Invitation to Belonging

Making your way in the world today/Takes everything you’ve got./Taking a break from all your worries/Sure would help a lot. /Wouldn’t you like to get away?/Sometimes you want to go/ Where everybody knows your name. /And they’re always glad you came. /You wanna be where you can see/Our troubles are all the same. /You wanna be where everybody knows your name. (“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” By Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo)

For those of you above a certain age, you know this is theme song to the eighties tv sitcom Cheers. Wisdom comes in many forms, even tv show theme songs. You wanna be where everyone knows your name.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to belong some place like Cheers? Where Norm walks in and everyone yells Norm! Most of us want this feeling of acceptance as we are, this reminder that we are not in this life alone but have people who care for us. People can find a sense of belonging in any community – as hockey parents, at their walking group, or in work, or as part of a spiritual community. Having a social group is a needed and necessary part of being human.

Feeling like you belong is especially important in spiritual communities, where people arrive feeling vulnerable, looking for connection with others, with the sacred. And it can be hard to feel that belonging as a newcomer. Especially if you are a person of colour, whose troubles aren’t always just the same as those of white people. Belonging is always imperfect, it’s a living practice, and as such requires on-going care and intention. To be a place of caring connection means we have to keep making it that way with our words and actions. Part of the responsibility of belonging for those already in the group is to keep the circle open, to help others feel welcome.

One question to consider this month is “how can I become belonging for others?” What can we do to enlarge our circle of belonging so that all who share UU values can feel welcomed?

Blessings,

Fiona