“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned
that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” Dorothy Day
“And let us consider how we may spur one
another on toward love and good deeds, not
giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging
one another.” Hebrews
10:24-25a
***************
Now that I’ve started this blog and have really started
thinking about community, I find that I am almost bombarded with more and more
evidence that community is vitally important – to stable neighborhoods, nations
and even to our own personal health!
On June 9, there was an article on businessinsider.com (in
the Science section) entitled, “Loneliness is as Deadly as Smoking”. Wow – that’s provocative! But look at the statistics cited in the
article (with links to the original studies):
- Studies of elderly people and social isolation concluded
that those without adequate social interaction were twice as likely to die
prematurely.
- That increased mortality risk is comparable to the increased
risk of premature death related to smoking!
And it is TWICE as dangerous as premature death linked to obesity.
- Further, social isolation impairs immune function and increases inflammation – these factors can lead to increased risk of arthritis, type II diabetes and heart disease.
Recent surveys indicate that loneliness has doubled in the
last 30 years: in the 1980s, 20 percent
of adults said they were lonely. Today
that number is 40 percent (as calculated in two independent surveys)!
The article had even more alarming statistics (like how
loneliness affects sleep), but I think you get the point. It is imperative that we make time in our
busy schedules to truly connect with one another. If you have a place where you have good
friendships and true connections – consider yourself fortunate! If you don’t, and want a place to start, join
us! As I mentioned, we do a lot of
things in community. We have several
ongoing community outreach projects, like collecting baby quilts for Young
Lives and collecting gently used craft supplies for the Herndon Senior
Center. We have FREE Learn at Lunch
demos every Tuesday from 12 – 2. We have
FREE card make-and-take projects every Thursday from 10 – 8. We have Theme Nights on the last Wednesday
night of the month.
This summer, we’ve been adding other get-togethers to our
list of activities as I continue to explore what it means to be community. So far, we’ve had two sessions of Guided
Meditations that have been wonderfully refreshing! We’ve also had two sessions of the
Affirmation’s Box workshop.
Here’s what’s
coming up soon on the horizon:
- Tuesday, June 17 at 9 AM – Guided Meditation using thePsalms|
- Monday, June 30 at 7 PM – Anointing and Prayer RitualsWorkshop
- Saturday, July 19 at 9 AM – Labyrinth Walking Meditation
Let me know if you have questions about any of these. I would love to hear from you!
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