| 03 | Connected | “We All Belong”
Thriv’era…
challenges us to move with thoughtful purpose toward a deepened sense of identity—that we are spirited, creative, and connected people, called to be present, grateful, generous, and missional with our lives.
Together, we are exploring what it means to live into these rhythms in ways that help us bring some good to each moment, something better to each day, and our best to each other as we encounter the world together.
We are… Connected
As image-bearers of the Divine, we are connected people—formed for generative, life-giving relationships. We thrive as connected people by practicing intentional kindness and hospitality, and by building trust and respect that sustain community.
| WELCOME | SETTING THE INTENTION |
Pause for a quiet moment to settle in. Notice your breathing. Let yourself arrive.
Hear these words from Frederick Buechner:
“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you… because you do not just live in a world, but a world lives in you.”
—Frederick Buechner
With those words in mind, reflect together:
- When did you feel most connected to another person this week?
- Who has helped carry you recently?
- Who made your day lighter?
- Where did you notice kindness this week?
CENTERING | CONNECTED Thriving |
Read this slowly:
“Hospitality means the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend.”
—Henri J.M. Nouwen
Sit with the words, then reflect:
- What word or phrase stands out to you?
- What feels inviting here?
- How might connection begin with noticing, making room, and showing up with kindness?
Scripture Connection | John 6:5-13
When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” Later, after the loaves and fish had been shared and the people had eaten, Jesus told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”
Reflect on the passage for a moment.
- What do you notice in this passage?
- What do you think Jesus is teaching here about people, need, and community?
- Where do you see movement from crowd to community?
STORY | Shelter in an Ordinary Place
One Saturday morning, while leading a retreat for high school students in Minneapolis, I witnessed a small but unforgettable picture of connection.
We were loading a bus in a parking lot near a McDonald’s when I heard someone shouting. A driver at the drive-through window was screaming at a young employee. Then the car sped away.
I walked to the window to see if everything was okay. Inside, I saw a group of employees gathered closely around one of their coworkers—a teenage girl who had just been verbally attacked.
The manager told me what had happened. She had made a mistake in the change she handed back.
The amount?
Eleven cents.
She had been verbally assaulted over an 11-cent error.
What I remember most is not only the cruelty of that moment, but the response that followed. Her coworkers had stepped away from the fryers, the grill, the noise, and the pace of the morning rush to gather around her. In the middle of her shame and shaking, they became shelter. They became community.
That is part of the Connected rhythm.
We thrive as connected people when we notice one another, practice kindness, and make room for one another with hospitality and care. In a world that easily becomes harsh and divided, even small acts of human presence can widen the table and help someone feel less alone.
Reflection
- What part of this story stands out to you?
- When have you seen people become shelter for someone else?
- When have others gathered around you in a hard moment?
- What helps turn an ordinary place into a place of belonging?
CONNECTED CONVERSATION
- Tell about a person who makes you feel safe, seen, or at home. What is it about them that creates that kind of connection?
- When have you experienced a small act of kindness that had a bigger impact than the person may have realized?
- Who in your life has shown you genuine hospitality? What did they do that made you feel welcome?
- Do you find it easier to stay with familiar people, or to make room for someone new? Why do you think that is?
- What helps build trust and respect in relationships? What tends to erode them?
- Is there someone near you—at work, in your neighborhood, in your family, in your church, or in daily routines—who may be feeling unseen or left out?
- What is one simple way you could widen the table this week?
A Connected Manifesto
As children of God, we are connected people.
We refuse the illusion of a self-made life.
We widen the table rather than guard it.
We cross rooms. We learn names. We make space.
We practice the courage of kindness and the discipline of hospitality.
We choose repair over contempt, curiosity over assumption, presence over dismissal.
We carry one another—
sometimes with words,
sometimes with silence,
sometimes with nothing more than a steady shoulder.
We will not outsource belonging.
We will become a people through whom grace moves—
relationship by relationship, moment by moment.
Brief Reflection
- Which line of the manifesto feels most true for you right now?
- Which line feels most challenging?
Refrain
As a child of God, I belong—and I practice belonging with others.
Say the Refrain aloud together once or twice, slowly. Then reflect on these questions:
- What word in this Refrain stands out to you?
- What might it look like to practice belonging this week?
Prayer Intention
Gracious God, you have formed us for belonging. Free us from self-protection, fear, and indifference. Give us the courage to cross rooms, the patience to listen well, and the humility to make space for others. Teach us kindness that becomes community and hospitality that becomes healing. Help us widen the table with courage and love. In the name of Christ, Amen.
Blessing
May you thrive as a deeply connected child of God.
May you notice the power of small acts of kindness
and the strength of simple hospitality.
May you become a person who crosses rooms, learns names, and makes space.
And may your life help create trust, deepen respect,
and widen the table
until others feel less alone because you were there.