The Welcome Group

In the beginning Ineke was inspired to place a notice in the Rainbow Bridge with an invitation to attend a group to welcome newcomers to the community. More than a dozen of us responded and found ourselves gathered in a circle on the lawn in front of the Phoenix cafe. We introduced ourselves and discovered that we had all arrived here during the tail-end of the Covid lockdown and were exploring life in our community and our sense of belonging. Each of us had a sense of purpose and connection to Findhorn.

We shared emails and with Ineke’s help we found a regular place to meet in the old Art Studio. We committed to revivifying the building as our first group project, and now 18 months on we have just finished.

Welcome Group transformed the old Art Studio

We continue to meet every week with a steady attendance of regular members, new arrivals, whether permanent or just passing through, and we also welcome anyone in the community to attend – we evolved from a ‘newcomers group’ truly into a ‘welcome group’! Ineke continues to be our wise elder.

There are a number of elements in the mix we have created:

• We attune at the start of each gathering, and tune out at the end
• We help each other by sharing our knowledge of what’s here, how things work and bits of local knowledge useful for people who have recently arrived.
• Rounds of sharing are central to our practice, about the highs and lows of our weeks, or whatever theme comes up. There is freedom to say anything politely and be heard.
• Long-term community members come to talk to us, about their life here and about their areas of expertise, including so far: Adam Powell, Cornelia Featherstone, Lesley Downie, Dave Till, Dürten Lau, Katharina Brocke, Jörn Fiebig, Amanda Haworth, Manda Stretch, and Sue Dominney. (The NFA model with the petals is displayed continuously on the table in the meeting space).
• We work as a team to help do odd-jobs, such as cleaning the Visitor Centre ready for opening, painting the Pottery in Pine Ridge, helping prepare Grindley’s chalet ready for refugees and so on.

We meet each Friday from 6-8pm in the Old Art Studio and are open to anyone who feels this may be interesting or helpful and we welcome all. New arrivals are especially welcome. Watch for signs at the Visitor Centre and at the Phoenix Shop for information about future activities.

NFA model with the petals displayed