Nurture your belonging

The early church referred to itself as Ekklesia - literally 'called out ones'. Early church - called out, and now gathered by Jesus. The people of God gathered in community. I think that the need to be 'in community', 'belonging' is an age-old one (perhaps the push to prioritise the individual, my rights, my freedom to do what I want is part of our modern malaise?)
Might we expand our practice of belonging? It doesn't have to be limited to formal church settings. Diana Butler Bass writes if we think of belonging only as membership in a club, or church, we miss the point. Belonging is the risk to move beyond the world we know, to venture out on pilgrimage, to accept exile.
Matthew 4:15 says that Jesus moved away from Nazareth into “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Jesus deliberately moves on to the frontier, the edge, where not everybody is Jewish, where many cultures and ethnicities come together. It’s there, in the land of the Gentiles, that Jesus proclaims the reign of God.
So, belonging is not dependent on institutional structure. But you do need community. Perhaps ask the question 'where am I finding belonging right now? And where can I create belonging for others, too?
Image - the ecumenical community at Taize, France; music - 'in the Lord I'll be ever thankful (Taize)