When the Church Pretends It’s Not Involved Every year on November 20, we read the names of trans people murdered in the last twelve months. We call it Trans Day of Remembrance. We talk about “violence,” as if it just appears out of nowhere, like bad weather. We talk about “hate,” as if it lives…

For years my default map of faith ran like this: believe → behave → belong. Get the ideas right, get your act together, and then you’re in. Over time—through scripture, pastoring, and a lot of table-time with neighbors—I shifted to belong → believe: make room at the table first and let faith grow in the soil of relationship.

Lately, one more turn has become clear for me and, I think, for our church: belonging is both the road and the destination. We don’t just start with belonging; we travel by belonging. We practice it, fail at it, return to it, and discover that the end of the journey is the same as the means: being held in Love together.