A Beautiful Picture of Belonging
On a beautiful day in August, I was at Camp Eulogia, a summer camp for families with children or young adults living with disabilities. The camp is designed for the whole family, who stay for three nights in a cottage at the campsite and share life as a community with the support of Village Eulogia’s staff and volunteers.
The camp began with a time of worship led by participants of all abilities—members with disabilities, their siblings, volunteers, and staff. Immediately, the group on stage presented a beautiful picture of belonging, in which everyone brings their God-given gifts to serve the Lord as one body in Christ. From worship to serving meals and participating in camp activities (both indoors and outdoors), this same picture repeated itself in various ways. All of these moments demonstrated how everyone is accepted, respected, and supported to use their gifts just as they are.
The parting words of the families captured their deep sense of belonging:
"Thanks to everyone who gave my boys a chance to be regular kids at camp."
"My kids said they want to stay here forever."
"We miss our VE family and Camp already!"
Certainly, the Village Eulogia staff and volunteers have put in tremendous effort and loving care, and the Lord has blessed the camp. However, what makes the families’ experience truly stand out is the contrast to the reception they often encounter daily outside the camp—a lack of genuine welcome that is so essential for their sense of belonging.
I use the word “welcome” here in the sense that Paul uses it in Romans 15:7: “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Jesus Christ welcomes all people, regardless of who they are—Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, abled or disabled. As different members of Christ’s body, we should welcome one another as God in Christ has welcomed us, accepting us even when we were sinners (Rom. 5:8).
Paul’s exhortations in Romans 15 aim to address the disunity between the Strong and the Weak. According to Scot McKnight, the Strong were Roman Christians who judged the Weak, who observed days and dietary restrictions according to Jewish custom. The Strong were also the group with power, privilege, and status on their side. The Weak need to be welcomed because the Strong need to “disempower [themselves] to empower each sibling at the table and so live out the gospel of Christ.” Recognizing the position of power that able-bodied people in the church occupy should lead us to learn from Paul’s teaching to truly welcome our siblings living with disabilities to the table, so that they can find belonging in the body of Christ.
Erik Carter of Vanderbilt University explored the experiences of belonging among parents of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities in their local churches and identified ten dimensions of belonging: to be present, invited, welcomed, known, accepted, supported, cared for, befriended, needed, and loved. These dimensions overlap in meaning, but all are responses to God’s unconditional welcome to us as children of the divine household.
If we treat Carter’s list as expressions of welcome, we see that true welcoming practices go beyond simply inviting persons with disabilities to attend church so that they are physically present. Sitting in the same pew without anyone approaching and greeting them does not communicate welcome. To welcome someone, we need to see a person with a disability as a person—a beloved brother or sister—with a desire to know them deeply so that mutual love can flow freely, just as God has loved us. A sense of belonging also involves being recognized as a person gifted by God for the community and supported in exercising those gifts. Like everyone else, we all have moments of need and times when we need to be cared for. Being members of the body of Christ means sharing not only our joy but also our suffering. Prayers, encouragement, and care are all different ways to share one another’s suffering.
What made the Eulogia Camp a beautiful picture of belonging was exactly how they lived out the welcome and love of God, and their mutual care in moments of joy and suffering.