From October 10th to
October 13th the Council and General Secretary had a wonderful
opportunity to meet and work in Nova Scotia. The Council, invited by NS member
Judy King with support from the local Members and Friends’ Group, were warmly
welcomed in the community, and they were surprised and very excited to hear
about the many initiatives taking place on the East Coast. It had been eleven
years since the Council had travelled to Nova Scotia.
We had the good fortune to be
hosted by Camelia Frieberg, at Watershed Farm near Bridgewater, on the South
Shore of Nova Scotia. It is a beautiful farm situated in hill country, and
commands a panoramic view of the surrounding forested countryside.
Camelia has a large market garden in which she works with bio-dynamic methods;
she has many chickens/roosters for eggs and meat, sheep and lambs for wool and
meat, and a couple of beehives. There are facilities at the farm where
workshops and events are held (under Pollination Project). For two years there
was a regular study group meeting here to read Steiner’s Agriculture Course.
After meeting all day and evening
Friday and on Saturday morning, we were treated to a field trip to Blue Rocks,
Lunenburg, where geologist Duncan Keppie gave us some insight into the geological
diversity in the area. He also spoke of the anthroposophically-oriented
geological research he is undertaking, into the relationship of the body of the
Earth to the human body.
On Saturday evening, we met with
about 25 members and friends of the Society at the South Shore Waldorf School. We
were grateful so many people came out on a Thanksgiving weekend. After a
musical welcome and circle dance, we spent the first part of the evening hearing
about the inspiring work going on in this community.
Here is a brief glimpse into some of the initiatives.
The Waldorf School is in its
nineteenth year of operation, having been in its present location for thirteen
years. It is in a one hundred year old schoolhouse in Blockhouse, near
Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and Bridgewater. At present, there are about sixty
students in kindergarten to grade eight.
The South Shore Waldorf School
Association has recently purchased the property the school stands on. One of
the initiatives that has enabled this is a financial borrowing/lending community,
under the guidance of Jim White, Rita Landgraf and Kathryn Dumke, which has made
it possible for many friends of the school to participate in financing the
project. Vidar also is assisting with financing arrangements.
For six years there was a Waldorf
East Conference at the school, spearheaded by Anne Greer; by popular demand it
will be back again in 2015. About twenty participants take part, mostly from
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and have also come from Maine and Newfoundland.
Hallowe’en Whispers is an
initiative created by Monika Wildemann, kindergarten teacher; it is a popular
public event held at the school as a young-child-friendly alternative to ‘trick
or treat’; children are led on a magical mystery tour through the forest with a
story theme.
The Airstream Café is an exciting
initiative which was created by Ross Bunnell and Rita Landgraf for the purpose
of raising funds for the school. Ross and Rita have been dedicated to serving
the school in many ways since it opened its doors. Some years ago they
converted an Airstream trailer into a travelling café certified for serving
food in public, with excellent fair trade coffee and gourmet hot and cold food
on the menu; they travel to farmers’ markets and other events May through
October; all proceeds go to the school.
An Anthroposophical Foundation
Studies program has been carried for the last 2 years by Judy King and Maggie
Keppie. Eleven students have completed the program, which includes study,
artistic work and field trips. A new foundation studies program will be started
in 2015, carried by Andre Schmechel, grades Faculty Chair at the school, and
Maggie Keppie.
An ‘East Coast Institute for Studies
in Anthroposophy’ was established to distinguish initiatives from the Waldorf
school community from independent initiatives led by local members. (Its name
mirrors the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy in British
Columbia.) Under this umbrella are carried the Foundation Studies Course and
the Early Childhood Education initiative now in its first year under tutelage
of Carol Nasr, Maggie Keppie and Margaret Osmond.
Biodynamic Beekeepers Shirley and
Klaus Langpohl, near Digby, have just received the exciting news of their
Demeter certification! They hold workshops on beekeeping and have initiated a
number of anthroposophical study groups and workshops in their area.
In Wolfville, Annapolis Valley,
Kathleen Purdy established The Alexander Society about twenty years ago;
trained in the ‘HEART’ program in Toronto, she works practically with anthroposophy
to enrich the lives of individuals living with autism and other conditions.
Dorothea Schmidt has opened a
clinic in Mahone Bay for therapeutic massage.
After hearing from the
initiatives, in the second part of the evening we broke into small conversation
groups, to explore together the evolving ‘Purpose’ of the Society. What is our
Purpose becoming, and what is it asking of us as Members of the Society? There
were many lively exchanges. A few of the images that emerged were becoming a
beacon, visibility, one connecting force, hands holding hands across the
country, each of us as living examples showing anthroposophy in our daily
lives.
The Council has carried this
question of the Purpose into café conversations with members across the country
during the past year and a half, in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary,
Vancouver, and now Blockhouse, Nova Scotia. We are grateful to all those who
have participated, as we now take up the task to craft the ‘Purpose’, as it
will appear in the revised ASC Charter/bylaws.
After lively discussion and
questions the evening concluded with a two-part a capella song beautifully sung
by two members of the parent body at the School, Mary Knickle and Heather
Kristenson; Mary then led us all in a lively rendition of ‘Farewell to Nova
Scotia’.
On Sunday we drove to Arthur and
Margaret Osmond’s house in Dartmouth (Halifax area) for a conversation with
Class Members; conversation included notes taken in Montreal last July from
Virginia Sease’s presentation, and questions from Nova Scotia Members about
School of Spiritual Science work, requested beforehand.
School for Spiritual Science Class
Lessons are offered monthly by Classholder Arthur Osmond, in Dartmouth. As
well, a study group here has just started to read Sergei Prokofieff’s ‘Cycle of
the Year as a Path of Initiation’.
We were graciously invited to
enjoy a potluck lunch with Society Members and Friends at the Osmonds’ house.
This was followed by Eurythmy led by Margaret Osmond, at a public location.
Margaret has recently acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree in Eurythmy from the
University of Oslo, Norway, in conjunction with Spring Valley, NY. She offers a
monthly Eurythmy class, open to the public, in Dartmouth; we participated in
one of these, twelve people took part. In the same location, after the Eurythmy
a public talk was given by Arie van Ameringen, on Anthroposophical Meditation.
It was pointed out that this was a first, as far as we know, public talk on
anthroposophy in Dartmouth. About sixteen people were present.
Council Members had some meeting
time on Sunday evening, and then on Monday were kindly offered the Osmonds’
home to meet in all day, before travelling back home in their different
directions.
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