As I’ve been preparing the various pieces of our current worship series, “A Place Called Home,” I’ve continually been reminded of the recent work of the public health community to recognize how the rising dynamic of loneliness is factoring into our understanding of wellness. If home is a place where we feel connected, as Pastor Amanda Simons from LSS preached for us last Sunday, then increasing loneliness is evidence that we’re really failing to provide a sense of “home” for our neighbors.
Considering this, I was reminded of the recent report issued by the U.S. Surgeon General, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.” The subtitle of his report gets at the heart of what I’m talking about as it proposes the “Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community.” For today’s devotion, I’d like us all to read the words of Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, as he introduces this report and makes a charge to all communities, including communities of faith to respond to this crisis of disconnection.
“When I first took office as Surgeon General in 2014, I didn’t view loneliness as a public health concern. But that was before I embarked on a cross-country listening tour, where I heard stories from my fellow Americans that surprised me. People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant. Even when they couldn’t put their finger on the word “lonely,” time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, “I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,” or “if I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.”
It was a lightbulb moment for me: social disconnection was far more common than I had realized. In the scientific literature, I found confirmation of what I was hearing. In recent years, about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems, exacerbating loneliness and isolation. Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling—it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death. The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity. And the harmful consequences of a society that lacks social connection can be felt in our schools, workplaces, and civic organizations, where performance, productivity, and engagement are diminished.
Given the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation, we have an opportunity, and an obligation, to make the same investments in addressing social connection that we have made in addressing tobacco use, obesity, and the addiction crisis. This Surgeon General’s Advisory shows us how to build more connected lives and a more connected society. If we fail to do so, we will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being. And we will continue to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country. Instead of coming together to take on the great challenges before us, we will further retreat to our corners—angry, sick, and alone.
We are called to build a movement to mend the social fabric of our nation. It will take all of us—individuals and families, schools and workplaces, health care and public health systems, technology companies, governments, faith organizations, and communities—working together to destigmatize loneliness and change our cultural and policy response to it. It will require reimagining the structures, policies, and programs that shape a community to best support the development of healthy relationships.
Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resource—a source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives. Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful.
Loneliness and isolation represent profound threats to our health and well-being. But we have the power to respond. By taking small steps every day to strengthen our relationships, and by supporting community efforts to rebuild social connection, we can rise to meet this moment together. We can build lives and communities that are healthier and happier. And we can ensure our country and the world are better poised than ever to take on the challenges that lay ahead. Our future depends on what we do today.“
[Click on the links above or here to read the full Surgeon General’s Report.]
May God welcome you home today. -Pastor Peter
Let us pray… God of relationship, help us to strengthen our connections and deepen our relationships so that they may become a resource, as the Surgeon General describes, for the sake our our neighbors and the kingdom of heaven here on earth. May all live lives of health, productivity, and fulfillment as a result. With your love leading the way, make our communities healthier and happier. Amen.