North American Youth Section Initiative Team Conversation

September 18, 2011

 

Present: Leslie Loy, Kathleen Morse, Jeremiah Turner, Keenan Hand, Bridget Blanning

 

Notes: Leslie Loy

 

Opening with the verse (which can now be found on the NAYS site at Inner & Outer Work>Verses & Poems)

Leslie opened by reading the Verse for America.

 

1) How everyone is doing

Kathleen is doing quite well—she has just returned from the river where she had an amazing time and is now driving home.

 

Keenan has been doing art in preparation for the school week and had a lovely weekend relaxing at home. He is now teaching 8^th grade.

 

Jeremiah has been busy also preparing for classes that he is teaching in San Jose; he’s looking forward to Portland and excited to see old and new faces.

 

Leslie is honoring the 8-years since her father’s passing with a day of fun with an old friend; she is enjoying the sunshine and the breathing room in her life and is giddy today.

 

Bridget arrived later on the call and so didn’t get to share during this portion.

 

2) What new things are emerging on the landscape

The group in Denver will be reconvening later today and are looking at a series of conferences on the bodies—physical, astral, etheric, ego. They didn’t meet during Bridget’s absence and she’s not sure what they can take on, but is excited to see them getting together to feel out what’s possible in the future in the area.

 

(Other things were shared, as well, that have now slipped from memory; help filling these out is requested!)

 

3) Hearing about the Happening and how things are unfolding

Leslie described how the Happening will go and what the Planning Group is intending. The Happening will be a two-day event in Portland with the intention to have young people gathering together from across the continents to explore what’s possible. The Planning Group has been challenged by the task of creating a form that has meaning but allowing a space to be created where the participants provide and build the content together. As the program now stands there is ample breathing room, with artistic and relationship building in the morning and then in the afternoons conversation and more practical spaces. In the evenings there will be music and playing.

 

Participants have to register for the Happening and can also register for the Society’s Fall Conference/AGM; the $50 for that is covering food so no one goes hungry over the weekend.

 

4) Exploring and learning more about the Sensing the Continent Calls (as part of our deeper sharing in our work)

Leslie shared her work over the last nine months with Sensing the Continent calls. They began when she recognized an emerging pattern of conversation topics when she would converse with others and was startled, too, to realize that oftentimes there were a lot of people who didn’t know one another who should know one another.

 

She started to also think a lot more about the relationship between the generations and had a thought last December that maybe the way through this was to simply begin a conversation—she once-a-month, for an hour exactly, she has been offering a space for people to come and share, listen, and simple be present together over the phone. Sometimes many people show, sometimes only she and one other person shows, but what has been remarkable is that each conversation is different, and enlivening. Everyone has a positive feeling after leaving each conversation and the golden threads begin to emerge and connect people in new ways.

 

Please know that everyone is welcome to join these calls. The next one is on October 5, 2011 at 5:00P PST/8:00P EST.

 

5) Learning about changes in the Finance Committee

Rachel Bowden (nee Berk) is stepping down from her position as the Finance Coordinator. She has enjoyed serving and contributing to youth work by facilitating the budget but has new needs in her life, and her work in Camphill has increased, and she would like to give that greater attention.

 

A new individual will be selected to join the Finance Committee in October at the Happening.

 

There was an expression of gratitude for Rachel’s service to the Youth Section, for her conscious commitment to working with money in a healthy way and for supporting our work for so long.

 

6) Exploring other ideas or questions emerging from the group

There were none other than excitement for Portland.

 

Closing with the verse

Keenan read the Verse for America.