The Circle Around the Wounded
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
"If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." —1 Corinthians 12:26
Life on the Common Good Farm is often marked by small, wondrous gifts. Every morning twenty-four hens greet us with their cheerful commentary and throughout the day leave behind beautiful brown, blue, and cream-colored eggs. They feed our family and many others. Their routines have become part of our own.
Last week, those rhythms were interrupted. When I went to close the coop that evening, I found one of our Barred Rock hens hanging from the nesting box. Her leg had slipped between the wooden slats, leaving her stuck at an odd angle. I didn’t know how long she had been there. Her foot was losing circulation, and her hip was clearly out of place.
I lifted her gently and held her until her heart began to steady. I tried to ease her hip back into place and then settled her into our separate “hospital’ coop where she could rest in a protected, comfortable space.
The next morning, she still couldn’t put weight on her leg. I carried her outside and set her in the grass near the rest of the flock. I hoped she would at least enjoy the sunshine and the company while she healed.
With my morning coffee, I pulled up a chair nearby.
Then pure grace happened.
The oldest hen on the farm walked over and sat beside the injured bird. There was no pecking or competition. She just stayed close, their bodies pressed together in what looked clearly like comfort.
Twenty minutes later, a hawk called out overhead. Usually, the flock would scatter, each bird running for safety. But not this time.
Instead, they ran toward the injured hen. One by one, they gathered around her, forming a living circle between their vulnerable sister and the danger above.
No one taught them to do this. There was no meeting, no plan, and no debate about whether she deserved their help. They just knew they needed to keep her safe. I was stunned and honored to bear witness.
Charles Darwin once observed that communities “which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members would flourish best.”1 Maybe compassion is older than we think. Long before people built civilizations, wrote laws, or created sacred texts, life had already learned that survival depends not just on strength, but also on care.
The Apostle Paul says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.”2 Watching those hens, I saw that Paul wasn’t coming up with something new. He was describing one of the oldest instincts in creation.
We humans often praise ourselves for being smart. Still, we often build our lives around competition, exclusion, and suspicion. We value self-sufficiency. We tell people to lift themselves up by their own bootstraps. We separate those we think are worthy from those we think are not.
Meanwhile, a wise flock of chickens taught me that real community starts with different values:
You don’t leave anyone behind when they’re hurt.
You come closer.
You become their shelter.
Maybe this is what the Kin-dom of God has always looked like.
It’s not everyone rushing to protect themselves.
It’s a circle forming around the one who can’t stand alone.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Who in your life is quietly carrying an injury that others may not see?
When have you experienced people forming a protective circle around you?
What would it look like for you to move toward someone vulnerable this week instead of assuming someone else will?
What might the “more-than-human” world teach you about care?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Circle
Holy One, You have woven care into the fabric of creation. Long before we learned to speak of compassion, the creatures were already teaching it— drawing near to the wounded, keeping watch through the night, forming a circle when danger came. May we remember what our bodies have always known: that we were never meant to survive alone. When we are the ones who are hurting, quiet our instinct to hide. Give us the courage to receive the kindness that finds us. When another stumbles, soften our hearts before we harden our judgments. Turn our feet toward them. Teach us to sit close, to stay present, to become a shelter without needing to fix what is broken. And when fear cries out above us, gather us together. Not as strangers protecting ourselves, but as companions protecting one another. May our lives become small circles of refuge in a weary world— places where healing has room to begin, where tenderness is honored, and where no one is left alone. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Become Part of the Circle
Today, notice someone whose life has become smaller because of illness, grief, exhaustion, or loneliness. Instead of asking, “How can I fix this?” ask, “How can I stay near?”
Make the phone call.
Sit on the porch.
Deliver the meal.
Write the note.
Offer your quiet presence.
Sometimes healing begins long before the wound closes. Sometimes it begins the moment someone realizes they are no longer alone.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
July 28 - September 1, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are reading our next book, “I Eat The Stars” by Sarah Wilson. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
August 6, 2026, 7-8pm ET - FREE EVENT - Join me in conversation with Rev. Natalia Terfa about her new book, “It All Counts: Finding God Beyond the Boundaries.” What if the moments you’ve been taught don’t “count” spiritually are actually where God is waiting to be found? Many of us were handed a version of faith that divided life into sacred and secular, holy and ordinary, faithful and doubtful. But what if those boundaries were never real? Whether you’ve left church, stayed in it, or find yourself somewhere in between, this conversation will offer fresh language for a faith that is expansive, embodied, and deeply human. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Dr. Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny, has publicly released the first lecture of a ten-lecture course he taught at the University of Toronto this past year. The course is called “Hitler and Stalin Today.” He is offering this as a public resource for students, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the relationship between history and contemporary democracy. Follow his posts here or watch on YouTube.
July 23, 2026, 2-3:00pm ET, Join Rev. Lisa Bryant for a six-session community of practice called “Imagining God with Julian of Norwich” inspired by Julian of Norwich’s The Showings, in Mirabai Starr’s vivid and accessible translation. Together, we will encounter Julian’s remarkable vision of divine love and explore what her wisdom might awaken in our own lives, spiritual practices, and understanding of God. You can learn more and sign up here.
July 29, 2026, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
My friends over at Spiritual Wanderlust have some of the coolest classes. One I am particularly drawn to is their Celtic Spirituality School where you get to learn from people like John Philip Newell, Ilia Delio, Carl McColman, Sharon Blackie, and more. Read more about their program.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1st ed. (London: John Murray, 1871), Vol. 1, Chapter 5, p. 163.
1 Corinthians 12:26 (NRSVUE)
It happens on the small and large; your hens and the people of Minneapolis in the face of ICE killings of Pretti and Good. I love the learning from your hens. Thank you for paying such attention and sharing it with us.
Thank you for this, Cameron! This really sums up so much truth. We really are going to learn what phrases like mutual care, reciprocity, and loving kindness mean, aren’t we?