Scripture: Proverbs 9:12 – “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.” (NRSVue)
Last night at my church, we had a program that looked at data from MissionInsite, a demographic program that can help congregations and ministries better know their neighborhoods. Specifically, we looked at data pertaining to the Old Colony Association of the United Church of Christ, which geographically corresponds to Bristol County and the western half of Plymouth County in Massachusetts. This data looked at religious priorities based on five years of national surveys.
One of the things we learned was that our area does not have a lot of trust or interest in religious institutions. Among those outside of religious communities, the top five reasons for non-participation were “religious people are too judgmental”, “religion is too focused on money”, “disillusionment with religion,” “don’t trust organized religion”, and “don’t trust religious leaders.” “Don’t believe in God” and “no longer believer” were lower on the list at numbers 8 and 9. From this data, it seems like it is not that people don’t believe in God, but that they don’t believe in churches, and find them hypocritical and judgmental.
Among those within religious communities, the top reasons for not participating were that they were not welcome, they did not believe in God, and they were not supported in a time of need. In terms of ministries preferences, the reasons people do participate in church, the number one reason by far was “warm and friendly encounters.”
What does this tell us? Well, at least in my community, there are a lot of people who scoff at being faithful. They reject the church and its people, and to be fair for very legitimate reasons. Many of these are Catholics and ex-Catholics burnt by the clergy abuse scandals of recent years. But scoffing has its drawbacks. As the Book of Proverbs reminds us, turning away from community can be very lonely.
People desperately want connection, and in a world dominated by the anonymity and division of social media, this is truer than ever. People do not want to be alone. They want the church to be a place of welcome where they are loved and included, and not judged and marginalized, whether because of who they are or because of the insular nature of church culture and leadership.
In the face of this cry for connection, how can we reach out to them? How can we let them know there is a place that loves and cares for them? How can we overcome the huge obstacles of lack of trust in churches and religious people? I wish I had an easy answer to these questions. But I do know that it starts with belief in God and trust in each other. We need faith to get us through the times that seem bleak, and we need to trust each other if we want to model that kind of acceptance that others are looking for.
As you go through your week, keep a look out for people who are lonely. Acquaintances that don’t go out much anymore. Coworkers who punch the clock and go home to few connections beyond their families and computers. Get to know them, and in time let them know how important your church has been to you when you felt alone or isolated. People don’t need to hear arguments about why God is real. They need to see a real welcome in their lives so that they will not feel alone. And as we see more and more horror stories about the violence that isolated people commit, this may be one of the most important gifts we can share with the world.
Prayer: God, help me to welcome all people as you have welcomed me. Amen.
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