Anthroposophy in Hawkes Bay
Sunday 7 April 2024
Calendar of Coming Events-- Diary Dates
In the Rudolf Steiner Centre, 401 Whitehead Road, Hastings
unless stated otherwise.
(** see below for more details.)
- Friday 12 April. 7pm. Leading Thoughts: page 51
"At the Dawn of the Michael Age" then LT 79 to 81. - Saturday 13 April 2 pm. Annual General Meeting of the Hawkes Bay Branch of the Anthroposophical Society in NZ** Apologies in advance to chair@anthrohb.nz
- Friday 19 April. 7 pm. Talk: The Libretto of Wagner's opera Parsifal
- Friday 3 May. Hohepa Day. click for details:
- Weekend 4-5 May. Annual Conference of Anthroposophical Society in NZ. To be held in Taikura School as main venue.
Guest speaker: Ueli Hurter, Goetheanum, Switzerland.
More details on this link:
Conference May 2024 - Anthroposophical Society in New Zealand (anthroposophy.org.nz)
PLEASE ENROL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Planners need to know how many people will be participating in the various options. THANK YOU.
Invitation to join: Singing Group **; Art Display** - Sunday 5 May 7:15 am!!! The School of Spiritual Science. Mantra 14
- Saturday 1 June 9:30 to noon. The School of Spiritual Science. Mantra 15
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In Preparation for AGM this Saturday 13 April at 2pm
Dear Members of the Hawkes Bay Branch of the Anthroposophical Society,
We have been through very difficult times recently, and we are all aware that the Society needs enthusiastic and capable younger new Members to join and carry this precious work into the future.
All of us have our own stories about how we met anthroposophy and how significant this has been in our lives, and we feel the need to try and find good ways to provide what those younger people are truly yearning for in their hearts... and what would give them strength to meet the challenges of times to come and be able to carry spiritual responsibility for this precious work.
It seems to me, as always in crisis times, that we need to go back to the source and take council from Rudolf Steiner.
The references I have given in the last newsletter* could be a significant help in looking at what we could change in how we run the work in the Society:
QUESTIONS ARISING:
1. How can threefolding be implemented in the work of the branch..?
2. What do we need to do for the public – think of introductory work (e.g. those inspiring May Courses we used to have, which brought in so many newcomers now carrying the work..!) and most significantly:
3. How can we make our own work in the branch more relevant for our inner (and outer) work and development..?
Here Rudolf Steiner gives these lovely letters to members, in ‘The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy’.
It is also significant that all our efforts in this be dedicated to Anthroposophy as a Being – the presence of which is vital for all we can achieve...
And finally – especially in our digitalised society, creating more and more isolation and also loneliness – we need weekly face-to-face meetings and a Branch Group with a Branch Secretary – a spiritual-cultural body – to carry the overall responsibility and organisation of the Branch life.
There is a power (socially/karmically and spiritually) in meeting weekly – face-to-face.
Such meetings have spiritual content, transcending the personal, and providing ‘food’ for the spirit of the members and also for the ‘dead’, as well as fostering a love and gratitude for this opportunity, and a joy in meeting..!
(Nicanor Perlas from the Philippines has spoken at the NZ Society’s Annual Conference about the Power of the Branch Group... but going back to the source, we find it there most beautifully described by Rudolf Steiner, showing the way.
I hope this can give some help for a discussion at the AGM.
* – “The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy”
Foundation of the General Anthroposophical Society at the Christmas Meeting, 1923, Dornach, Switzerland - GA 26. The Life, Nature, and Cultivation of Anthroposophy (1963) - Rudolf Steiner Archive (rsarchive.org)
Regards,
Astrid (and Julian in spirit)
The Libretto of Wagner’s opera 'Parsifal' - a talk
Friday, 19 April at the Centre
7.00 p.m. Gathering, hot drink and snacks
7.30 p.m. John Allison will introduce us to Rudolf Steiner’s words about Richard Wagner's “Parsifal”.
Wagner called it “Ein Buehnen-Weihe-Festspiel” --
“A Festival of Consecration (Ordination) performed on the stage.”
7:45 p.m. Eva Knausenberger will give a talk on Wagner’s Parsifal opera libretto.
While the sacred side of the opera – the Mystery of the Holy Grail – centres around the redeeming and healing power of Christ’s blood in the chalice of the Grail, Eva’s talk will focus on the dramatic side of Parsifal’s journey as a representive of the human developmental path through life; its temptations – even addictions – its sorrows, yearnings and the struggle to remain morally upright and compassionate.
“All wounds require healing and I venture to say that the gift of the wound is its call on us to develop healing awareness and the will to heal.
"The gift of trauma, if one can in any way understand trauma to be a gift rather than a curse, is that it is the apocalyptic trumpet call of epic proportions, urging us to recover, develop and resurrect the spiritual, moral life forces individually and globally.” Eva Knausberger
When speaking of the Mystery of the Holy Grail, Rudolf Steiner said1, “.... hardly has anyone even come so near to this Mystery as Wagner did. It is indeed the power with which he approaches this mystery that constitutes his greatness as an artist. We must not think of him merely as a musician, but as one who possesses deep knowledge and understanding. With the opera Parsifal he wants to resurrect the knowledge of the Mystery of the Holy Grail for the people of our time.”
1This extract is from The Secret of the Grail in the Works of Richard Wagner, by Rudolf Steiner, 29 July 1906 (Lecture 24 from the lecture series, Christian Mystery)
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA097/English/CMP2000/19060729p02.html
In preparation for this talk, it would be helpful if you could read the English version of Wagner’s Parsifal libretto (here) beforehand.
Cultvating Change Conference May 4 & 5 at Taikura
Plans for this Conference are going very well, with a large group of helpers and contributors, both locally and nationally.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
"Tranquility" Art Exhibition
Online study
Online study groups are starting up again at MysTech (An anthroposophical initiative based in USA) https://mystech.org/)
These are free and hosted by people around the world. Study group link - https://mystech.org/study-courses/
2:30pm ET is 7:30pm NZ time. So, the groups for “Refined Breathing” and “Light and Electricity” are handy for people here in NZ.
Regards,
Herman Veluwenkamp
Posted: Wed 03 Apr 2024