This Week's Quotation:
“My appeal is for a Ministry of Presence and Accompaniment. Faith witness … is the patient, compassionate, often unglamorous work of walking with people through suffering toward dignity.”
—Imam Dr. Rashied Omar
A Ministry of Belonging
Rev. Berry Behr, Interfaith Minister
I was invited to join a panel discussion hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Southern Africa as part of their Jubilee Celebration. The topic: responding to gangsterism and poverty on the Cape Flats.
Before I spoke, another panelist shared the story of her son's murder by a gang. She spoke with extraordinary courage, describing how grief had become a commitment to serving her community. By the time she finished, my eyes had filled with tears. Whatever I had prepared suddenly felt far less important than simply being present. I discarded my notes and spoke from my heart.
I do not live on the Cape Flats. I have never had to raise children in the daily shadow of gang violence. I could only speak as a person committed to building relationship. Gangs understand something about human nature. They offer belonging, identity, loyalty, and purpose. In tragically distorted ways, they meet deeply human needs. What if our response was not only to dismantle gangs, but also to create stronger communities of belonging?
Every faith tradition carries wisdom about relationship. Christianity, Islam, and Ubuntu all remind us, in different languages, that our lives are woven together. If violence grows wherever relationship is broken, then every act that restores relationship is already an act of peace.
So I suggested that instead of working in silos, diverse faith communities could join hands to create places of safety and belonging beyond difference, belief, and all the things that usually separate us. Imagine churches, mosques, temples, synagogues, and community organizations uniting to offer practical workshops that help people listen deeply, tell their stories, recognize one another's gifts, and become ambassadors of peace within their own neighborhoods. We allow our actions of faith to be their own unspoken invitation.
All over the world, peace begins when someone can honestly say, “There is a place for me here.” Imam Dr. Omar anchored the role of faith leaders with his profound call for a Ministry of Presence and Accompaniment.
If relationship is the organizing principle of life, then belonging is the social expression of relationship. If relationship is the architecture, belonging is what makes it home.
About Open Windows
We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.
We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.
Thank you, Rev. Berry, for highlighting the value of relationship and belonging. Many human beings belong to faiths, clubs, political parties, gangs, protest movements, etc. These are all horizontal relationships and give people some sense of connection, a relief from a sense of isolation and loneliness.
However, the most important relationship is vertical, a connection with the Creative Process of Life springing from Universal Being, i.e. the flow of the Highest Love. Until human beings meet and interact at that level there will still be turbulence and conflict on Earth.