What started as a brilliant idea from one of our residents in 2023 is now an official tradition! We're thrilled to announce the return of our beloved Michaelmas Conference, and here’s how it went…
Michaelmas is a Christian festival that commemorates the Archangel Michael. Here at the Hatch, we see it as a time to look inwards, to reflect, and to consider our theme this year of “Our Camphill Community”. We considered what was important to us as a Camphill Community, what no longer worked for us and what tasks we wish to take up during the next year. We spent time discussing together what we want our Camphill Community to be like, for everyone who lives and works here.
Let the conference… Commence!
We started the day with some glorious blue skies and sunshine, which thankfully blessed us all day. We handed out official conference nametags and work folders and assigned everyone to their working groups, named after forest animals like “Mouse”, Badger, and “Owl”. Once everyone was seated, Cecilie and Sarn discussed the significance of Michaelmas; about the importance of being self-reflective and celebrating the bountiful harvest we received from our gardens and land and cookery workshops. Of course there was community singing, and after this it was time for each group to work on their presentations.
Let the conference… Commence!
We started the day with some glorious blue skies and sunshine, which thankfully blessed us all day. We handed out official conference nametags and work folders and assigned everyone to their working groups, named after forest animals like “Mouse”, Badger, and “Owl”. Once everyone was seated, Cecilie and Sarn discussed the significance of Michaelmas; about the importance of being self-reflective and celebrating the bountiful harvest we received from our gardens and land and cookery workshops. Of course there was community singing, and after this it was time for each group to work on their presentations.
Keep, Drop, Create:
What’s so valuable about our Michaelmas conference this year is it allowed our Community to work within a presentation structure to discuss how people feel about their lives at the Hatch, whether that’s big things or small.
We used the headings of “Keep, Drop, and Create”, where each table works together to determine what they want to:
Keep (Thinking about aspects that are working well and providing value)
Drop (Identifying the things that are not working)
Create (Coming up with new ideas, tools, or strategies that could improve the Community.)
Keep, Drop, Create:
What’s so valuable about our Michaelmas conference this year is it allowed our Community to work within a presentation structure to discuss how people feel about their lives at the Hatch, whether that’s big things or small.
We used the headings of “Keep, Drop, and Create”, where each table works together to determine what they want to:
Keep (Thinking about aspects that are working well and providing value)
Drop (Identifying the things that are not working)
Create (Coming up with new ideas, tools, or strategies that could improve the Community.)
Our Presentations:
Once each group had put their ideas to paper, they presented their findings to the Community. It was a fantastic way for everyone to hear what others were feeling about Community live and living and see how one tables likes and dislikes might align with another’s. It was a whole lot of fun! And once everyone had presented their ideas, we spent the rest of the day outside in the sun enjoying a hog roast served up by (Fill name in here) and delicious pumpkin pie from our Bakery workshop.
Our Presentations:
Once each group had put their ideas to paper, they presented their findings to the Community. It was a fantastic way for everyone to hear what others were feeling about Community live and living and see how one tables likes and dislikes might align with another’s. It was a whole lot of fun! And once everyone had presented their ideas, we spent the rest of the day outside in the sun enjoying a hog roast served up by (Fill name in here) and delicious pumpkin pie from our Bakery workshop.
Gallery
Michaelmas Video
In the week after, we all reconvened in Whitsun Hall to discuss what we had learned from the conference. Together we discussed the changes that people had discussed in the presentations, and talked about what was possible within the community.
We love our Michaelmas conference every time it comes around, and we hope everyone had a wonderful day. Thank you.