Belonging goes beyond inclusion. Inclusion might mean making space for someone when they arrive. Belonging means they’ve become so integral to the community that, if they’re not there, they’re deeply missed.
I was taken aback. I was handed a beautiful moment with a friend who seemed to understand the world much better than I. The table we are called to is a table for us all, and I pray that I become as eager to sit with others as Phil was to sit with me.
In the Christian faith, Karis conveys God’s grace, the gift of God’s radically accessible goodness in Christ. Through charisma, it also expresses our conviction that everybody has value and unique God-given gifts.