There is
much to be awake to at the August 2005 Conference in Ann Arbor!
The
six keynote presentations — one Thursday evening, two each Friday
and Saturday, and the final one Sunday morning — could each stand
alone as the centerpiece of its own conference. Each of these six
keynotes is shared by two distinguished representatives of
Anthroposophy, one a member of the Vorstand, the Executive Council of
the General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum, and the other
a member or General Secretary from the United States or Canada.
Read on to get a sense of the depth and
breadth of what is to come and to learn more about who will be
speaking.
Saturday's
theme is Wakefulness to the World. In the morning,
Paul Mackay and Betty Staley will speak on Awakening
to the Destiny of Our Time; Awakening to Self, Awakening to the
Other.
“As
a human being I can sense that I have a certain destiny,” says
Paul Mackay. “I can feel it as a challenge to develop
an intimate and free relationship to it. In doing so, I can discover
that my destiny is somehow related to the destiny of our time. This
destiny is not easy to identify. How do I awaken to the destiny of
our time?” This is the question he will address in his part of
the keynote presentation.
Betty Staley
says, “We
live in a most amazing time. We are surrounded by thoughts, feelings,
and actions of people around us, so many that it is often difficult
to know what to respond to, or if we should respond at all. How do we
find our way through this, how can we decide what attention to give
to what need? How can we develop the perception that helps us
recognize who our partners are and how we can work together to help
our fellow human beings? It would be easier if we had a script and we
knew just what to do. But we must rely on our own perceptions and
take risks. Developing an inner wakefulness is a challenge of our
times. Like the goddess Janus, we face in two directions —
inward and outward — as we try to sense what is needed and how
we can develop inner resources to respond.”
| |
Paul Mackay
Click
image for larger view.
|
Paul Mackay, born 1946 in Hong Kong, studied economics in Rotterdam
and business administration in Fontainebleau. After some years of
work in international finance, he met and studied Anthroposophy
in England and Germany (1974 – 1977).
From
1977 until 2002 he was active in anthroposophical banking as
co-founder and managing director of Triodos Bank in the Netherlands
and executive director of GLS Gemeinschaftsbank in Germany. Since
1996 he has been a member of the Executive Council of the General
Anthroposophical Society. Since 2000 he is also the leader of the
Section for Social Sciences of the School of Spiritual Science at the
Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Paul Mackay lives in Dornach, is
married and has three sons.
Betty Staley
Click
image for larger view.
| |
Betty Staley met Anthroposophy through her history professor,
Stewart Easton, at City University of New York. She has been a Waldorf
teacher for forty years, having taught at all levels. She founded the
Sacramento Waldorf High School and taught history and literature
there for nineteen years. She continues to do guest blocks and to
advise Waldorf high schools. Betty was one of the founders of Rudolf
Steiner College in 1976 and has several responsibilities in her
full-time work there. She is the Director of several programs — the
Foundation Year, the High School Teacher Education Program, the
Public School Institute, and the Staff Development for Teachers of
At-Risk students. She has lectured and consulted throughout North
America, in Europe, and in Japan. She founded the Multi-Cultural
Committee of the Association of Waldorf Education in North America.
Her published books include Between Form and Freedom, A Practical
Guide to the Teenage Years; Tapestries, Weaving Life's
Journey; Soul Weaving; Hear the Voice of the Griot, A
Guide to Geography, History, and Culture of Africa.
On Saturday
afternoon, Cornelius Pietzner and Gary Lamb
speak on “Social Action and Spirituality: Building Forces
Fit for a Future.”
Cornelius Pietzner
says, “It has been said that
the capacities utilized to create civilization are not those that
make it possible to live in it! Can we deepen our relation to and
strengthen the forces that are suited to building a social future, to
living in our civilization? These forces stand in relation to
creating a Michael culture. How can we make an individual
contribution as a matter of personal practice towards such a culture?
The journey into my own spirituality builds identity as a basis to
connect to the world and perform meaningful action.”
Gary Lamb
will be speaking on conscious collaboration with the dead in
regard to social issues and the importance for Americans of
contemplating the Representative of Humanity statue by Steiner.
| |
Cornelius M. Pietzner
Click
image for larger view.
|
Cornelius M. Pietzner, born 1957, Belfast, N. Ireland, attended
Waldorf School and received his B.A, (Highest Honors) at Williams College,
Massachusetts, USA. He served as Founding President of Camphill
Soltane in Pennsylvania from 1988-2001, as President of the Camphill
Association of North America from 1994-1999 and on the Council of the
Anthroposophical Society in America from 1996-2001. He is the author
and editor of several books and articles, and is active worldwide
speaking on themes of social initiatives, community building and
contemporary concerns. Mr. Pietzner presently lives in Dornach,
Switzerland where he serves on the Executive Council of the General
Anthroposophical Society as Treasurer.
Gary Lamb
Click
image for larger view.
| |
Gary Lamb has more than twenty-five years experience in business
management and not-for-profit administration. He is presently the
director of the Center of Social and Environmental Responsibility at
Hawthorne Valley and vice president of the Institute for Social
Renewal. He was previously a development director at Hawthorne Valley
School and founder of the Hope Through Education privately funded
voucher program in upstate New York. His business experience includes
being the production manager for Weleda, Inc, and the retail store
manager for Hawthorne Valley Farm. Gary was also the managing editor
and essayist for The Threefold Review, a magazine based on the social
ideas of Rudolf Steiner, and is author of the book, Social Mission
of Waldorf Education: Independent, and Accessible to All,
published by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
|
![[Anthro Society Logo]](/icons/pixj/anthlogoly01a.gif){kind=icon}
![[Anthro Society Logo]](/icons/pixj/anthlogoly03a.gif){kind=icon}
![[Anthro Society Version Info]](/icons/pixj/anthro_events2.gif){kind=icon}
![[Anthro Society Name]](/icons/pixj/anthro_long.gif){kind=icon}
![[Anthro Society Logo]](/icons/pixj/anthlogoly02a.gif){kind=icon}
