The Erzoberlenker
João Torunsky
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by David Wertheim Aymes
The World Goetheanum Forum was held for the first time over three days, from 28th to 30th September 2018, at the Goetheanum. I personally was pleased that such a meeting had been called as it was appealing to those in the business sphere rather than the traditional arts, medical or farming initiatives. It came shortly after the reshuffling of the Vorstand at the Goetheanum and as such it hinted at freshness and a desire to see things done differently. I had to go and see. My work in South Africa has been done essentially alone with only the support of the written words of Dr Steiner. I wanted to see how my work corresponded to what was coming out of the ‘mother organ’ in Switzerland. I wanted to find next steps for myself one way or the other.
The conference format consisted of five lecture-cum-report sessions from someone in business or in the Vorstand followed by questions or comments. Some of these sessions were presented by more than one speaker. There were two sessions of 12 mini workshops run in parallel, where one could choose a subject or speaker of interest and delve deeper and interact slightly more than in the question sessions after the reports. The first and last tea breaks of the conference were managed networking sessions with a gong sounding every three minutes encouraging delegates to either change contributor or change group. Topics or questions were given to discuss in these sessions; such as “why are you here?” For the first hour in the mornings one could choose an activity like singing or meditation or something else like this.
There were 130 attendees from all over, mostly economically active people acting out of some kind of Anthroposophic influence: bankers, farmers, consultants, industrialists, retailers and so on. There were also some young people who were, for example, engaged to someone who had a connection to Anthroposophy. These people were never heard unless one met them at the dinner table and specifically engaged them. They had some really fresh and meaningful questions. Most of the current Vorstand members were there as well as past members. The gathering happened in the Schreinerei, the same venue where the Christmas gathering of 1923 took place.
The people that were seen on stage most often were the organisers and the chosen presenters, such as Helmy Abouleish, Peter Blom, the Italian retailer Fabio Brescacin, Michael Brenner Weleda, Dr Petra Derkzen, Gerald Haeffner, Georg Soldner, Dr Ha Vihn Tho, among others. There was a clear sympathetic connection amongst them. When they were not on stage, they sat near each other. There were not a lot of questions after each talk. Everyone in the audience knew that there was time pressure and 10-15 minutes of question-time did not leave a lot of space for deepening anything. I was not able to contribute much at the question sessions after the reports; there was simply no opportunity. I asked a few questions trying to stimulate a different slant to things. During the reports, I tried to listen to the topic in German and then to find out why the presenter was saying what they said.
I joined the singing in the morning. We made a lot of progress in two sessions. I had to really concentrate and be present to stay with it and be part of it. I did enjoy this. I also went to Helmy’s workshop where the question was how do we apply the sentient, mind and consciousness soul to individual, social and societal life? I found the introduction clear but the contributions of others too far off the topic. I attended another workshop on working together – how do we do this? A farmer gave his ideas on how he had done this.
What I found very relevant was this table put up by Rembert Biemond:
1923 2018
Foundation Stone 1 1
Membership 12000 42000
Initiatives 5 30000+
On Payroll of initiatives 70 ±500000
Clearly the membership has not grown anywhere like the people working for initiatives connected to the concepts of Anthroposophy. To me this is worrisome as they are not actively participating in gaining or growing Anthroposophical knowledge.
So, in conclusion, I got to hear a lot about what was not working and indeed what was working in the world and several pleas for solutions, but no concrete next steps based on the essence of Anthroposophy and Spiritual Science. Things that were working were the Biodynamic initiatives, the banks, and some others. What was missing though is how these got to work and what role the human being, conscious of himself/herself, enabled this to come about.
This article was edited by John-Peter Gernaat as the webmaster. The original was written as a report and David included a critical analysis with recommendation for the improvement of future forums such as this one that the organisers only would benefit from.
The World Goetheanum Forum was held for the first time over three days, from 28th to 30th September 2018, at the Goetheanum. I personally was pleased that such a meeting had been called as it was appealing to those in the business sphere rather than the traditional arts, medical or farming initiatives. It came shortly after the reshuffling of the Vorstand at the Goetheanum and as such it hinted at freshness and a desire to see things done differently. I had to go and see. My work in South Africa has been done essentially alone with only the support of the written words of Dr Steiner. I wanted to see how my work corresponded to what was coming out of the ‘mother organ’ in Switzerland. I wanted to find next steps for myself one way or the other.
The conference format consisted of five lecture-cum-report sessions from someone in business or in the Vorstand followed by questions or comments. Some of these sessions were presented by more than one speaker. There were two sessions of 12 mini workshops run in parallel, where one could choose a subject or speaker of interest and delve deeper and interact slightly more than in the question sessions after the reports. The first and last tea breaks of the conference were managed networking sessions with a gong sounding every three minutes encouraging delegates to either change contributor or change group. Topics or questions were given to discuss in these sessions; such as “why are you here?” For the first hour in the mornings one could choose an activity like singing or meditation or something else like this.
There were 130 attendees from all over, mostly economically active people acting out of some kind of Anthroposophic influence: bankers, farmers, consultants, industrialists, retailers and so on. There were also some young people who were, for example, engaged to someone who had a connection to Anthroposophy. These people were never heard unless one met them at the dinner table and specifically engaged them. They had some really fresh and meaningful questions. Most of the current Vorstand members were there as well as past members. The gathering happened in the Schreinerei, the same venue where the Christmas gathering of 1923 took place.
The people that were seen on stage most often were the organisers and the chosen presenters, such as Helmy Abouleish, Peter Blom, the Italian retailer Fabio Brescacin, Michael Brenner Weleda, Dr Petra Derkzen, Gerald Haeffner, Georg Soldner, Dr Ha Vihn Tho, among others. There was a clear sympathetic connection amongst them. When they were not on stage, they sat near each other. There were not a lot of questions after each talk. Everyone in the audience knew that there was time pressure and 10-15 minutes of question-time did not leave a lot of space for deepening anything. I was not able to contribute much at the question sessions after the reports; there was simply no opportunity. I asked a few questions trying to stimulate a different slant to things. During the reports, I tried to listen to the topic in German and then to find out why the presenter was saying what they said.
I joined the singing in the morning. We made a lot of progress in two sessions. I had to really concentrate and be present to stay with it and be part of it. I did enjoy this. I also went to Helmy’s workshop where the question was how do we apply the sentient, mind and consciousness soul to individual, social and societal life? I found the introduction clear but the contributions of others too far off the topic. I attended another workshop on working together – how do we do this? A farmer gave his ideas on how he had done this.
What I found very relevant was this table put up by Rembert Biemond:
1923 2018
Foundation Stone 1 1
Membership 12000 42000
Initiatives 5 30000+
On Payroll of initiatives 70 ±500000
Clearly the membership has not grown anywhere like the people working for initiatives connected to the concepts of Anthroposophy. To me this is worrisome as they are not actively participating in gaining or growing Anthroposophical knowledge.
So, in conclusion, I got to hear a lot about what was not working and indeed what was working in the world and several pleas for solutions, but no concrete next steps based on the essence of Anthroposophy and Spiritual Science. Things that were working were the Biodynamic initiatives, the banks, and some others. What was missing though is how these got to work and what role the human being, conscious of himself/herself, enabled this to come about.
This article was edited by John-Peter Gernaat as the webmaster. The original was written as a report and David included a critical analysis with recommendation for the improvement of future forums such as this one that the organisers only would benefit from.
Dieter Hornemann in Petersburg as a storm is brewing
by Rev. Reingard Knausenberger
On Sunday, 14th October the founding of the Community in Moscow is being celebrated with a first Russian born and raised resident priest, Anna Geyer. With this big festival a preparation which began in 1976 when a Russian lady invited Friedrich Benesch to visit a group of young anthroposophists, will find its fulfilment.
From then on, Dieter Hornemann (who was a priest in Stuttgart and spoke Russian) was asked to accompany the people interested in anthroposophy and religious renewal. (There have also been others working with different groups from 1979). During this time he met the art student Sergej Prokofieff, who joined the circle of friends in 1978. After 1979 it became difficult for Dieter to travel in the ‘East Block’ through the political situation and their surveillance regarding anti-communist activities. Thanks to the changes brought about through Glasnost and Perestroika he could obtain a visa again in 1987 and work began on translating the rituals into Russian, also with the help of Sergej Prokofieff, who in the meantime was married and living in England. With the change in political ‘temperature’ bringing hope, youth in west and east Germany began preparing for a big youth conference in Moscow, not knowing if it would actually be possible to realise it. So when in 1989 the borders opened to the west, they were prepared. In July 1990 ninety youth and three priests and a Waldorf teacher boarded a train in Stuttgart for Moscow, to be joined along the way by another priest and youth from Dresden, bringing the group to ca. 120. The week started in a small public school with a handful of Russians, and by the third day the numbers had doubled by way of bush-telegraph and angel interventions as people appeared from across the whole Soviet Union. Truly an unforgettable week which set much in motion. The Act of Consecration was celebrated every day in Russian and German. The chalice remained as a gift for the budding Moscow Christian Community.
On Sunday, 14th October the founding of the Community in Moscow is being celebrated with a first Russian born and raised resident priest, Anna Geyer. With this big festival a preparation which began in 1976 when a Russian lady invited Friedrich Benesch to visit a group of young anthroposophists, will find its fulfilment.
From then on, Dieter Hornemann (who was a priest in Stuttgart and spoke Russian) was asked to accompany the people interested in anthroposophy and religious renewal. (There have also been others working with different groups from 1979). During this time he met the art student Sergej Prokofieff, who joined the circle of friends in 1978. After 1979 it became difficult for Dieter to travel in the ‘East Block’ through the political situation and their surveillance regarding anti-communist activities. Thanks to the changes brought about through Glasnost and Perestroika he could obtain a visa again in 1987 and work began on translating the rituals into Russian, also with the help of Sergej Prokofieff, who in the meantime was married and living in England. With the change in political ‘temperature’ bringing hope, youth in west and east Germany began preparing for a big youth conference in Moscow, not knowing if it would actually be possible to realise it. So when in 1989 the borders opened to the west, they were prepared. In July 1990 ninety youth and three priests and a Waldorf teacher boarded a train in Stuttgart for Moscow, to be joined along the way by another priest and youth from Dresden, bringing the group to ca. 120. The week started in a small public school with a handful of Russians, and by the third day the numbers had doubled by way of bush-telegraph and angel interventions as people appeared from across the whole Soviet Union. Truly an unforgettable week which set much in motion. The Act of Consecration was celebrated every day in Russian and German. The chalice remained as a gift for the budding Moscow Christian Community.
From the 14th October 1990 the first public service (not in the protected space of a conference) was celebrated and from then on had regular visits from priests, sometimes staying for many months. It is a very special destiny to note that in this year the founding Act of Consecration for the Community in Moscow will take place to the day 28 years later. In 1990 and in 2018 this date falls on a Sunday.
Since 2005 the community has their own consecrated chapel space, in a building jointly owned with the Wala.
Regular conferences have been held to which people from other towns came, asking for visits as well. In 1998 a group in St. Petersburg bought a small one-room holiday cottage at the edge of the city, and so there are two owned spaces in Russia where the Act of Consecration is celebrated. There are three other filial situations in Russia which are visited regularly.
Since 2005 the community has their own consecrated chapel space, in a building jointly owned with the Wala.
Regular conferences have been held to which people from other towns came, asking for visits as well. In 1998 a group in St. Petersburg bought a small one-room holiday cottage at the edge of the city, and so there are two owned spaces in Russia where the Act of Consecration is celebrated. There are three other filial situations in Russia which are visited regularly.
Community in St Petersburg on 16th September 2018
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The Chapel
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After the Lenker Conference in Berlin this year Reingard had the opportunity to accompany Dieter Hornemann to St. Petersburg where on September 16th the birthday of The Christian Community was worthily celebrated with this community in the quaint log cabin, which has no electricity or water.
Not to forget:
In the Ukraine the communities developed quicker and more energetically after 1994. Odessa has had their own chapel and grounds and resident priest for over a decade, and in April 2018 this year the founding of the community in Kiew was celebrated also with a resident priest. They hope to have concluded a sale for their own premises before Christmas.
May the further unfolding and growth of our Movement for Religious Renewal be blessed and accompanied by our prayers.
Not to forget:
In the Ukraine the communities developed quicker and more energetically after 1994. Odessa has had their own chapel and grounds and resident priest for over a decade, and in April 2018 this year the founding of the community in Kiew was celebrated also with a resident priest. They hope to have concluded a sale for their own premises before Christmas.
May the further unfolding and growth of our Movement for Religious Renewal be blessed and accompanied by our prayers.