Healing Agents: Christian Perspectives: Belonging

Friday, March 14, 2025

Belonging

Personal Photo outside Nairobi, Kenya - 2018

Personal photo, Hout Bay, South Africa - 2012

“I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it.

And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor's good name.”

Lord’s Day #43 - Heidelberg Catechism

It has been a long education! I have had glimpses into the healing of disconnections, but never had the expansive view of “belonging” until I finished the book, “On Belonging” by Kim Samuel. It is a comprehensive text on the theory, practice and history of building systems of connection in a world of loneliness. I found a resonance with my experiences.

A central theme of the book, “On Belonging’ is the word, “dignity”. The Swahili word would be “heshima”. It is a “lifting up” and deep honoring of “others”. I saw that lived out in my experiences in Kenya and my visit to South Africa. In this country, this kind of belonging is central to the missions of Father Greg Boyle in Los Angeles.

What “On Belonging” also describes is there are “dark sides” of this powerful idea. Here is a quote:

“When we seek belonging in ways that do not acknowledge and honor our innate interconnectedness, we only stray further from wholeness, into the shadowlands.” Kim Samuel

The Covid pandemic, like previous pandemics, has only exacerbated this reality. This aspect of “long Covid” remains a challenge for the world. There is work to do to bring The healing of Belonging to a suffering world.

Marvin

References

Heshima: Dignity for Children with Disabilities

https://heshima.org/

RCA House System

https://rcahousesystem.com/isibindi/

Lord’s Day 43 Heidelberg Catechism

Heidelberg, University. Heidelberg Catechism (Function). Kindle Edition.

Samuel, K. (2022). On belonging: Finding connection in an age of isolation. Abrams. Quote p. 42 - Kindle

Sumuel Centre for Social Connectedness

https://www.socialconnectedness.org/about-us/

Hage, M. L. (2022). Healing Ecology