Society's gift of $25,000 to Hesperus, which is spoken to more in depth in this issue of Glimpses.

To close, on behalf of the council, I would like to acknowledge those who were able to join us at the AGM in Vancouver and to thank you all for your continued support.

With warmest regards,
Monique Walsh

Treasurer's Report - June 2011

- by Douglas Wylie

Dear Members,


To begin I would like to thank you for your continued trust and support in my role as Treasurer. For the benefit of those that were not able to attend the recent AGM in Vancouver, this report summarizes my presentation.

The year 2010 was a year of orientation for me as I took over the responsibilities with the Council for the financial aspects of the Society. I thank Mark McAlister, France Beaucage and all Council members for their support, and for the extensive work that we did over the year.

In April I was able to attend the Annual General Meeting of the General Anthroposophical Society in Dornach as well as the annual meeting of the Treasurers of the National Societies. These meetings gave me a greater appreciation for the importance of supporting the heritage and current work at the Goetheanum as a solid foundation for the Anthroposophical work done in the world.

When I took on the role of Treasurer, I noticed a somewhat ambiguously worded question on the information return to the Canadian Revenue Agency. To determine the course of action needed we, the Council, decided to engage a lawyer. He was able to confirm that the Society has been indicating incorrectly about sending money outside the country. The point in question is around sending monies to the Goetheanum as part of our membership in the world organization. The rules stipulated by the Canada Revenue Agency regarding how we steward our money are very explicit.

In working with Paul Mackay on the question over the AGM weekend in Vancouver we became clear on a course of action. We will now follow up on the possibility of creating a Canadian Charitable Society within the General Anthroposophical Society centred at the Goetheanum. This is the successful solution that the society in the United States came to in order to meet regulations there.

The financial statement for 2010, as compiled by our Accounting firm, Clarke and Kaprelian, was presented and approved by the members present at the AGM. The budget for 2011 and 2012, as mailed to the membership, was also formally accepted. All these documents can be viewed on our website.
The information return for 2010 and the corrected return for 2009 will now be completed and submitted.

Some of the goals for 2011 are as follows:

• Review stewardship arrangements where needed in order to make the expenditures done at the local level transparent and to ensure that we are in line with the rules of the Canadian Revenue Agency in this regard.

• Investigate options for our term deposit investments to determine if DUCA Credit Union remains the best option.

• The Council to review Anthroposophical Society in Canada’s financial policies and bylaws.