How to Begin With a Welcome

When was the last time you were welcoming? I mean, truly open and interested in inviting others in? Intentionally.

Yes, this is a time in history that is polarized. It’s a time in the year that is charged with the commercialization of love and friendship. It’s a time of severe political and social unrest. There are plenty of reasons to close yourself off—whether physically or emotionally. There are plenty of reasons to stick with who you know, what you know and doing what you do. So. Many. Reasons.

The top reason: Safety.

We need to feel safe and right now many of us do not. Fear is not only an undercurrent but it’s an overlay on pretty much everything. Yes.

But what if it wasn’t?

What if we actually could be open, truly open, and welcoming? What could happen? What is possible?

Last winter, a new person moved into our neighborhood. I was out walking the dog and ran into her and her son as they walked their dog. I stopped. I said hello. I asked their names and, even though it was a brief exchange, I explicitly said: Welcome. Welcome to Maine. Welcome to our community. And welcome to your new life—whatever that means for you.

They had moved from the Bay Area. They didn’t know anyone here. They had a pretty bumpy transition.

Now, a year later, of course they have found their community. They are connected and establishing stronger foundations. But, she has commented several times about how much it meant to her that I spoke and welcomed them on that first day. That I introduced them to other neighbors. That I made a point to check in and say hello. She believes that my intentional connection affirmed their transition to this new life on the opposite coast.

Welcoming is a simple act that makes an enormous difference.

Daily, we encounter people we know and people we do not know. Daily, we make choices on how to navigate those seemingly surface level interactions.

If you have been allowing fear to drive you, I invite you to try something different. When you could look away or make eye contact, make eye contact. When you could look at your shoes or smile, smile. When you could be silent or speak, speak.

Your connection, your welcoming, may be a small act for you but a game changer for someone else.

You Belong Here Welcome Ritual (Video)

This welcome ritual is the opening section of a seminar we have done called I Matter, You Matter, We Matter, developed by Hanaa Arafat who led much of our work in New York City with the Department of Youth and Community Development.

As we have expanded our scope, and built out online real-time and on-demand courses, we continue to use this welcome ritual to facilitate belonging and invite engagement.

This video below is an example of how we use the welcome. Yes, it’s a bit generic because we don’t know exactly who is taking the courses or viewing the video. We adapt this for different groups when we are live and in-person and know more about who is in the group.

Please feel free to use this Welcome Ritual video as part of your work.

And, if you are facilitating in real time, doing your own sessions, here is the script.

Consider how you may use this or a variation to start meetings, sessions, workshops, retreats with a broader welcome than maybe you had previously.

How can you take what is here and adapt it for your day-to-day?

You Belong here Welcome ritual (Facilitator Script)

Note: Welcome all participants in the room by naming a selection of the below. The common element is to inclusively name people with a genuine “Welcome!”

The more things present that can be named, the more likely the participants are to feel welcome. It is a ritual, so the repetitive phrasing can help: “Welcome… welcome….” Take your time with it!

You will need to add or subtract based on what aspects are important for the group (for example, naming all the roles in the room would be important or important marginalized groups in your region).

“Welcome…

Principals, School Leaders, Superintendent, Educators, Educational Leaders, Teachers, Youth Counselors, Youth Program Directors, Supervisors, Staff developers, Learners

People who have been doing this work for a long time; people who are new; people who are mid career

Welcome people from each continent–the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America

Welcome Indigenous people; Welcome people of African descent, Middle-Eastern descent, Asian and Pacific Islander descent, European descent, and people of mixed, multiple descents.

Women, Men, Transgender and Nonbinary People

Welcome...

The many feelings you have about working in education, feeling it as an opportunity, your hope, your confusion, your joy, your frustration

and the part of you that feels connected with others and feels powerful

Welcome languages spoken here English, French, Spanish …

Those who identify as having a disability, visible or invisible

Heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer (adapt as appropriate)

Welcome...

Immigrants

People who identify as educators, and people who donʼt

People who have been to meetings like this, and those who havenʼt

Welcome the many ways people in have gained knowledge, those who have acquired it formally or informally through experience

Those in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s

Welcome...

People of different religious faiths: Jews, Buddhist, Muslims, Christians, Hindu, traditional religions, Bahaʼi, atheist, agnostic, or others, whether searching or not, or other faith tradition

Welcome...

Those who support you to be here: Who make it possible

Your family, genetic and otherwise

Our elders: Those here in this room, in our lives, and those who have passed away

Welcome!”

Welcoming is the first step to building collective belonging. The ritual described can support you in starting your sessions with an inclusive welcome.