The Church and Loneliness

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The Church and Loneliness
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• You have a different kind of poverty here. Its
  called loneliness
• Mother Teresa

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Mobiles do not reflect liberation but
loneliness. Once people belonged to things and
believed in things now if they are lonely they
just have their phones, which provide security
by giving them the impression of belonging to a
network Social Trends forecaster
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One of the losses modern society feels most
keenly is that of a sense of community. The
Church knows about loneliness, it creates
community, it invites us to be happy without
having to be successful, it deals with our fears
and offers us the respect and security we crave
through a warm and impressive community which
imposes no worldly requirements on us for its
welcome. Alain de Botton
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What is needed is human contact, human warmth,
human kindness face to face human contact and
communities designed to meet the needs of groups
of people who are less able-bodied than they once
were but still crave company. Ros Coward in The
Guardian
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We need to underline the role of the Church as a
rare source of real community, and an even rarer
source of serious space- that is, a place where
serious conversation can be held. For where else
is there? Keith Elford
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• Meeting local needs
• Coffee mornings
• Lunch clubs
• Toddler groups
• Children's groups
• Youth groups and clubs
• Fish schemes
• Domestic violence courses
• Debt-counselling
• Advocacy
• Meals for students
• Groups for immigrants
• Soup runs and food banks
• Care for the homeless
• Ex-offenders prisoners

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Jesus understood better than anyone what its
like to be lonely He himself experienced the
desolation of human loneliness in Gethsemane, and
then the indescribable loneliness of the Cross,
leading to the agonised cry My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me? Tony Ward
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Loneliness is the first thing which God named
not good. John Milton