Lent 2016 - an alarming statistic on loneliness

I found a rather alarming statistic yesterday.  No, it was not about church decline but about Christmas. (Now you know why I posted a nativity scene in Lent!) 

Apparently in the United Kingdom 2044 people submitted their self assessment tax return on-line to the inland revenue on Christmas Day. I started thinking about what could be the reason for this statistic. Perhaps:

• There are some people so busy on 364 days of the year that Christmas day holiday is the only time they get to do a tax form. That is sad.
• There are some people who have no friends or family to spend the holiday with and they sit at home alone filling in the on-line tax return. Sad.
• Some people find being with their families at Christmas so stressful that they lock themselves away in a quiet room and fill in the tax collectors requirements. Again sad.
• Some people regard Christmas in the same way as Charles Dickens' character Scrooge. They protest at the atmosphere of bonhomie and say "bah humbug" before filling in the form on the inland revenue website!
• Christmas has only been a public holiday in Scotland since 1958 so perhaps some people have not yet gotten used to the idea and still think of it as a working day! (Though they would be very old by now!)
• Is there anyone who enjoys completing their tax return so much that they save it to do on one of the most fun days of the year!  Huh?
• They could be of another religion for whom Christmas means nothing. 

This statistic is a reminder for me to be aware of others. When we are enjoying ourselves we can think everyone is bound to be having a good time too. There will always be some people who will not be sharing in the festivities and for whatever reason will feel excluded. On Christmas day we expect everyone to share the seasonal joy, even if they are not marking the birth of Jesus. But it can be just another day. Sad. 

I believe that many of the wrongs in our society are a result of people no longer feeling part of any real community. Social research has identified loneliness and isolation as one of the big problems of our day. It can hit any age group, with the elderly particularly susceptible.

Churches traditionally were a focal point in a local community, and frequently people belonged without believing. Today churches are smaller and we put so much emphasis on believing that people who have trouble believing feel that they do not belong. Perhaps we just have to loosen up and really mean it when we sing "All are welcome". Becoming a community where anyone can walk in and feel a sense of belonging is one of the major challenges for the church of today. 




Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net