Camphill Community Glencraig Glencraig - We... · 2021. 1. 14. · Paul Neefe, Martin Schwarz Design: E&D Workroom W elcome to the latest edition of We Are Glencraig! In this edition

We areGlencraigEdition 12

Camphill Community Glencraig

“You cannot predict the outcome of human development. All you can do is like a farmer create the conditions under

which it will begin to flourish”Sir Ken Robinson

“Life is unpredictable, It changes with the seasons,

Even your coldest winter Happens for the best of reasons,

And though it feels eternal, Like all you’ll ever do is freeze,

I promise spring is coming, And with it, brand new leaves.”

Erin Hanson

ContentsSeasonal reflections 4

Reflection by our CEO 6

Return to School 8

Interview with Juho! 10

Isolation Flashmob 12

From Parsifal House 13

Glencraig in 1963 14

Craft Workshop 16

What does Camphill mean to me? 18

Therapeutic Crafts

in Camphill Communities 26

How to make a Wool Fairy 28

Martin of Tours 31

Soul Slums 32

Celebrating 80 years of Camphill 34

How to make Sauerkraut 37

We are the newest force of nature 38

Interview with Anja & Shai 42

The Biskovitch Family

& the school of Bethany 44

Stephen McKinney 46

If you have any questions about the We Are Glencraig magazine, would like to receive future editions via email or if you would like to contribute to the next edition, please write to [email protected]

Editorial Team: Katia Lopez, Marta Fernandez, Paul Neefe, Martin Schwarz

Design: E&D Workroom

W elcome to the latest edition of We Are Glencraig! In this edition we will find a fantastic range of articles to encourage and inspire us that demonstrates the strength of human spirit in the face of adversity that this year has brought to many of us. You will hear what Camphill means to a number people.

2020 marks the 80th anniversary of the formation of Camphill and it is often good to look back from where we have come, look around to observe our current situation, and look forward to what can yet be achieved and how we can contribute to the greater good in the world. I am sure that the founding parents of Camphill could not have envisaged the extent of the impact of their work but we are grateful that they, and many others since, often volunteers, acted with vision and with values to evolve and develop the Camphill movement.

We often speak of having ‘2020’ vision yet 2020 has turned into a year where sometimes we cannot ‘see’ what will happen tomorrow. They say the most useless Christmas present in 2019 was a 2020 Calendar, we just can’t plan ahead!

However, it remains important that we continue to consider the Vision of what can be in the future based on the Values of what has provided our foundations.

As part of marking the 80th year of Camphill we held a conference in October to celebrate and explore another V, that of Volunteering. Using the Circle of Courage, we considered the importance of Generosity, Compassion, Kindness and Responsibility whilst finding our vocation in life.

I hope you enjoy this edition of We Are Glencraig!

Paul Betts

3

How wonderful would it be to read positive news more often and hear about all the good things that are happening around us and in the world?

Do you think people’s approach to life would be different?

T he “We are Glencraig” Magazine is exactly about that, it is about all the good news we find around the community, giving us an opportunity to hear from one another and to keep each other in our hearts and thoughts. Who are we? What have we been up to? What new initiatives have started? How is life in Glencraig? In this edition we will find some insights into our community life and the people who live and work here.

2020 has been a year different to all the others, and most of us can say that we have had to change our lives in one way or another. How adaptable and resilient are we? Isn’t that already something to acknowledge? It is impressive to see how in times of difficulty we can learn to do things differently, to think outside the box, and to be creative in finding new ways of doing the things we like to do. It is very special to realise that we can have a happy and fulfilling life even when we are struggling with uncertainty.

The key is to not be overcome with fear, it is about trust in the future, and also about being present and grateful for all that we have, using every opportunity to learn, give and grow.

By looking inwards we can begin to take control of our lives and instead of feeling victims of a situation, we can open the door to inner growth, of acceptance and understanding that every moment is full of opportunities for development. This is exactly what we need in uncertain times.

It is essential for us Glencraig Co‑workers, to be calm in times of crisis and chaos and to find creativity when difficulty arises, these qualities are so important, and so often taken for granted.

Seasonalreflections

4 We are Glencraig — Winter 2020

In Glencraig we have the possibility to acknowledge this given fact and to appreciate it, because we are so lucky to work in an environment where we can practice these challenges together with others.

The people we support deserve the best possible quality of life, and the Camphill impulse has given us many tools to provide this in a very beautiful and meaningful way. As we are celebrating the 80th anniversary, we have been invited to reflect on the question “What does Camphill mean to me?” We will read many answers in this magazine, let’s see what the people in Glencraig have to say.

Now that we are entering the darkest period of the year and we are getting closer and closer every day to the winter Solstice, it feels as if a long cycle will close and a new chapter will begin. How can we prepare ourselves to receive this new light and to welcome it with a loving heart?

We could begin by remaining positive and appreciative of all the goodness in our lives and reminding ourselves that the change is in our hands. It is all about perspective. It is about being empowered and empowering. It is about social renewal, finding purpose and meaning in life and putting into practice all the things that inspire us.

As the sun begins to rise north once more, it invites us to find our own inner light that we can carry into the future to promote positive changes in our lives and work, where we can learn to live a life more in harmony with the natural world and with each other.

Let’s listen to what Mother Earth has to tell us at this time of the year, what is the meaning of winter? What do we want to take with us into the New Year and what do we want to leave behind?

With hope and love,

Katia

“May my soul bloom in love for all existence.” — Rudolf Steiner

OrchardThere is, naturally, skill needed

for the successful maintenance of the apple orchard.

It is a skill I do not own but whilst negotiating

the furrows and ridges of the plantation

searching for windfalls I know to halt by the scars

on trunks where pruning has been necessary.

The apples here are not plump with lazy sweetness,

they hold tight the acid which fizzes

on the gums long after each bite is swallowed.

In the slow moments taken for each mouthful

to dissipate entirely the naked collars

of vanished branches can be fingered

where they were loped when the buds

were not darkened with signs of fruitfulness.

Once, when the orchard was young,

taut twine was tied to the branches

and pegged to the earth forcing a downward curve.

The timbre of one’s journey could traced in those days;

the thrum of struck strings and the thump of a fall

or the silences when the leg was raised high

then carefully lowered once again to the grass.

At that time when the strong storms rose

it was always hoped that in the orchards

the wind would play the trees.

by Emma Mussen

5

Covid, Community

& Christmas in “testing

times”- A Reflection -

D uring lockdown we have heard a lot about Covid Testing. Most of us have had the swab test. When I had the first test, my results were lost, which led to some uncertainty!

There has been much media coverage regarding the young people and children around us that have also experienced uncertainty of their educational results in these strange times in their school/college tests be it in primary, secondary or tertiary education.

I guess all of us have had a wide range of ‘tests’ during the pandemic, and it can be interesting to reflect on “our results”, on how we are doing, and to learn from the experience by reflecting before moving on.

Great Nights Returning

Great nights returning, midnight’s constellationsGather from ground-frost that unnatural brilliance.Night now transfigures, walking in the starred ways,

Tears for the living.

Earth now takes back the secret of her changes.All the wood’s dropped leaves listen to your footfall.Night has no tears, no sound among the branches;

Stopped is the swift stream.

Spirits were joined when hazel leaves were falling.Then the stream hurrying told of separation.

This is the fires’ world, and the voice of AutumnStilled by the death-wand.

Under your heels the icy breath of WinterHardens all roots. The Leonids are flying.

Now the crisp stars, the circle of beginning;Death, birth, united.

Nothing declines here. Energy is fire-born.Twigs catch like stars or serve for your divining.Lean down and hear the subterranean water

Crossed by the quick dead.

Now the soul knows the fire that first composed itSinks not with time but is renewed hereafter.

Death cannot steal the light which love has kindledNor the years change it.

by Vernon Watkins

Contribution by Maria Luisa


Some people of course have had the ultimate ‘test’, literally of and for their lives during this time. Edeline regularly sends updates to some of us about those from the Camphill family who have passed and it can be enriching to read about some great characters. We remain grateful that, overall, Glencraig has been spared the worst of the Covid pandemic, in part due to hard work and effort for which I want to express Gratitude.

However so so many families have lost loved ones during Covid‑19. I have to admit, I have struggled with the loss of three friends since lockdown in March, all male, all in their mid 50s, all fathers with families, all great characters and human beings, and their passing was nothing to do with Covid. However, families and friends have had to grieve at a distance and it has just felt so unnatural, inadequate, and it added to their pain. Yet I have witnessed the dignity, resilience and grace as these families have stood the greatest test any of us could, and will, face.

This is how this season has felt on many fronts at Glencraig, having to do things that we are not used to, in a way that can feel unnatural, not being able to do things that we value or see people that we want to. I have missed that personal engagement with many of you at Glencraig and this has been another test for us. Yet we have also seen the best in some people, the sacrifice and commitment. For some, the ‘test of character’ has been passed and we have applauded such efforts.

I very clearly remember 40 years ago(!), when I was at school, sitting an exam in which the essay question we were invited to write about was: “What will life be like in 2020?”. (who could have guessed!?)

Like Dr Who or Back to the Future or George Orwell, we had to project into the future. I decided not to write about scientific breakthroughs, technological game changers, medical advances, global travel or flying to Mars as I thought everybody else would be doing that and the examiner would get bored!

Instead I tried to write about some of the things that I think many of us have experienced during lockdown. A reminder that in some ways there is ‘nothing new under the sun’, a focus on what it means to be human, the importance of local and simple things, the ongoing wrestle between right and wrong, a challenge of what is/should be most important to us, a reminder of the pollution, waste and noise that we get used to, a challenge to be content with today because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, a battle for our values and a respect for those with good character.

I projected that in 2020, we would still need to care about family, the elderly, the vulnerable, about community, how we relate to the earth, to each other, and wrote about the virtues and values such as faith, hope and love that can bring therapeutic healing to a broken world and hurting hearts. How a touch, a smile, an act of kindness can go a long way. How kindness, gratitude and compassion should be central to our attitudes and behaviours. That we ought always to treat others in the way we like to be treated. It was probably not the best strategy for an English exam!, but now, 40 years later when we are actually in 2020, perhaps it was closer to reality than I or the examiner might have imagined.

As we enter the Advent season and celebrate Christmas 2020, I hope that the ‘waiting’ is something we can embrace, that the ‘simplifying’ brings a clarity of what we need to focus on, that somehow a ‘light’ will go on to illuminate our consciousness towards each other and those around us.

Perhaps not knowing the future is not a bad way to help keep us humble, more conscious of our mortality, our fellow humans, thankful for today and what we have.

Paul

PS. How do you think I did in my English paper and what do you think life will be like in 2060?

I projected that in 2020, we would still need to care about family, the elderly, the vulnerable, about community, how we relate to the earth, to each other...

7

Returnto School


W e are enjoying being back at school and spending time with our friends. There is a vital connection between learning and play. We all love to learn and we all love to play. In school we have the opportunity to do this day after day.

Since our return to school, we have enjoyed exploring nature in its seasonal glory, creating Autumn crafts, learning about Ancient Greece, and celebrating festivals such as Michaelmas and Halloween.

Our pictures tell the story.

T Yandall October 2020

Returnto School

♥

9

Hi Juho, thank you for taking part in the magazine. Camphill Glencraig has been your home since you were very young, can you tell us how growing up in the community was?

Hi, you are welcome. Thank you for including me in the magazine.

Yes, I have lived in Glencraig since I was ten years old, with a small break of about five years, so about twenty years altogether. I moved here with my family when my mum and dad came to Glencraig to be House Parents. Before coming to Glencraig we lived in Sylvia Koti, a Camphill Community in Finland which is where I was born. My mum Airi is Finnish and my father John is Welsh. I have four siblings; three brothers and one sister.

When we first arrived in Glencraig we lived in Causeway, which has since been renovated and looked very different back then. We then moved to Craigmichael and then Samaria. While living in Samaria, Kintyre was built, with some guidance from my parents (hence the Sauna). When Kintyre was finished in 1995, we moved in with 6 adult residents. In 1997, when I was eighteen, I moved to Belleek in Co. Fermanagh to train to be an Outdoor Pursuits Instructor.

Juho!

«I have always loved music. Some of my earliest memories are of hearing my mum’s beautiful singing and my dad singing and playing guitar.»

with and overcome life’s challenges is truly special indeed. To have the beach, woods and fields as your playground was also wonderful. Being an audience or partaking in many community cultural events such as Plays and Choir was, and is, hugely enjoyable. To think about how many people from all over the world that I have met and lived with is staggering. I reckon I have lived with at least 200 people over the years. No idea how many I’ve met but definitely quite a few.

You have seen many sights of the community. Tell us about your journey as a co-worker.

While living in Belleek I met Jo who in time became my girlfriend and then my wife and mother to our four boys; Mika, Dylan, Kai and Jed. When Jo was quite pregnant with Mika in 2000, we moved to live in Belfast to be closer to both our families. We lived just off the Lisburn road for six months before moving to Holywood for about two years. In 2002 we moved into Glencraig to live in Dell O’Grace as House Co‑ordinators. We lived in DoG for nearly 4 years before moving to Kintyre, for me the second time round, just in a very different capacity.

For the first years of moving back to this end of the country I was working on the Farm at Glencraig and I then became workshop leader for about eight years. After that and while living in Kintyre I started and nearly completed training in Carpentry and Joinery but due to life’s unforeseen circumstances I had to up my responsibilities as Home Maker and House Co‑ordinator. In the years after, I worked between Kintyre, Farm, Garden and the Estate team until Jo’s very tragic, sudden and untimely death due to cancer in the summer of 2017. After that I had a bit of time out, helping where I could in Kintyre and then I and the boys moved to the Lodge which is where we still live. After moving to the Lodge, I worked at first in Kintyre, then in Comgall, and now I have been working full time in Dell O’ Grace for over a year.

After my farming years I found myself with a little more time and I became more involved in other

Growing up in Camphill both in Finland and Northern Ireland was an enlightening experience. I can remember always having lots of fellow staff children to hang out, fall out and explore life with. Also living with my friends with special needs was a privilege. To know so many amazing people who sometimes struggle

Interview with


aspects of community life. For instance, performing in Plays and other cultural activities. I chaired the Glencraig meeting for some time and represented Glencraig on the board of the Social Fund. I was also on the Board of Trustees for The Holywood Steiner school for a couple of years. I was also and still am in the Drivers Group and co‑responsible for looking after the fleet of cars and their drivers. After Jo’s death I stepped back from most of my extra responsibilities so I could focus on finding a new way of life with my boys.

You are known as a musician in Glencraig, how did you find your love for music?

I have always loved music. Some of my earliest memories are of hearing my mum’s beautiful singing and my dad singing and playing guitar. Growing up in Camphill and attending Steiner Schools, I was immersed in music of varying forms all year round with the seasonal festivals we celebrated. Then, when old enough, discovering radio and the world of music that is out there was mind blowing. In school we learnt how to play many different instruments to some degree, and I had Flute lessons for many years in my early teens. While away on a three‑month school exchange in Germany when I was fifteen, I taught myself to play

the basics of rhythm guitar. I still play guitar and sing, a little bit better now and I still love it. I was part of a band called Lamedogz for a few years too. We played lots of concerts in Kaspar Hauser Hall and some gigs in the Dirty Duck in Holywood.

The Singing in Emmaus was very popular, many adults and co-workers from around Glencraig came to sing with you and had a great time. What did you take with you after the sessions?

I really enjoyed the singing in Emmaus and look forward to starting it again whenever that might be possible.

What I took from it was a sense of satisfaction and happiness that I can contribute to Glencraig and those who live and work there in such a joyous manner, doing something that I love. Some people come to sing, some to dance and some to listen and all to enjoy.

And last but not least... What does Camphill mean to you?

Camphill to me is love, respect and acceptance, no matter your circumstances. Everyone has a purpose and can strive to be whatever they want to.

“Gratitude is where every positive attitude starts” — Michael Hyatt

NushuThere are secrets hidden inside the hem where it is turned upwards

and tucked neatly in. There are words stitched so small the thread

can only be picked out by those who appreciate fine lines

and good workmanship. Workwomanship. It is too delicate a seam

to be read as Braille by touch, certainly not by those for whom it is made,

who work the fields and the homes which squat next to the fields,

all the things of their concern rising from the earth, and of the earth.

These words would be placed in ink when the chance is found,

in rough books, passed on quietly, mother to daughter, or aunt,

cousin, friend, the signs whispered, interpreted, learnt.

Things are hard but there will be better to come; the mumblings

of all faiths, all promises, all hopes. Finger the careful hems and seams,

find the thread shot through it all, hold the knowledge close.

by Emma Mussen

11

IsolationFlashmob

C amphill Community, it is a difficult time with this pandemic. We, the European Solidarity volunteers are staying here, some for 6 months, some for 9 months, and some for 12 months. We are determined to get to know Glencraig and discover your entire personality.

Because of the Covid, we stayed in isolation for 2 weeks. We had a good time and to show our motivation for coming back we made an isolation flash mob in the cow‑field.

A dynamic song to look like Camphill, a big smile to show love for this place and crazy choreography for all the Camphill residents to learn, coworkers, employees, families and whoever wants to.

Enjoy your life.

by Maiina

CRAIGOWEN...2020We’re halfway through October

And what a year it’s been !Consumed up with this virus

They named Covid 19It’s affected all communities With Camphill no exception

And has changed our daily habits From the start of its inception

For months we have been wearing Full blown PPE

To keep each other safe and well And Covid 19 free

We’ve heeded all restrictions Of family visits few

Which has added strain on residents And on our own staff too

But despite this world pandemic The Seasons still go on

Each dawn creeps in so gentlyAs the birds sing their new song The Autumn trees are wearing Their coats of gold and brown Brightening up the dismal skies

Till they fall swirling down And leave a crunchy carpet

On earth’s now hardening floor Then comes the Winter SeasonWhen snows from Heaven pour

Let’s focus on the Positive And shrug off Covid s gloom

To look forward each day till Spring’s on its wayAnd the FLOWERS OF HOPE start to bloom !

Jenny Chikany Reid


Question 1Mary I’m back at reading and writing

and eurythmy and I love it

Emer I’m back at craft workshop and eurythmy.....I’m walking to Crawfordsburn twice a week...

Question 2Mary I love Autumn. I love standing on

the leaves and watch them fall down. I also love the colours......

Emer I like Michaelmas time of year and I love gathering flowers and fruit around the community and decorating Parsifal

Question 3Mary We made a lovely harvest table

and brought some lovely fruit home and made nice smoothies and apple crumble....

Emer I helped to make a harvest table and got to eat some of the lovely fruit and brought nice flowers home for Parsifal.

Question 4Mary I was bought a wooden clock and

now I can tell the time perfectly, I write messages on my message board every night and I’m knitting loads.

Emer I can walk faster and longer ...baking more

Question 5Mary I can walk around the community

and feel nice and safe. I have loads of friends watching out for me.

Emer I love the flowers and the birds and I’m safe here.

Question 6Mary I’m very happy and I like it here and

I have loads of friends

Emer Glencraig is my home but when the virus is over I want to go in the car with Myles and go home to see my family...I’m very happy..

Mary and Emer

From Parsifal House

“Love is higher than opinion. If people love one another the most varied opinions can be reconciled.” — Rudolf Steiner 13

F or many years, a picture was hanging in the office showing a large group of children and some co‑workers standing (and some sitting) in front of the entrance of Comgall Hall. The entrance looked quite different in those days. I used to look at this picture often and would think of some of the children and adults on the picture I had met or looked after. No one on the picture is here in Glencraig any longer. It portrays a moment in the history (1963) of this ever‑changing community. On doing some further research Cobie found a second picture in the library, this time in colour, and probably taken on the same day, but even here changes were visible, an extra person had joined, children had moved or got up….

Cobie, Valerie, Vreni and I made a start in trying to identify some of the children and adults on the picture. Cobie did a lot of research in the library, comparing various pictures in the albums there and running her findings by Valerie too. We then sent the names we had found to Cherry How in Clanabogan. In her capacity as a coworker of the Karl König and Camphill Archives she had the idea to put names to the faces on the picture. After our little Glencraig group’s efforts Cherry contacted Soleira Wennekes‑née

Lindenberg, one of the little girls on the picture, who shared it with her father, Christof Andreas, one of the founders of Glencraig.

While trying to come up with the names ourselves we had already begun to realise that this picture only showed Glencraig School and that quite a few faces we knew should have been there were missing from the picture. Christof Andreas pointed out that the ‘Village’ (later called the ‘Adult Community’) had just made the decision to become independent from the Schools’ Community (which included school and training school), which officially happened in September 1963. Around the same time as the school photograph, in July 1963, a separate photograph was taken of the Village. Christof Andreas kindly sent it to us with most of the names written underneath by him as far as he could remember them.

The ‘village’ picture was taken in front of a‑500 year‑old cypress tree which used to stand in the middle of Comgall lawn. The tree fell a couple of years later.

If anyone who sees these pictures is able to help us with the ‘unknowns’ we would be grateful.

Edeline LeFevre

Glencraig in 1963


“Make your life a meaningful one” — Sunday Adelaja

1. Barbara Cooke2. Thomas Nicholson3. Evan Simpson4. Howard Philips5. Ita Lindenberg 6. Soleira Lindenberg 7. Joan Lindenberg 8. Teddy Nussbaum9. Johannes van den Briel

10. Saralies van den Briel11. Thomas Brown12. Karen Lennon13. Susan Calvert14. Richard O’Reilly15. David Silkin16. Mervyn Patterson17. Ilse Sander (Jackson)18. Erika Schonlau

19. Fiona Dickey20. Betty McMurray21. Stephen Cooke22. Leo D. Hughes23. Jane Baker24. ?25. Patrick Rutherford26. Bernadette Gallagher27. Edith Harrison28. ?29. Simon McWeeney30. Michael Patterson31. Geraldine Archdale32. John Henry Crawford33. John Francis Casement34. Gabriela Mentzel35. Kaete Meinicke36. coworker37. Pauline Adjey?38. Rosie Andrews?39. (hidden) Alan Peoples40. ?41. ?42. Julia Heron

43. Jennifer Weaver44. Michael Warwick45. David Norman46. Roger Gorman47. Betty Hawthorne48. Heide Feucht49. Derek Houston50. David Clarke51. Brian Cobbett52. Ian Tearle53. Jeffrey Adair54. Michael Wiltshere55. ?56. Angela Rascher

(nee Haak)57. Ray McKendry58. James Jefferson59. Madeline Hughes60. Coworker61. Heide Byrd

(nee Brinkmann)62. Dr Hans Heinrich Engel63. Margaret Mentzel64. Turid Engel

Glencraig Village Community in front of the 500 year old cedar tree (Cupressus macrocarpa) in July 1963 (inaugurated 1 September 1963). From left to right, back row ‑ Athol (Henry) Byrne, Hillary Patterson, Christopher Jones, ?, Timothy Ballam; middle row ‑ Peter Elsholtz, John Bastable, David Reid, ?, Robin Jamieson, Christie Bender, Mable Blackburn, Rosemary Chambers, Viebeke Cook and daughter Barbara (later Baldwin), ?, Dorothy Hughes; front row ‑ ?, Francis Logan, Derek Austin, Edward Rae, H H Engel, ?, Mervin Crowe, ?, Hans Cook, Elias Rive

1

2021 22

23 24

41 42 4345

46 47

25 26 27 28 2930

31 32

48

49

33

34 35 36

3839 40

50 51 5253 54

5556

57 5860

5937

2 3 4 5 7 89 10 11 12 13 14 15

16

1718

19

6

61

62

63 64

15

Craft Workshop


T here is an old curse – ‘May you live in interesting times’ ‑ which seems very relevant to our current ongoing adventures as we all summon the energy for the dark winter months ahead. We have all had to change and adapt over the last half year or so and these new adaptations will change and move again.

The Craft workshop has moved from being a super social space with many residents and YATs students coming in and out for official and unofficial sessions to something much quieter and restricted in access.

We have had many changes also with running the store, not running the store, sometimes running the store, and even merging with the Estate team for a few weeks. These interesting times resolved themselves in some very beautiful craft work from the estate team as they were allowed inside to have the treat of a centrally heated art workshop! Alison produced some amazing t shirt designs and Jessie decorated a canvas shopping bag and t shirt.

In the craft workshop we ended the summer and welcomed Autumn and Michaelmas by painting in bold colours, with beautiful jewels of artwork by our residents adorning the walls as well as jewellery making with actual crystals and gems. Other projects have included experimenting with the Japanese art of Hapa Zome, which is, not to put too fine a point on it, the vigorous whacking of flowers and leaves with a mallet to extract and transfer a dye print onto linen. For such

“Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.” — Pema Chödrön

physical effort the result is beautiful and delicate and Simon and Emer have been rightfully proud of their work. These little wall hangings also hold onto the last of summer and the amazing vibrant colours of Autumn which we can return to when the rest of the foliage has fallen to the earth. We have also been very kindly assisted by Andrew and Jasper in our attempts to hang onto the dwindling light with their cutting back of some wildly overgrown shrubs blocking our North facing main window and which gave us a very privileged view of the beautiful Michaelmas table.

Normally at this time of year (this is my fourth winter season in the Craft Workshop) we are full steam ahead with the great Christmas Craft Fair undertaking. This year our move towards Christmas will be simpler with the residents making gifts for their own families without the added excitement of making enough work to fill a stall.

I think the main achievement of the craft workshop in these last few months was to finally complete a wall hanging for the main office which Kirsty had asked us to make a year ago! Christmas had rather taken over from around the time of her request, then we were just getting into our stride in the New Year when the dreaded illness struck and the craft workshop essentially ceased to be for a number of months. Over the summer work on the piece picked up again, and with a little poetic cooperation with the farm (thank you Lara, Matthew and Jackie) we completed the work which shows various aspects of the Glencraig Year from pumpkin growing, the pigs in their stys, bee hives, apples, singing to the cows, Christmas in the houses, and the St John’s bonfire with contributions from Keith, Christina, Emer, Victoria, Heather and myself. Hopefully it will not be too long before the community will be able to move more freely and can see the piece in the main office.

by Emma Mussen

17

What does Camphill mean to me?

Gabriela MaciasCamphill to me means learning and leaving behind what you once learned, opening your mind to realising that there are

many different ways of doing, building and creating.

To learn how to appreciate being loved, and to be grateful for it. Looking out for each other, always conscious of what life sharing means. To take and value other people’s perspectives, and to do this patiently.

And to have the chance of facing some of our fears in a safe space, and not always in our mother tongue.

These are some of the things I have learned here in Camphill.

Bob McVeighWe have a book chair in Emmaus and recently I read a really interesting story of an act of kindness at the Special Olympics.

Five young men with Down’s Syndrome were competing in the running event. The starting gun was fired and one of the men was soon ahead. Unfortunately, he stumbled and fell to the ground. The four other men overtook him, but then stopped simultaneously, turned back and helped him to his feet. They all finished the race together.

The above act of kindness and selflessness is exactly what Glencraig means to me, so the next time you are walking around the community during these unique and unprecedented times remember the above story. Smile with your eyes and ask the residents or staff do they need a helping hand.


“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” — Norman Vincent

MaïnaI’m a volunteer and I work in Bethany

house. I want to share this sentence for the new magazine.

When you arrive for the first time in Glencraig Camphill Community, the

impression is WOUAH. And the important point is this feeling continues all the time during your life sharing in the Camphill.

Thank you dearly. Best Regards

Marta FernandezCamphill to me means love, tolerance,

integrity and appreciation towards every human (and living) being.

It means community, where we celebrate and cheer each other.

Camphill is our inherited paradise. It is sea and forest. Home making, and organic life.

Farm and garden.

Camphill means love for the natural world, that nourishes each one of us. It means

crafts, music, theatre and circus. Meaningful activities, and Spiritual festivals.

It means co‑workers, both volunteer and employed. Life‑sharing, house parents and

staff children.

Camphill means Christmas, in its most beautiful essence. It means St. John, Easter,

Michaelmas and St Brigid.

Camphill is learning by doing, experimenting, and always aiming higher.

We all are capable of magical things!

Camphill to me is home, is family and friends. It is where I will always return to.

Marta SanzTo me it means a well of wisdom where a lot of

people with different cultures and life experiences just teach each other.

Obviously, this sharing of life makes you improve values as empathy or patience. Nevertheless, the

most important thing, in my opinion, is the love that all of us have for our residents which makes you feel belonging to a big family. I have the feeling that I’m still going to learn a lot about this place.

19

When I came to Camphill (Glencraig) in 1971 I found meaning in my life. I found it in the work with the most

amazingly special children I had ever come across.

I found out what it meant to be responsible for other people’s lives and to be able to contribute to their wellbeing and

contentment. I also found out that I was appreciated for who I am, both by the children (although they did not always show it),

and by my fellow co‑workers.

The children in my dormitory, in my house community, and in the class in which I was a class‑helper, kept me on my toes and they became my teachers, as did the adults in the adult community

where I lived and worked in later years and for most of my working life. They trusted me and loved me for who I was! My tutors in the Camphill Seminar (‑3year in‑service training) also

taught me a lot about the work and about myself.

I fondly recall the trust they put in me that I was able to do the impossible things that were asked of me, like cooking Sunday dinner for 30 people a few weeks after my arrival;

like taking on a house, taking on a class, becoming a seminar teacher, becoming a service holder, writing policies and being part of and chairing working groups and focus groups. There were so many possibilities to help me on my path of learning!

I found out that the magic of music was one of the tools I found extremely effective through the years.

All this helped me decide to join the inner ‘Camphill Community’. This deed meant that I promised to my friends and colleagues and to myself that I would devote my life to doing

the good as best as I could and to always do this together with others. I know that I failed in my attempts numerous times, but I

would and will always try again.

A promise is a promise if it is a worthwhile one!

And it was and is!

CobieCamphill is my life. I moved to

Camphill when I was 18 and am now in my eighties. I love the way people used to work and live together and

look after each other.

The world around us is changing and so is Camphill. I am happy that I was able to contribute to the wellbeing of our children and adults. It is through Camphill that Catherine became my

daughter for which I am eternally grateful. She brings a lot of joy to many people who look after her and to me

too. She changed my life!

Edeline

What does Camphill mean to me? continued...


“Satisfaction comes from believing in the value of what you do.” — Jay Shetty

After living for more than 42 years in a Camphill Community, I could tell you many amazing stories about this life!

Living and working together with other so called ‘able’ and ‘special’ human beings, made me realise that we all belong to both categories and that, at the same time, every human being is unique. Learning from life, from each other, becomes an intensified possibility in such a situation, but ultimately that is up to each of us.

I would not be where I am now without this ‑freely self‑chosen‑way of life. And it fills me with great gratitude towards the powers which have led my destiny and all who I have been allowed to meet and live with.

As the circumstances changed within Glencraig, I, again out of free will, chose to move out of the Community. A challenging step, and again a special opportunity to learn.

To meet those who now carry the task to bring Glencraig towards the future has brought both challenges and joy.

Camphill is, for me, about community building, bridging to other human beings, trying to meet what comes towards me in such a way that it may become fruitful This is greatly helped by the understanding and ongoing learning about the interrelationships between human beings, the spirit, nature, the cosmos, evolution.

Seeking to understand this when I was young, I searched all the religions, philosophies, alternatives which were available to me at that time. To no avail; none of them gave me the possibility to gain insight into the ‘Oneness in differentiation’, to which I knew in my heart of hearts, all human beings and the whole of the created world belong. Then destiny brought me the possibility to meet anthroposophy. This gave me the opportunity to find a way to gradually learn to understand more and more about the ‘belonging’ of all that which been created, the task of humanity in this and my own path in relation to my calling. Living in a Camphill Community gave me ‘hands and feet’ to this striving.

Life became deeply meaningful and every meeting, observation, and action became more and more important. Understanding life and death, illness and

Maria van den Berg

health, and learning to discern truth from untruth, beauty from ugliness, good from evil does not come easy. Practicing looking back on one’s deeds, actions and seeing oneself within this looking back in one’s relationship to others is a great support in this. It gives me trust in destiny and courage to meet whatever comes to me with openness and interest.

In this time governments of many countries are curtailing the freedom of human beings on unfounded fears, and spread these fears, although true science shows something different. The true meeting from human being to human being is severely interfered with.

‘The meeting from human being to human being, whatever their background, interest, opinion, insight, religion, age, gender, ancestry, lies at the core of the striving in Camphill.’‑Dr Karl Koenig , co‑founder of Camphill.

Although I am no longer living within a Camphill Community, what I have learned from this experience is alive in my heart and helps me to stand in the present situation with trust and confidence that the good will endure.

If you have questions or would like to comment on what I have written, please contact me at [email protected].

“What is more precious than gold? Conversation” Goethe

21

What does Camphill mean to me? continued...

Glencraig School Interviews conducted by Matty Creighton (School Assistant)

together with Robbie Bower

Susan Lennie

Glencraig to me means a lovely scenic place to work.

Anna Walker

I am very grateful to be able to meet and work with

great pupils and staff.

Rachel Cairns

Seeing all the pupils with their smiles on their faces every day

is rewarding and the nature walks are beautiful.

Kagiso KgaoganoA place where you can be accepted for who you are. Everyone’s efforts are recognised and appreciated. Glencraig is home away from home.

Robbie BowerHaving a positive attitude and providing individual support for everyone in the community.

It is about building bonds and trust with one another. Glencraig is a place where we can be creative and allow us to be ourselves.

Tracey Yandall

It is a privilege to work alongside and to learn with each

other despite our disability.

I have learned a lot from our wonderful pupils and hopefully they have learnt a lot from me.

William Swain

It means there is a place to provide support for people with autism and young adults with

various special needs.


“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” — Booker T. Washington

“Life is passing rapidly. Fiercely commit to every moment you find beautiful and

remember it. Record it. Fully, whole-heartedly inhabit it. Awareness is one of the greatest things you can possess in this life as it is

as important as the very air we breathe and water we drink to stay alive.”

Victoria Erickson

23

Kate O’BrianMother of Cillian

Without a doubt Camphill has changed Cillian’s life and those of all our family for the better.

What sticks in my mind from many years ago is that when I opened the car door on my first visit to Glencraig, I heard the birdsong and experienced the tranquillity and peace of this remarkable place. Our son is happy and fulfilled in his home here where he plays an active and valued role in the life of the community with the help and support of a very special group of people.

Gerry McCannFather of Patrick

The first time I drove through the gates of Glencraig I was met with a feeling of peace and tranquillity.

The sun was shining, the air was clean and clear, the views of the lough were spectacular, and I said to myself this is the place, this is the place I have been searching for. This is the place for my son.

As I walked around the grounds I stopped and chatted with some of the residents and their carers, and everyone seemed so happy.

I admired the strength of the staff who work under trying conditions and those conditions have become much more difficult with the covid‑19 virus.

I know the character of the Glencraig Community will see us through to better times.

Glencraig is a very special place for very special people.

Thank you to all.

Some of our Management Council Members

FrancesIt feels like a link with my dad, who helped out and supported Glencraig in the past (1960s and early 70s). I remember hearing him talk about what an amazing place it was, and now I see this for myself.

ElisabethGlencraig is a wonderful healing community set in a beautiful natural place where the rhythms of the seasons and the daily routines can be enjoyed by all who live and work here.

Our friends with special needs are at the heart of everything that happens at Glencraig and the care provided is unique in Northern Ireland. The loyalty and dedication of all who work at Glencraig is amazing, especially during this challenging time with COVID‑19.


KatiaTo me Camphill represents a wholeness, an ideal of something we are yet to achieve.

A living organism that integrates many aspects of life, enlivened by the human aspect, the social art of people of different abilities living, working and contributing

together to create a harmonious, meaningful and respectful way of life.

To me it is home, is love, is friendship, is natural, is organic, is real. It is therapeutic, is education, is arts and crafts, is meaningful work. It is a spiritual path of self‑discovery that continuously invites

me to give and to receive. It is learning and self‑development.

By working with others in a team, in a house community I have learned that with positivity, with interest and commitment, everything is possible. I have also learned to appreciate everyone’s gifts, and to admire the wonders of life.

I am very grateful for all my experiences in Camphill, for all the many teachers I have had and all the life‑long friendships I have made.

And I am looking forward to continue exploring the potential of this ideal.

John YoungChair

When I was asked to join the Management Council for Glencraig some years ago, I became involved with a community of whose existence I was only dimly aware. I had driven past it on many occasions and knew where it was, but that was just about all.

I have learned a great deal since then and, because Glencraig has so many dimensions and so much of what goes on is not immediately obvious, it has taken me some time to get to the point of beginning to think that I might understand it.

What strikes me first is that Glencraig is a community or, to be more precise, an intentional community which seeks to uphold and reflect the values and principles first articulated 80 years or so ago by Karl König, who drew on the thinking of Rudolf Steiner. This is key to understanding what makes it unique.

These values and principles had – and still have ‑ to do with the ways in which those with learning disabilities (and, often, other complex needs) should be cared for. They shape and inform Glencraig’s particular mission, which is to be ‘a person‑centred, therapeutic community where children and adults with learning disabilities can live meaningful lives and develop their potential through a holistic creative approach.’

They also shape and inform the characteristics of the care that is provided, with its emphasis on treating every individual as an individual, adopting a positive approach to life and work, creating opportunities for everyone living and learning in the community to develop their skills, caring for and making the most of the environment, engaging with nature and celebrating the seasons and the festivals that mark the year’s rhythms.

And driving all of this is a commitment to recognising the uniqueness of each individual and developing positive relationships in a life‑sharing community which enables people from different backgrounds and abilities to live, learn, work and celebrate together.

So, what Glencraig means to me is that it is very much a particular kind of values‑led community, that these distinctive values impact directly on what happens and how individuals are treated on a daily basis and that they make a very real and positive difference to the lives of those to whose care and development the community is so committed.

What is also very striking about Glencraig is that these values and principles have remained central to the care it provides even though the context in which it operates has changed and continues to change so dramatically. When it began, it was very much a community of volunteer co‑workers : as their numbers have declined over the years and Glencraig has had to depend on a much larger number of paid employees, the challenges arising from this have been addressed and the result is that, although it is very different in many ways from the Glencraig that was established so many years ago, it remains a community whose distinctive values and principles and the quality of the care it provides are as strong and widely‑shared as ever.

It is a very special place which does a very remarkable job; its people are highly committed to what they do; and the families of those for whom Glencraig provides would not want them to be anywhere else.

25

Craft as a way to improve the therapeutic aspect of the life in Camphill CommunitiesW hen today we observe the world around us and our human activities, we must realise that we no longer need to design and build or make the objects that we use for our daily activities. We hardly use our hands, involve our imagination, or use creativity to make the articles needed for our life.

If we want a wooden bowl, a toy, flowerpot, basket, woollen jumper, or anything else, we just choose it from a shop, a catalogue or even get it online, losing every possible contact with the making of the object. This is even considered as something positive because it allows us to have more time for ourselves.

In the past you would go to the workshop of a craftsman in your own neighbourhood and discuss the design and the materials of the article with the artisan and he or she would make it for you.

If this is so, do we really need to use our human skills to create beautiful objects?

When we observe the modern human being, most of them living in big cities, there is a lot of free time to do anything, but also much boredom, despair, anxiety, stress, loneliness, lack of control, impatience, demotivation, and difficulty in being creative, and this does not seem to diminish but rather to increase.

When somebody works with his/her hands with the

aim of creating something useful, decorative, and

beautiful which (s)he can offer to others, for doing

so (s)he needs to develop certain inner qualities, (s)

he must confront a material, be it wool, metal, clay,

leather, or wood to transform it in accordance with

his wishes.

During this process one will use different human

qualities: planning, observation, patience, motor skills,

enthusiasm, creativity, adaptability, reflection, and

many others. While the craftsman moves forward with

his work, he will have to recognise that not only the

material is being transformed, but he himself is also

undergoing a transformation by the challenges that

the material presents to him, this could be called a

reflective process by which he improves his inner and

outer human qualities.

In a Camphill Community this is even more important

because our residents work together with the craft

masters and co‑workers, each one with their own

limitations to create something useful and beautiful to

be presented to the world. When we work as a team,

we learn from each other and because of this we

become better human beings. The joy of creation, no

matter how much each one contributes to it, increases

everybody’s self‑esteem, we feel appreciated and a

respected member of society.


According to Dr. Karl Konig in an article appeared in the Michaelmas Cresset magazine

“Arts and Crafts in the Camphill Village” 1965 he said:

“It is not only astonishing, but often also deeply moving to experience the formative power of craft work on the morality of human beings. Will-power transforms into beautiful shape - motor activity lifted to skill - changes an insignificant activity into a growing virtue. It does well to ask whether and to what extent the almost complete disappearance of handicraft is responsible for decay of present-day morality. From what I have experienced in our Villages over the last few years I know that moral substance has begun to become active again in them. This is not merely due to regular labour, but far more to the joy of creative work, the products of which are not only purposeful but beautiful and noble as well.”

Because it is a real pleasure and a calming, rewarding and inspiring activity, promoting inclusion and shared experiences between all members of our Community but also for the rest of society, I am warmly inviting you to campaign and work towards bringing back all sorts of handicraft activities into our Community as a way of contributing to the wellbeing of our fellow residents and of the human world and of overcoming the ever growing moral difficulties, which we are all facing in our everyday live.

Stefan Popoff

27

First divide the merino wool in three parts, (when working with teased sheep’s wool, don’t cut it, just pull it gently apart)

The longest will be the body of the angel, and one third for the arms and wings. I like to use very thin threads from the wool itself to secure and tie, as you will see in the following steps. Prepare the wool as shown in the picture before you start.

How to make aWool Fairy

Materials

• White Marino wool, about 45 cm (18”)

• Golden thread

• Scissors

“Enjoy Making!” — Katia

1

1


3

4 5

6

“The waves do keep coming, so learn to surf” — Jack Kornfield

2

2

2

Hold the longest bit of wool, and make a knot in the middle, and pull it tight, this will make the head of the angel. Hold the skein vertically from now on, and carefully look for the part in the knot that is more beautiful which will become the face, and let the wool above it, to fall down. Spread this wool around the side and back of the head as hair and secure with the thin wool thread you prepared in the beginning.

2

To make the hands, hold the smaller bit of wool and tie a knot on each side, and cut the bits that stick out after the knot. There are different ways to make the hands, some people prefer not to use scissors at all when making a wool angel, and sometimes you can also make angels without the hands, they look very sweet with just wings. I find that this way looks also nice.

3

Now, you need to lay your angel face up, and separate the wool in the middle of the body, bringing the upper half over the face.

I love to tell the children that now the angel is going to sleep for a little while, and that when it wakes up, it will have hands and wings, they always understand this metaphor and smile at me.

4

As near to the head as possible, place the bit of wool you left for the wings right in the middle and the arms on top. After, bring the wool which you laid over the head back down, push the wings and arms well up, and tie up the body firmly with the last bit of thread you prepared beforehand.

5With your hands, tease the wool gently to shape and fluff the wings and to tidy the dress.

To finish, you can add some golden thread and make a nice detail as in the main picture. You can hang your angel by making a loop with golden thread and decorate your house and your Christmas tree with this simple, yet very beautiful wool angel.

6

29

S ome years ago, Andrew Wright wrote a wonderful article (in three instalments) about St. Martin. He wrote about St.Martin’s life, about his Community impulse, and about the various phases in his life. As this article is rather long, I have taken an excerpt from it, but would recommend that whoever would like to read the whole of it ask either Andrew or me for a copy. It makes great reading!

“Martin, Martin, no poor man am I; you gave your cloak to Christ on high.”

More than 1600 years ago on the 11th of November Martin of Tours died. Every year we still celebrate the memory of his personality in the story of the young Roman soldier, who, on entering the city of Amiens, took pity on an old beggar, with whom he shared his cloak. We remember that Martin had a vision of Christ wearing this same cloak and perhaps we remember that after this event Martin was baptised. What else do we know?

Martin was born in 316 in what was then known as Pannonia, a province of the Roman empire, situated in the area north east of Italy, comprising parts of what are now Austria, Hungary, and ‘Yugoslavia’. Constantine ‘the Great’ was taking control of the Empire. Three years earlier he had issued the edict of toleration, marking the end of the persecutions of the Christians.

Martin first entered a church at the age of 10, on his own initiative becoming a ‘catachumen’, and encountering for the first time the ‘ergoumenoi’, (those with special needs), with whom he was to establish a special connection. At 12 he developed a wish to become a hermit, but at 16 he was conscripted into the Roman army, of which his father was an officer. It was in 334, when

Martin was 18, that the events took place, which we celebrate as the story of ‘St.Martin and the Beggar’.

Soon after this Martin was baptised, but his life’s work was to remain poised in incubation for the next 22 years, all of which time he spent as a Roman soldier.

In 356, at the age of 40, Martin was released from the army and made his way to Poitiers. Martin was there ordained deacon, and appointed ‘exorcist’, whose special task it was to work among the ‘ergoumenoi’. Soon after Martin set off for Pannonia to convert his parents. Pannonia was a stronghold of Arianism, and when Martin began to preach against it, he was scourged and ejected from the city of Sabaria, his parents’ home.

Martin travelled back to Poitiers, and settled at Liguge, where he was soon joined by other men anxious to lead a contemplative life. After having enjoyed a settled retreat for ten years, Martin was carried off by force by the men of Tours and acclaimed bishop of that town against his will! He soon left his administrative duties to others and built himself a hut on the banks of the Loire, where he developed the monastic community of Marmoutiers, for which Martin became historically famous. He was 55. Apart from one or two brief excursions into ‘church politics’, he remained there until his death, at the age of 81, in 397.

Edeline, courtesy of Andrew, (with some additions).

So far this extract from Andrew’s article. He continues by comparing Martin’s personal discipline, his social discipline and his healing impulse with the ‘Three Essentials of Camphill’, and then goes on to use Martin’s life as an example for the life‑phases of the human being. Do read it sometime!

Edeline

Martin of Tours

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James 31

Soul SlumsM y twin brother and I entered this life in 1948. Belfast, like so many cities, was still recovering from the ravages of the 2nd World War. Apparently the first two years of our lives were spent in the worst slum area of the city. I have no memory of it!

Through my father’s work as a ‘chaser’ in the Admiralty Yard, which was situated on the shores of Belfast Lough, our family moved to an aluminium bungalow opposite “the yard”. These ‘houses’ were, originally, built for American families close to the naval airbase. Unlike most families at that time they would have the great luxury of central heating. However, for some reason, the families never arrived; local people moved in and the central heating was never installed!

Basically we lived in a tin box with one open fireplace. On the other hand, we had a real bathtub and an ‘indoor toilet’!! Living in a tin house meant that in the summer we were ‘cooked’. Many young children slept outside on the pavement on warm summer days. I remember picking my way around small bodies on my way home from school. In winter everything was damp – the bedclothes, the clothes we went to school in, the wallpaper that peeled off the walls, etc.… Interestingly, this ‘condition’ must have been anticipated as all the window‑sills were curved and full of water each morning!

Although my father had a ‘decent’ job in the admiralty yard, his wage of nine pounds a week meant that our family, of mother, father and five children, was poor. We depended on ‘hand‑me‑down’ clothes, free school lunches, which included a glass of milk or orange juice. Our breakfast often consisted of half a slice of ‘cotton‑wool’ bread sprinkled with warm water and sugar. Father was the only one who had butter to eat (2ozs per week) because he had a duodenal ulcer and couldn’t stomach margarine. We had chicken once a year when grandad came for Christmas. That was the only time we had gifts, also from grandfather. Birthdays were, materially, uncelebrated and a ‘holiday’ consisted of a ride on the train to Rockport where we went for a swim in the polluted lough.

During autumn and on cold winter nights mothers and some older children would push empty baby prams down to the lough shore. We filled the prams with pieces of coal that had fallen of the barges and bits of driftwood to warm our homes. I have a vague


memory of this activity being declared ‘illegal’ which, for some reason made it more exciting!!

The other ‘treasure’ we gathered from the shore was whelks or williks as we called them. These would be boiled in the biggest pots available to feed the family plus friends and neighbours. We would crowd into the kitchen, now warm from the cooking of the whelks, gather around the table with safety pins (to help take the whelk out of its shell). We would dip it in salt, grow warm inside and, usually, make a jolly evening of it!

People never locked their doors at night (until the 60’s). We frequented each other’s homes freely. If a family had a television, more often than not their sitting room would be full. I remember a time when we got a T.V. but we took it back after six weeks because we couldn’t afford it. Anyway, we preferred sitting by the fire (or by the gas oven when we had no coal) listening to stories, singing, just talking, or playing games. We had one great luxury ‑ a piano! Our mother was a gifted musician, singer, and storyteller. In summer families would gather outside. Mother’s piano was carefully carried out – she played, we sang and danced, played games, and shared what food we had. It was never a banquet, but the event was a feast.

Our father died of cancer, aged 42. Mother had to find work and we older children had to leave school to support the family.

We grew up quickly! Outwardly we became adults while inwardly we were still children.

As I approach my 70th birthday I look back more and more often, not only at my own life but ‘Life’ as highly, widely and deeply as my experience, perception and comprehension will allow. I am astounded, confounded, bewildered, and, more often than not, simply overwhelmed by what I see and hear. What do I mean? Let me try to explain, describe it to you.

I listen to the news: a woman was found dead in her bed – she lay undiscovered for 2 years! She did not live in a remote area. Did she not have any family, neighbours, friends? Did no one wonder how she was? Did no one care?

More and more people, including children, are unable to sleep well. Self‑harming has become commonplace, as has drug‑and alcohol abuse, mental health problems, homelessness, street crime, acid attacks not to mention internet crime, the ‘dark net’ where

“The future depends on what you do today.” — Mahatma Gandhi

everything goes. Children are bought and sold as are their body‑parts; the most sordid acts of violence are carried out and can be viewed by anyone.

Around the world, wars and rumours of wars abound; tin‑pot dictators rule; the refugee population has exploded; famines and diseases spread wider and wider. Not only but also in so‑called ‘civilized’ countries corruption on a vast scale, in the highest places e.g. government, banks, business corporations, is a given. The rich get richer, the poor get...well, we all know what they get!

On the news recently I watched and listened to an orchestra that was being ‘conducted’ by a robot. Naturally, it had arms and legs, but it had no ‘head’. Not everyone who experienced it appreciated it. I wondered how the musicians felt and I asked myself whether audiences would one day be robots. Some elderly people in retirement homes are given robotic ‘pets’ for company!

Terror attacks increase while vast sums of money are spent by governments to protect their countries while producing and selling arms to terrorists all over the world. War and terror are, after all, lucrative businesses! And then – there’s climate change. Earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, floods, droughts. Methinks the Earth herself doth protest!

There’s more ‑ but you know it all.

We live in an age of the developing consciousness soul, but so many souls seem to be conscious only of Me! Me! Me! I ask myself – is all of the above part of the Age we live in? Will it have to get even worse before we “Wake for pity’s sake”?

Wherever one goes on earth one will meet human beings who are kind, caring, loving towards others, to nature, to animals, who strive to serve the good, to become ‘self‑less’, to develop a conscious I‑self that lives to serve out of love. Sadly, these souls are rare.

Physical slums, poverty, homelessness abound! Soul slums abound! They exist in our thinking, feeling, willing. Can the Human Spirit become a slum? Is Human Intelligence becoming “Artificial” ‑ is A.I. replacing Human Beings? My heart goes out to the children who are here and those who are on the way. Enormous challenges await them! We who are on our way ‘out’ also faced the challenges of our time. Can we consciously help them now and when we leave this beautiful earth? So much to think about.

As 2017 draws to a close I try to imagine the footprints being made by all of us and wonder.

From an older & hopefully wiser Valerie, 2020

33

Online Conference

Celebrating 80 years of Camphill T his year is a special year for the Camphill Movement. Across regional and international Camphill networks, many significant events were held marking a special anniversary. It was 80 years ago that our founders opened the first Camphill Community in Aberdeen, Scotland. This was the start of a long, transformational, and ever‑changing journey. A journey that resulted in the founding of over 120 Camphill Communities in 20 countries and 4 continents.

The vision of Karl König was to see the wholeness in each human being. To integrate and recognise each other’s abilities and to provide a nurturing, creative and spiritual environment for interpersonal and inner, personal development. To celebrate a rich cultural life and intercultural exchange and enable each individual to discover their full potential. To strive for social renewal in a society that was unjust and not inclusive. Since its founding years, Camphill has played a leading role in disability rights, person centred practice, creativity, craftsmanship, environmental awareness, agriculture, leadership, social pedagogy, inclusive intentional community‑building and many other fields.

Psst! There is a new Book about Camphill! It is called ‘Camphill and the Future – Spirituality and Disability in an Evolving Communal Movement’. It was written by Dan McKanan who is a Professor at Harvard Divinity School. The inspiring webinar that was prepared and held over 3 Thursdays in November for its publication, was yet another celebration of 80 years Camphill.

Here is what is says on the back of the Book (definitely worth a read!): The Camphill Movement, one of

the world’s largest and most enduring networks of intentional communities, deserves both recognition and study. Founded in Scotland at the beginning of the Second World War, Camphill communities still thrive today, encompassing thousands of people living in more than one hundred twenty schools, villages and urban neighbourhoods on four continents. Camphillers of all abilities share daily work, family life, and festive celebrations with one another and their neighbours. Unlike movements that reject mainstream society, Camphill expressly seeks to be ‘a seed of social renewal’ by evolving along with society to promote the full inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Underlying the Camphill Ethos are qualities such as Gratitude, Compassion, Responsibility and Kindness. In October, Glencraig organised an online conference on these themes in relation to the Circle of Courage and the Outcomes that Matter (OTM) approach, to celebrate the 80th birthday of Camphill and to explore new ways of volunteering and community building.

A total of 70 participants joined the 3‑day event from 16 different countries. Key note speakers included Shane Murdoch, Professor Mark Smith, Dr. Leon Fulcher, Edwina Poynton, Dr. Catherine Reilly. Dr John Digney and Max Smart. Facilitators were John Crilley, Sara Trusciglio, Martin Schwarz and Stephen Woods. The conference was organised by Vincent Reynolds, who was supported by Business in the Community and Verizon Business Group in the technical side of setting up the Zoom Online Conference.

Now. What was this Conference about? What is this mysterious Circle of Courage and what is Outcomes that Matter? Glad you asked. The following is taken from the presentation slides, the notes from the different conversation groups and workshops throughout the conference, and from the participants feedback after the event.

...and Exploring New Ways of Supporting Volunteers through Nurturing Gratitude, Compassion, Responsibility and Kindness.


Key themes from the Conference

Rhythms of Care Ritual, Routines and Relational Practice - by Catherine Reilly

The feeling of belonging is a fundamental need for all of us. We are all inter‑connected and, in order to feel that we belong, it is important to build relationships with others. How do we achieve this?

By opening up a possible way of being in the world, where meaning can be found in relationships, connections to the environment and the rhythm, routine and ritual associated with everyday life. “Full human flourishing is dependent on well‑established ethical relations” (Honneth). “Young people need to feel they belong, before they can move forward towards building self‑confidence and self actualisation” (Peterson & Taylor, 2009). “Curative education and care are intertwined, creating a way of being in the world with the young people” (Reilly 2018). “Camphill Communities have a nature which can be difficult to grasp and understand” (Jackson 2011). “What we know is not what truly educates, but who we are” (Rudolf Steiner). The way you see people is the way you treat them and the way you treat them is the way they become!

The Circle of Courage and Outcomes that Matter (OTM) – by Dr. Leon Fulcher, Edwina Poynton and Shane Murdoch

Unmet needs create pain – pain drives behaviour – when we are in pain, we need someone to understand. When we experience behaviour, do we respond or react? Do we try to figure out what is causing the pain, or do we make the person feel bad for it? When we meet need, then problematic behaviour usually diminishes. The Circle of Courage is a model that calls our attention to our needs and the needs of those around us in private and professional contexts. Making

Moments Meaningful that Nurture Developmental Achievements towards Belonging (Gratitude), Mastery (Compassion), Independence (Responsibility) and Generosity (Kindness). Locating each person at the centre. The relationship is the intervention, the worker becomes the co‑creator of the therapeutic context.

Achieving Outcomes that Matter through Noticing, and Consistent Recording

How do we articulate what we do and introduce others to what the Camphill model involves? How do we make what might be an ordinary or ‘fleeting moment’ into something meaningful in terms of reaching goals that are established together? What contributions can Camphill Community co‑workers make towards nurturing developmental achievements? What achievements do we celebrate with our peers including those we support?

Kindness: We need to invest time every day in creating opportunities for kindness to be demonstrated, by nurturing kindness and generosity in daily moments that can be meaningful and promote developmental achievements and creating a community culture that supports this. BE KIND TO YOURSELF ‑ Self‑care is fundamental to achieve positive behaviours towards others.

Gratitude: Gratitude as a way of living and being in the world: Living gratefully in the interaction with others brings a sense of belonging, developing a culture of appreciation and respect for each other. Do it through small little things in daily life.

Compassion: Compassion is being able to step into other people’s shoes. It is about being able to feel with the other. We must practice until we get it right and not be afraid of getting it wrong. Compassion comes from encountering others and giving our full attention to them to help them fulfil their potential.

Responsibility: Creating a welcoming environment which makes each person feel safe and able to take on tasks whilst maintaining a level of independence. Allow for own initiative. This will enable development and ownership over the task that is being completed.

The Circle of Courage (Brendtro, Brokenleg & van Bockern, 2002)

Generosity (Kindness)

Mastery (Compassion)

Belonging (Gratitude)

Independence (Responsibility)

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Acknowledge the work and projects that are undertaken as something unique and full of potential.

Overall: Being conscious practitioners, parents, carers, and colleagues. Role‑modelling an open, nurturing, positive, holistic environment, and harmonious relationships. Young people imitate whichever atmosphere is created in their surrounding and take this into their life. SMILING is an important tool to improve positive communication.

How the Circle of Courage and OTM can support volunteers to develop Gratitude, Compassion, Responsibility and Kindness

This model seems objective and tactful in recording volunteers experience, also for funders and other official organisations that seek evidence. It helps with evaluation and encourages reflection as well. These virtues are critical for the times we live in and they are human fundamental virtues. We have a responsibility to encourage these. Camphill is and has been promoting these qualities, and volunteers tend to return for these experiences. The circle of courage helps to put relationship‑based support central. It focuses on heart development, discovering vocation and a future path, as well as holistic interactions and the capacity to learn and communicate thoughts and feelings. This applies across the board, to volunteers, employees, residents etc. The Circle of Courage can enhance the life of everyone. Thinking, Feeling and Willing – Head, Heart and Hands.

The Future of International Volunteering workshop facilitated by Stephen Woods

Benefit for the volunteers: Learning to learn. Self‑reflection. Wider access to opportunities. New friends, extending social network. Gaining knowledge that can be shared in the home country. Experiencing an international environment. Discovering new values. Taking responsibility. Developing empathy. Gaining experience with people with learning difficulties. Wider mind setting. Discovering self. Extending knowledge and skills. Increasing self‑ confidence. Improving Communication Skills.

Benefits for the organisation and local community: Residents and co‑workers meet international volunteers allowing a wider perspective of the world. This is positive for the local community as it builds bridges and encourages diversity. Volunteers bring enthusiasm through their courage and altruism, together with the ability to question the methodology of the organisation because they have a different perspective. Cultural variability and intercultural experiences are allowed to flourish within a community. They can bring life sharing to the organisation.

The challenges regarding the future of international volunteering (esp. in UK): Are we making enough of the opportunities that are arising in new times? Improve coordination, work on legislation. Articulate the benefits of and demonstrate added value from volunteering. International volunteering trends. Rules of funded programs, expectations differ at times with hosting organisations. Brexit uncertainty. Visa issues.

Feedback and Reflections from Participants ‘Jig sawed’ together

This conference was an opportunity to learn. I enjoyed it. It was educational and insightful. It was really nice to meet new people, old friends and colleagues. A good way of using technology. The diversity and international flavour of the participants was great. Interesting presentations, workshops and conversation groups.

A good overview of the Circle of Courage providing its relevance to Camphill and a set of values with outcomes for our volunteers. The importance of development and developmental needs is so significant as it creates a bridge to compassion and empathy for all stakeholders. Relevant to asset building in staff and volunteers.

The value of the Circle of Courage also became clear through the workshop which was very well facilitated. I enjoyed the videos and that the founders of the model were present at the conference. My highlights were the presentations of Dr Catherine Reilly, Leon Fulcher and Edwina Poynton, Dr Mark Smith, Shane Murdoch, the workshops, and conversation groups. Loved Catherine’s PhD presentation as her research was directly related to Glencraig and the Camphill Model. Good food for thought and opportunities for sharing here in the community.

The last conversation group made it all come together and was really inspiring relating the theme of Camphill in the past, present and future. It was nice to have so many long standing and wise people taking part and those that are living, leading and shaping Camphill today.

Meeting friends and new people and experiencing the willingness and humanity of those volunteers. Head, Heart and Hands. Very well lead by Vincent! All the facilitators were open to any questions, so I appreciate their honest and full answers. I learned a lot and the whole conference made my decision to be part of the team even stronger. Good to celebrate 80 years of Camphill in this way together. We are really pleased about the Conference in general. It is always good to have contact with Camphill people from other countries. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

Contribution by Martin Schwarz


S auerkraut is made by a process called lacto‑fermentation. To put it (fairly) simply: There are beneficial bacteria present on the surface of the cabbage and, in fact, on all fruits and vegetables. Lactobacillus is one of those bacteria, which are the same as found in yoghurt and many other cultured products. When submerged in a brine, the bacteria begin to convert sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid; this is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria.

Lacto‑fermentation has been used for centuries to preserve seasonal vegetables beyond their standard shelf‑life. The fermentation process itself is very reliable and safe, and the fermented sauerkraut can be kept at cellar temperature for months, although those of us without cellars can make do with storing the kraut in our fridges. Besides preserving the cabbage, this fermentation process also transforms it into something incredibly tasty and gives it additional health benefits ‑ fermented sauerkraut contains a lot of the same healthy probiotics as a bowl of yogurt.

This is how you can make it

Ingredients• 1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 pounds)• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional, for flavour)

Equipment• Cutting board• A good knife• Mixing bowl• 1 or 2 mason jars (depending on size)• Something to weigh the cabbage down

(I use a sterilised Ikea small glass candle holder)

InstructionsClean everything. When fermenting anything, it’s best to give the good, beneficial bacteria every chance of succeeding by starting off with as clean an environment as possible. Make sure your mason jar is washed and all soap residue has been rinsed off. You’ll be using your hands to massage the salt into the cabbage, so give those a good wash, too.

Slice the cabbage. Discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and trim out the core. Slice each quarter down its length, making 8 wedges. Slice each wedge crosswise into very thin ribbons.

Combine the cabbage and salt. Transfer the cabbage to a big bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first it might not seem like enough salt, but gradually the cabbage will become watery and limp ‑ more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. If you’d like to flavour your sauerkraut with caraway seeds, mix them in now.

Pack the cabbage into the jar. Grab handfuls of the cabbage

and pack them into the canning jar. Every so often, tamp down the cabbage in the jar with your fist. Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the jar. Optional: Place one of the larger outer leaves of the cabbage over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.

Weigh the cabbage down. Once all the cabbage is packed into the Mason jar, weigh it down with something (Ikea small glass candle holder). This will help keep the cabbage weighed down, and eventually, submerged beneath its liquid. Then close the airtight jar

Add extra liquid, if needed. If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.

Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days. As it’s fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temperature. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.

Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 5 days ‑ when the sauerkraut tastes good to you, you can refrigerate it. You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for 10 days or even longer. There’s no hard‑and‑fast rule for when the sauerkraut is “done” ‑ go by how it tastes.

While it’s fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating

Store sauerkraut for several months. This sauerkraut is a fermented product so it will keep for at least two months and often longer if kept refrigerated. As long as it still tastes and smells good to eat, it will be good to eat. If you like, you can transfer the sauerkraut to a smaller container for longer storage.

Enjoy. Katia

Recipe from thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade

How to make your own Sauerkraut

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We are the newest force of nature

A realistic assessment and actions on climate change


Some Paragraphs about climate change:

1 Man-made carbon dioxideSince it is the term most associated with climate change l‘ll summarise. Carbon dioxide is produced naturally and then stored in many kinds of natural containers, like oil, coal, and wood.

Since we are talking chemistry it usually needs heat to split it from the other elements. Now it is in the air. But what is the issue? After getting released CO2 is rising up, since it is lighter than the air around. If it collides with water, it will be absorbed and rain down to earth again. This is what we call acid rain and leads to acidic ocean water.

If there are no clouds, it will strive up into the atmosphere. Here its concentration has an impact, weakening our solar shield, which leads to raising solar gains, what again leads to a warmer surface of the earth and here it starts getting complicated.

The soil and the water are heating up, the earth is getting dryer and the water cycles start to change. The weather is shifting and becoming more dangerous in some cases, unliveable in others. Plants and animals die. Humans start moving, which leads to tremendous social, cultural, and political pressure and often culminates in aggression and the loss of humanity (Especially these days, with strongly left and right leaning politics). But only 3% of all carbon dioxide is man‑made, so why has it such an impact?

Our planet is producing lots of carbon dioxide every day and no wonder as it is a crucial part of the world’s circle of existence. But the key for all this is balance. Our planet produces this gas and is automatically able to absorb it. If it cannot do this, as we witnessed in history, it needs time to recover again. This does not mean that our planet is not able to produce life with higher or lower temperatures and a different concentration of carbon dioxide.

One example is the big dinosaurs. What I want to say is, tha

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