A DESIRE TO BELONG
By David Pullinger
Deedot Press. 56 pages. ISBN 978 0 954 292 416
Available at £5.00 from http://www.networkchristians.com
I think this easy-read book is timely. The church needs to consider single issues.
Singleness is on the increase; one in three adults are single. This is likely to increase over the next 20 years, changing the demographic of the church. The title is very apt; most singles feel that they don’t belong in the church which caters mainly for married people with children. These singles feel a range of emotions from frustration and disappointment to anger and confusion. They want the church to be addressing their needs, hurt and pain with their singleness, but presently it is largely ‘brushed under the carpet’. Singleness in some cases involves real suffering.
However, singles are a diverse group with very different views, so the book covers relevant topics with questions that churches can ask of their own single population. It deliberately does not deal with specific denominational differences, so that the book can be used across churches. It is an honest and open reflection of all singles views; male and female, single never married and single again: divorced, widowed, and single parenting, etc. Key topics covered are: understanding the context of singles in the 21st century; the cultural context for marriage and singleness; varying views of singleness in the church; singles’ diverse views; how to belong in the church; supporting those who desire to marry. David Pullinger, who is single, reminds us that we are united in Christ whether married or single. Although singleness is the focus of this book as defined in relation to marriage, ‘it is one part of the whole question of personal relationship in the context of Christian living in British society’ but needs to be taken seriously. I highly recommend that all churches read this book and discuss it with the singles in their congregation.
Jacqui Wright,
independent Speech and Language therapist, unwilling divorcee and single parent of five for 13 years; lives in north Bedfordshire and attends a conservative evangelical C of E church
