The need to belong
Jane Denniston
March 12, 2025
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Psalm 27: 4-5 (NRSVA)
4
One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.5
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.
These verses are particularly meaningful for me as they formed part of my call to ministry. Raised in a Christian home, I have been part of the Church for as long as I can remember, but when I finally realised that God was calling me into full-time ministry I felt as if I had come home. My sense of belonging in the church, in the family of God, strengthened in the wake of discovering what my role was to be. Verse 4 of this Psalm, which called to me as a teenager, became the fulfilment of a prophecy as, many years later, I studied theology and dedicated my life in God’s service.
We all need to belong. We all need to enjoy the shelter of a community of people who love us and accept us. There was a time when the church would have been at the heart of every community. This is no longer the case, but I wonder if we could make it so again. Are there ways we could create community for those who have no community? Are there initiatives or enterprises which we could support which bring the love of God to those most in need? Who are the folks on the margins of our lives who could be welcomed into the community of God and find belonging?
Prayer:
God our Father,
you have opened the door of your heart to each of us
welcoming us into your family
and giving us a home:
shelter, safety, and a place to belong.
Help us to open the doors of our hearts to others
that they may find with you, through us
their safety and security and sense of belonging, Amen
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