I must admit that a conversation on singleness in the church might seem a little self indulgent. But I come to this conversation as a voice for many with whom I've held conversations on the topic. I think of two older women who were mentors for me on internship-both women were divorced and still single. I think about the voices of single men and women who are on the seminary journey with me. I think of single men and women in society, some of who are Christian and some who are not. I think of married colleagues who have helped me to process my own singleness and who have shared their journeys. All of these voices have met my own with both ambiguity and agreement around what it is to be single in the church.
I have not taken the time to study how the church has come to be so family focused. But I know there a consequences to the language we use when we talk about family in the church. Now to be clear, it is good that the church is a place where families can be nurtured. But when our strong emphasis on family encounters the many who come to the congregation by themselves, how then do we help single persons engage in community where life-giving, life-sustaining relationships can form?
In the course of this study I hope:
- ...to play with working definitions of the terms “married” and “single” in both the church and society, and consider the implications those definitions have for theological articulation and ministry.
- ... to consider the scriptural, confessional, and social commitments of the Church as they dialogue with the issue of marital status.
- ... to read and report traditional and contemporary voices who dialogue with the issue of marital status.
- ... to gather and reflect on the personal stories of persons who are single, including my own story.
