EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2021 I began a new venture writing a newspaper column titled "Finding Faith" for the Forum Communications Co. network of newspapers and websites. I was asked to contribute to the company's ongoing conversation about faith, lending a Lutheran and fairly ecumenical approach to the discussion. The column was published in several of the company's papers and websites, including The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. This column originally appeared as a "Finding Faith" column on May 5, 2023.
By The Rev. Devlyn Brooks
“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27)
The Apostle Paul described all of us as being a part of the larger body of Christ because he understood we were not meant to live alone. He knew that we were healthier and better off as one collective human body long before science ever proved we were.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy this week released a national advisory calling attention to “the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation and lack of connection in our country,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Disconnection fundamentally affects our mental, physical, and societal health,” the notice starkly reads. “In fact, loneliness and isolation increase the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges in their lives, and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily.”
Did you catch that? … The loneliness crisis in the United States has reached the same danger level as daily smoking!
We cling to the myth of the “rugged individualist” at our own peril. We raise young people to believe that “I” is more important than “we,” and then we wonder why adults have fewer friends, a small social safety net and so much anxiety.
The surgeon general laid out a framework for a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection,” detailing recommendations for individuals, governments, workplaces, health systems and community organizations to increase connections in our lives.
Excellent! That’s a great start! Exactly the work that our federal health care experts should undertake.
But the reality is, this initiative comes down to personal responsibility for each of us. People of faith should take this charge seriously. After all, being the church isn’t about the hour or two you may spend at your house of worship each week. Being the church also includes the actions you take outside your church the rest of the week.
And we should be hearing the warning bells clearly! We are being asked to step into the spiritual fight for the health of our families, neighbors and communities. Essentially, for the entire body of Christ!
“While the epidemic of loneliness and isolation is widespread and has profound consequences for our individual and collective health and well-being, there is a medicine hiding in plain sight: social connection,” the HHS report reads.
There we go, faith family! … It’s time that we go forward in our Creator’s name and make the life-saving connections we are called to make!
And the apostle Paul was a couple of thousand years ahead of us with the cure.
Devlyn Brooks is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and serves Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He also works for Forum Communications Co. He can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com for comments and story ideas.
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