Centres Gathering Day 3

This is intended to be a daily record of the International Holistic Centres Gathering 2012 which is taking place at Finhorn in Scotland. It’s being written by me, Rachel Davey, representing The Haven at the Gathering.

I have finally managed to put some photos of our tour of Findhorn Park, not on this blog but on The Haven’s Facebook Page. They aren’t quite in the right order, but I have wasted too much time on trying to get the technology to work, so they will have to do.

Today’s sessions were focused on Education/Programming and Marketing. All good meaty stuff! The great benefit of these Gatherings is the opportunity not only to find out what other centres are doing, but also to commiserate about the things that drive us all crazy! We also had a session where the more established centres were asked to share about the tools and techniques we use for communication and conflict resolution. It was great to hear how other centres do their clearings, meetings and facilitate appreciation among their staff, residents and volunteers. The Haven is in a minority of centres represented that does not have a resident community or work extensively with volunteers. I enjoyed talking about the Communication Model, how we do clearings, even the ‘appreciation board’ that staff requested and which is really well used. There are some ideas from other centres that I am looking forward to sharing with staff and faculty when I return.

I also had my first experience of taize singing, did some Scottish country dancing and went for a walk before the heavens opened, so it’s been a full day. More tomorrow.