Ottawa

Confluence of the Three Rivers Branch

Contact:

Brenda Hammond   613-425-0505    brenda.hammond@rogers.com



 Current activities:
 
The most recent anthroposophical event in Ottawa has been our monthly Sunday morning reading to the so-called dead. This is carried by a core group of Society members, with other friends joining in from time to time.
     We gather in Sylvie Richard’s old stone farmhouse, a sociable place that has a history of spiritually-focused meetings. Once a candle is lit, we spend some moments connecting with specific souls who have crossed the threshold. Then we hear two Steiner verses and go into the reading of the lecture, each of us in turn taking a few paragraphs. We began with the Gospel of St. John, and are now half-way through the Gospel of St. Mark.
     After this is done, we sit quietly and share what or who has come up for us. We end with hearing the verses again, and the candle is extinguished. The mood then is one of quiet satisfaction and gratitude for the connection.
     Dedicated work continues in the School for Spiritual Science, held in a light-filled room of the kindergarten at the Ottawa Waldorf School on the last Sunday of the month, except for June and December. From time to time we gather in the Hammonds’ home for a less formal meeting. There, we begin by enjoying a pot-luck meal together (and isn’t it magic how what people freely bring most often works out so perfectly?). This gives us the chance to share questions, insights, difficulties and so on; and also to consider our responsibilities as anthroposophists. On the 16th June we will complete the cycle of Nineteen Lessons. Yes, we need to mark the occasion with some sort of celebration!
     In general, anthroposophical life in Ottawa continues to be somewhat fragmented. Even though there are various on-going study groups (and surely other activities of which the writer of this communication is unaware) most of these are outside the auspices of the Society. For instance, Hamo and Brenda attend a fortnightly group where the majority of participants come through Rudi Verspoer’s Heilkunst initiative. Long time and serious work continues amongst those who were initially inspired by and gathered around the late Charles Ferlan.
     Owing to unforeseen circumstances, our anticipated spring Grassroots conference has had to be postponed. This usually provides the opportunity for the wider community to come together. We hope that, in future, the Confluence of Three Rivers Branch will expand and be able to provide more such opportunities.

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