At one point during my chaplaincy residency, a colleague turned to me and said, “I now understand that your ministry is about inclusion.” Among other reasons for his comment, he had noticed that I always move my chair in the conference room to make sure everyone has enough room and everyone can see each other. I make sure everyone has a seat at the table, even if running late, even if it means having to move my seat. Now, I know scholars like John Swinton and Brene Brown have carefully defined terminology around inclusion, belonging, fitting in, etc. However, for the sake of this brief post, I will be using those ideas interchangeably, as synonyms, even while I recognize there are nuanced differences.
This week’s book is “Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson and pictures by Axel Scheffler. This English author and German illustrator have worked together on many children’s books, including “The Gruffalo.” What I love about “Room on the Broom” is that the witch makes room on her broom for every animal who asks. Moreover, each animal who asks for a ride phrases the request as “Is there room for an animal like me?” Is there room for me, exactly as I am, without having to change? Then, after the witch’s broom breaks and everyone falls, a dragon threatens the witch (spoiler alert!) and the animals, as different as they are, all work together to save her. They are more than the sum of their individual parts and together they scare off the dragon. Finally, the witch makes a new broom with special accommodations for each animal.
Each animal is accepted and included just as they are. Individually, none of them could have scared off the dragon. Working together, with all their differences highlighted, they succeeded in saving the witch. The witch made each animal feel as if they belonged and each one made an equally valuable contribution to the whole.
Now, that’s a lot of meaning to attribute to a Halloween-themed children’s picture book. Yet it has such a wonderful message of friendship and teamwork that is often (necessarily) more complicated and nuanced when writing for older readers. For those of us who are older, it becomes about hospitality and inclusion and belonging.
In 2001, The United Methodist Church introduced the slogan, “Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.” It was designed to be a promise of hospitality that each person might find in each local congregation. It also reflects the denomination’s practice of an open table for communion, meaning that there are no restrictions around who may receive communion. Regardless of membership, baptism, age, or any other status, if you are present, you are invited to the table. Communion is a sacrament, a visible, tangible sign of God’s invisible grace. God’s grace is available to everyone, whether each individual recognizes or accepts it or not. It’s an open-ended invitation to hop on the broom, just as you are, and join your unique gifts and talents with everyone else’s so that together we can be more than the sum of our parts.