Rethinking Awareness Days: From Awareness to Belonging
I hate Autism Awareness Day. I don’t want to celebrate Autism Awareness or any other awareness day. In recent years, awareness days, weeks, and months have multiplied, each dedicated to a different cause, condition, or group. While the intention behind these observances is noble, aiming to educate and raise understanding, there is a growing sentiment that mere awareness is not enough. It's time to shift our focus from a culture of awareness to a culture of belonging.
An essential first step is awareness. Doors begin to open for understanding and compassion. However, awareness alone can sometimes feel superficial or performative, such as ostensive social media posts, like “the red x” on the hand for Human Trafficking Awareness Day. What does a red x on a hand posted on January 11th do for those in the grip of modern day slavery? Absolutely nothing! Unfortunately, these designated days come and go with little lasting impact, leaving those directly affected by the issues feeling overlooked, misunderstood, and further stigmatized.
While awareness days serve an important purpose, the goal should be to cultivate a society where every individual truly belongs. Those who are wonderfully made different, no less, are often too afraid to ask or speak, especially those called “high functioning”; we live lonely lives and never feel belonging. Our weekends are quiet. We go to church and socialize on Sunday, but the other days are isolated stillness. We join Bible studies and groups; we volunteer with hopes for invitations, but they don’t come. We wonder why. We wonder if we are too different or too burdensome. We wonder how to ask or speak – how to really belong.
Instead of just being aware, we must ask ourselves: How can we ensure that every person in His image wonderfully made different, no less, feels belonging every day of the year? What does God say about belonging?
Cultivate a Culture of Belonging
Promote Belonging in Everyday Life: Belonging means feeling accepted and valued by your community. We can all contribute to this by actively including those wonderfully made different, not less, in our daily interactions, whether at church, work, school, or in social settings; living out the Great Commandment and loving our neighbors; asking or inviting those who are often on the outside looking in.
Empower Through Education: Go beyond the surface-level facts that are often shared on awareness days. Encourage in-depth learning and conversations that challenge stereotypes and promote genuine understanding. Look to the Bible for understanding, observing how Jesus interacted with those different, hurting, and marginalized by society.
Support Local and National Ministries: Engage with ministries that work towards access, education, and belonging. Volunteering, advocating, or partnering is very important. Donating to these ministries can make a substantial difference.
Fostering Open Dialogue: Create a community where people feel safe to share their experiences and stories. Unfortunately, the church has been incredibly hurtful to many. Learning to listen to and love, not avoid, these voices can lead to more compassionate community.
Celebrate Differences Every Day: Instead of limiting celebrations to specific days, find ways to integrate appreciation for those wonderfully made different, not less, into everyday life. This could mean supporting diverse media, attending cultural events, or simply acknowledging and appreciating the differences within your own community. We are all united in the body of Christ; all are valued and have spiritual gifts. We can’t always see the hidden smile of God, unless we celebrate, invite, and listen to those wonderfully made different, no less.
As you read about in Jesus’ ministry, the people gathered, not separated by age, sex, ability, or disability. Friends brought loved ones to be healed. Not all that gathered were welcomed, but Jesus always stopped, looked on them with compassion and cared for them (for example, the bleeding woman from Luke 8:43-48) The early church built a community that bore each other’s burdens; they prayed and worshiped together, not separate. When did the separateness start? God picked the meek, not the perfect, for His plans. God selected David, a scrawny teenaged farm hand, to slay the giant and rule an united kingdom of Israel. Jesus, His beloved Son, was born in a filthy stable, yet as fully God and fully human. Are we missing out on God’s plan, being merely aware but not providing belonging?
The five points are important; just inviting and listening to us is very impactful for His Kingdom. By moving beyond awareness to action, we can build communities that are not only informed but also embrace those wonderfully made different, no less.