Resources for A Deeper Life Together
in our Churches and Neighborhoods Curated by The Englewood Review of Books 22 May 2023
Churches Amidst the Epidemic of Loneliness
The
U.S. Surgeon General recently declared what many Americans already knew: our nation is facing an epidemic of loneliness. Although loneliness can be especially hazardous to our health, churches are well-equipped to address this health challenge. Above all, we are called to be communities in which no one is taken for granted, in which loneliness cannot thrive. Intentionally cultivating practices like friendship and listening helps us mature into our calling to be communities that offer an
alternative to loneliness. The three related stories in this issue of our newsletter, explore the present epidemic and how churches can be prepared to demonstrate a different way.
Cultivating Communities works alongside cohorts of churches that are in close-proximity to each other, providing resources and helping
them discern what it might look like for their congregations and their places to flourish. Our first three cohorts (one in the mountains of East Tennessee, one on the west side of Chicago, and one that just started in Indianapolis) are now underway. (Learn more about our cohorts and
the Cultivating Communities Learning Journey) |
There is an epidemic of loneliness in the United States and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a new advisory from the U.S.
Surgeon General. The report released on Tuesday, titled "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation," finds that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. Here are 6 steps to addressing this epidemic. ( via NPR ) Social friendship, writes Justin Tse, is the foundational concept of Pope Francis's 2020 encyclical Fratelli tutti, the personal basis
for building new cultures and institutions that encourage conversation instead of competition, structures that reward sharing instead of hoarding. Without friendship, you can’t build anything, Francis is saying. (via HisBeloved)
Why deep listening matters for congregations and disciples Listening — really listening — is the first step for participants in a program to build relationships between people on university campuses and the congregations near
them, writes the program director of The Vinery. (via Faith & Leadership)
In his new book Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early
Church, Nijay Gupta provides a detailed and compelling account of the role of women in the early Christian Church. Through extensive research and analysis of primary sources, Gupta challenges the commonly held belief that women were marginalized and excluded from leadership positions in the early Church, and instead offers a nuanced and complex picture of the diversity and vibrancy of women’s roles in the first few centuries of Christianity. (via The
Englewood Review of Books) Veni Creator
Czeslaw
Milosz Come, Holy Spirit,
bending or not bending the grasses,
appearing or not above our heads in a tongue of flame,
at hay harvest or when they plough in the orchards or when snow
covers crippled firs in the Sierra Nevada.
I am only a man: I need visible signs.
I tire easily, building the stairway of abstraction.
Many a time I asked, you know it well, that the statue in church
lifts its hand, only once, just once, for me.
But I understand that signs must be human,
therefore call one man, anywhere on earth,
not me—after all I have some decency—
and allow me, when I look at him, to marvel at you. (Selected to accompany Acts 2:1-21,
one of this week's Lectionary Readings) Read all the Lectionary Poetry
selections for this week...
from The Englewood Review of Books |
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