Centering in Gifts A Practice of Spiritual Leadership

Radishes, turnips, and tomatoes are displayed in baskets on a table with 'Centering in Gifts' superimposed in white lettering.

In his book The Healing Wisdom of Africa, Malidoma Somé writes,

…there are two things that people crave: the full realization of their innate gifts, and to have these gifts approved, acknowledged, and confirmed. There are countless people in the West whose efforts are sadly wasted because they have no means of expressing their unique genius.

Malidoma calls himself a “reverse missionary.” His people—the Dagara of Burkina Faso—were taught Christianity from Jesuit missionaries. His purpose is to share the wisdom of indigenous teaching and community with Westerners. This quote is a reflection of that wisdom. The Dagara understand that

  • we ALL have gifts
  • these gifts come into the world with us when we are born
  • the purpose of these gifts is to maintain the well being of the community
  • every human being longs to deliver their gifts and to have these gifts acknowledged

If this is true, we cannot promote and affirm the inherent worth and dignity of anyone unless we are able to acknowledge and receive their gifts. Centering in gifts is a vital practice for human well being and wholeness. This is true for individualsand the community as a whole. Our gifts are not for us—they are meant to build, maintain, and restore the community. The community needs us to deliver our gifts so it can be vibrant and strong. And we need the community to help us identify our gifts, show us where those gifts are needed, and to receive our gifts.

“Centering in Gifts” Posts From Our Practice Makes Possible Blog

  • A group of people have a conversation around a table with a bulletin board in the background and people walking by at the Kennebunk, Maine Shared Ministry event.

    If you find yourselves asking, “who will do all this work?” we joyfully share a way one congregation recently re-centered in giftedness.

    By Hilary Allen | November 15, 2025 | From Centering Gifts
  • Blue sky and blue ocean, with waves crashing in the distance and in the foreground an outcropping of rock, with cairns built atop.

    This deep knowing is at the heart of religious community. The word religion comes from Latin roots that mean, to bind together. We are bound together by covenant; by our shared values; by our love for one another, and our willingness to disagree without disconnecting.

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | September 15, 2025 | From Centering Gifts
  • A spread of garden harvested vegetables and fruits on display in myriad varieties, colors, and shapes.

    This world is full of all the things — the beauty, the horror, the promise, the pain, the long stretch of forever, and the tiny instant of time we are given to experience it all. Where will our help materialize?

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | August 15, 2025 | From Centering Gifts
  • A gnarled, twisted tree overgrows into an established trail way, creating obstacles.

    How do we navigate, together, in an uncertain direction? By Love. My certainty stems from my faith in our Universalist heritage that affirms there is no being outside of the transcendent force of Love.

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | May 15, 2025 | From Centering Gifts
  • On a black background is a pink paper heart in two and stitched back together with white thread and needle.

    Let us not lay waste our power now. Remember who we are. Remember whose we are. Remember who we intend to be.

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | November 14, 2024 | From Centering Gifts
  • A vibrant landscape of a stream through thick forest with the sun shining through the trees in the distance.

    This church year, a small group of leaders and religious professionals from New England congregations gathered together as the Contexts Learning Community. We had a shared interest in exploring more deeply what is happening to church attendance and participation, especially amongst younger people…

    By Hilary Allen | August 14, 2024 | From Centering Gifts
  • An arrangement of various flowers and leaves on a marble top with the words "DO", "LOVE", "HOPE, "PEACE", "CARE", and "LIVE" written in black sharpie on pieces of masking tape.

    Julian, do you not know? Do you not know about sorrow? And Julian, do you not know? Do you not know about pain? As our November newsletter was approaching final edits, horrific news of our country’s 565th mass shooting of the calendar year broke out of the city of Lewiston, Maine. As sometimes…

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | October 31, 2023 | From Centering Gifts
  • A wooden sign reading 'WELCOME WE ARE OPEN' hangs on twine from a bright blue, open door.

    My grandparents had a découpage plaque by their front door with President Kennedy’s famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” A simple collection of words I could read for years before I started to really consider what they meant, and what…

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | August 21, 2023 | From Practice Makes Possible Blog
  • Art models building blocks

    The point of a community of practice is for people who want to get better at something to learn from each other through regular interaction. Even people new to a field can help the group learn. Their observations and questions can identify unrecognized practices and raise awareness of which…

    By Meck Groot, Joe Sullivan | October 20, 2022 | From Practice Makes Possible Blog
  • Hand holding up a bronze colored sea star with 5 arms to a clear blue sky over a white sandy beach

    Maybe you’ve heard the inspirational story about the starfish. It’s often told as a celebration of a young child’s hope triumphing over a curmudgeonly elder’s resignation to the inevitability of encroaching doom. But taking those signifiers out of the story, and it goes something like this:…

    By Wren Bellavance-Grace | May 25, 2022 | From Centering Gifts