The Silent Pandemic: Loneliness in the Church
The panelists (L to R): Dr Tan Soo Inn, Pastor Lawrence Chua, Ms Ting Siew Lee
“How prevalent is the issue of loneliness in our church today? Are there lonely people there? If so, who are some of these people, and what are some of their experiences? Has there been a time you felt lonely in church? What could have been done to make you feel better? What does the Bible say about this matter? How can we as Christians embrace and include the lonely as a true community of faith and friends?”
“The Silent Pandemic: Loneliness in the Church” was the title of a face-to-face dialogue jointly organised by East Asia School of Theology (EAST) and Church Equip of Capelle Consulting on 11 August 2022 at EAST. Pastor Lawrence Chua (Senior Pastor, Living Sanctuary Brethren Church) and Dr Tan Soo Inn (Director of Graceworks, author of “Spiritual Friendship”) were invited to be part of a panel to address this issue. The dialogue was facilitated by Capelle’s Ms Ting Siew Lee, a former missionary who returned to Singapore recently after ministering for 14 years in Timor Leste.
Are People Feeling Lonely in Church?
Are you lonely? If you are, you are not alone. Rev Dr Tan Soo Inn, a panellist at the upcoming The Silent Pandemic: Loneliness in the Churches seminar, writes about the danger of loneliness found in today’s churches.
Rev Tan cites studies of urban church worshippers who found friendly believers in churches but not friends. This is coupled with the negative effect of loneliness being like that of obesity and smoking. Churches are gospel communities of those reconciled to God and to fellow man. How then do churches get their “relational act together” in addressing the issue of loneliness?
Webinar: A Grief We Share
Grief is so much part of a person’s life, but the long journey is often lonely. Come hear testimonies of those who have been through grief in this free webinar.
Speakers:
• Dr Justine Han, EAST Resident Faculty (Educational Studies).
• Mr Wong Choong Voon, EAST Student, MDiv (Intercultural Studies).
• Dr Jeremy Chew, EAST Resident Faculty (Old Testament).
• Mr Joseph John, Counsellor (Kairos Psychotherapy Services).
Date: 5 September 2020, Saturday
Time: 10.00 am – 11.00 am
Webinar Registration: https://east.ac/griefweshare/
Other EAST Webinars: https://east.ac/webinars/
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