The situation of the branches in the «old» world

While the anthroposophical work is flourishing at the periphery, branches in Central Europe are closing down for age reasons or are longing for members of the younger generation to appear. Have the branches as a form of working together had their day?

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The growing of anthroposophical institutions drew commitment from those who used to be active in the branches and not many had enough energy for both. Rudolf Steiner was already aware of this imbalance (the children are abandoning their mother). Once they come to the end of their working life, some return to the branches, where they are either longing for younger people to appear or focusing on working well together as older members.

Hanging in there?

While branch leader meetings in the last century – along with the class holder meetings of that time – were important occasions that one attended because everyone who was someone was there, they have now, in the 21st century, increasingly turned into gatherings of an ever smaller group of stalwarts that has lost its attraction. It is therefore not surprising that only around 40 people came to a meeting of group leaders with Joan Sleigh at the Goetheanum from 8 to 10 December 2019, in order to talk about the relevance of branches today.

Franziska Bücklers told us vividly of the adventures of the young Weissdornzweig (hawthorn branch) in Bonn (de) with its organic vegetarian restaurant. Harald Haas spoke about the structures of supersensible organs and the corresponding exercises. Adele Waldmann practised a kind of eurythmy with us that has been developed on the basis of mindfulness and that felt like a meditative exploration of diverse eurythmy gestures. But was there a mood of optimism? No – it felt more like a hanging in there. Even finding a time for the next meeting seemed impossible on the Saturday night. Have we really come to the point where the last one leaving will turn off the lights? Not if I can help it.

Feeling optimistic!

The more pleasantly surprised I was when I myself surrounded by a mood of optimism on the Sunday morning. Others had clearly also felt that we can’t go on as before! Suddenly the room is bubbling with ideas. The spirits may still look expectantly but on this morning I have the impression that they have received us again in their midst. ‹Networking› (community-building) and mutual encouragement for spiritual experiences emerge as new mottos. It is up to us to put them into practice.

Now there is a small administrative group at the Goetheanum. Anyone who feels responsible for the branch work can help with the preparation. A group called Branch Responsibility has been set up for contributions and minutes on the Goetheanum Forum. I hope that you will all ‹overwhelm› us with your own contributions and inspirations.

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