A little history about
the Euro Congress
It all started in Sweden…
Many European representatives
cannot come to the annual A.R.E. Congress in Virginia Beach (U.S.A.),
held traditionally the third week in June. For some, such a trip
is too expensive. For others, June is not a good time to travel.
A few years ago, the
European center directors decided to organize a congress closer
to them. It was called Euro Congress, but indeed it welcomes anyone.
The organizers, as well
as the speakers, all volunteer their time, efforts and knowledge.
They pay for their own expenses, and do not get any financial compensation.
It is true cooperation, dedication and love.
The first Euro Congress
was held in Sweden in 1998, the second one in England in 1999. It
was then decided that the event would take place every other year,
each time in a different country. For the third one, in 2001, the
city of Prague, famous for its rich history and mystical background,
was selected. After the Prague congress, a poll to choose the next
site was conducted among the European organizers of the Edgar Cayce
work. Germany received the most votes. Euro Congress 2003 took place
near Hamburg, which is a major port on the North Sea.
Those interested in hearing
how the idea of the Euro Congress actually emerged will enjoy reading
the following account that Gösta Montelius — from the
Swedish Edgar Cayce Foundation — wrote, looking back at the
history of the Cayce work in Sweden:
« Sweden has a
population of only eight million people on a surface nearly the
size of France. Most people live in the southern part, and the Edgar
Cayce Foundation here is situated in the province of Skane at the
southern tip of the country – a province once a part of Denmark.
The whole story of Cayce in Scandinavia started in the small town
of Tyringe, the home of the Foundation’s founding father,
Ole Barry Gerdin.
In 1991, Ole read in
a Danish weekly magazine about a peculiar man, Cayce, who had given
readings during his whole life. Ole got hooked on this story. Formerly,
he had been a drummer, ice-hockey player and golf instructor; but
now he turned his whole life into the Cayce work. He translated
books; started a Cayce center; organized workshops and seminars,
inviting American and European lecturers. He had the vision to create,
in Tyringe, a living centre for Cayce therapies. He bought a large
house for this, and started importing remedies from the Heritage
Store. In all these efforts, he was encouraged by Jeanette Thomas,
from the Foundation in U.S.A., who was a frequent visitor to Sweden
in those days.
The lecturing and conference
activity turned out to be a success. In one of the first conferences,
so many visitors showed up that the room could not hold all the
audience. Later on, the number of conferees has been more modest,
and we now normally only have forty to fifty people. Over the years,
the subjects have ranged from practical issues, such as massage,
remedies, Cayce therapies and cures, diet recommendations, study
groups and healing techniques, to more esoteric things like dream
interpretation, personal growth and Atlantis.
During one of the first
meetings, several Danes participated. One of them was Jakob Friis.
He had been studying the Cayce material for decades, and knew more
about it than anyone. When he saw what could be done by organizing
people around it, he promptly decided to start an Edgar Cayce association
in Denmark, and so he did. This was the right move at the right
time. The Danish association is now full of life, and there is fruitful
cooperation and exchange between our two organizations.
Many people became interested
during these first years, and the mailing list contained more than
1,500 names. A news bulletin was launched, and everyone was enthusiastic.
But the number of paying members was still very low, so every mailing
created a loss.
Some people, who had
come to Tyringe, got the idea to start activities in their own area
— which is a good way to spread the message. Thus the Edgar
Cayce Society in Northern Sweden was founded, and has been very
successful north of Stockholm.
Personally, I remember
very well a three-day conference, in October of 1997, with only
French-speaking lecturers. Philippe Antoine, from Belgium, talked
on attitudes, remedies and study groups. From France, Guy Garreau
shared his experience as a healer and encouraged us to practice
this ourselves. Annette Cossin, the head of the French association,
had a workshop about ideals and gave examples of their importance
for youngsters choosing a career. I was the happy interpreter of
all this from French into Swedish. Everyone was very enthusiastic
about the conference and thought we should share our work with people
around Europe. The decision was quickly made to organize a European
Congress the following August. We got our calendars out, and decided
on a date.
Thus the Belgian, French
and Swedish associations joined forces and invited all the Cayce
friends in Europe to a Congress, which took place in Tyringe in
1998. This was the first time many countries here could meet and
share their joys and challenges. Since then, Euro Congresses have
been standard: the next one was held in 1999 in Durham (England);
in 2001, the event took place in Prague (Czech Republic); in 2003,
it was held in Hamburg (Germany); in 2005, it will be organized
in Copenhagen (Denmark); and in 2007, in Athens (Greece).
