by Mary C. Frances, Senior Associate Consultant
Recently my husband and I watched the new documentary about Paul Simon and his decades of incredible music. Clearly his talent is amazing, and he continues today to work on new songs, gathering other talented musicians with which to collaborate, write, play and sing. You see, even though he sang, “I am a rock, I am an island” nothing about his music is solitary. He thrives on the energy that comes from working with others and receiving their input.
An interesting outcome from the Covid 19 pandemic is the tendency for people to try to become islands. We go out to shop less relying on online stores. We open our front doors to gather our packages and pull into clearly marked spots at the grocery store specifically for online shoppers. A recent study out of Colorado University found that more than half of older adults still spend more time at home and less time socializing in public spaces than they did pre-pandemic. We are islands unto ourselves.
Sometimes our churches are like that as well. Inner circles and long-time members make all the decisions leaving newcomers to feel left out. When we talk about our neighbors, we have a specific idea of who they are and usually they are people just like us. We make decisions about outreach based on our own experience without asking what others may need or want. And yet, we know that human beings were not created to be islands, we were created to be in relationships. From the very start, there was Adam and then there was Eve. God said that no one should be alone.
If you are a regular reader of this blog – and I hope that you are – you know that the best way to start to get to know your neighbor is through our Neighborhood Insights Report. This interactive infographic report has over 40 different data points with lots of additional information tucked behind the data points. One interesting data point that I have been looking into recently is the household composition. According to US Census, over a quarter (27.6%) of all U.S. occupied households were one-person households in 2020, up from just 7.7% in 1940, according to recently released 2020 Census data.
As you can see, the share of people living alone increased every decade from 1940 to 2020. The largest increase happened between 1970 and 1980, when the share increased from 17.6% to 22.7%.
And the percentage is higher in rural areas of the country particularly among the aging population.
In this post-election time, I am thinking about community, and I am thinking about collaboration. I am wondering who is alone in these challenging times. I am thinking more about being in ministry with my neighbor and less about doing for my neighbor. Could we help you get clearer about your community and your neighbors? Let us know at info@faith.net.
