Sometimes when I write about community I do so with instinct, i.e. ‘I think this is the way it is’ but haven’t done the hard work of researching it for facts which prove my case. That was probably the case when I wrote ‘What about community?’ In that piece I said, “Perhaps more importantly, why is there a sense that community is often missing from modern life?”
It was something I ‘felt’ to be true but hadn’t done the research. Fortunately for me the BBC has come to my rescue with this article headlined ‘Life in UK has become lonelier’
It begins by saying ‘community life has substantially weakened over the past 30 years’ and the reasons are: “Increased wealth and improved access to transport has made it easier for people to move for work, for retirement, for schools, for a new life. The decline in marriage, increasing divorce, immigration and a growing student population are also said to be contributory factors.”
So I wasn’t too far off the mark. It’s a legitimate question to ask over the past 30 years as our society has fragmented where has the church been?
So, comments please on what your church (if you go to one) or community group is doing to combat loneliness and isolation. What is being done?
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