Are You A Good Conversation Starter?
Research shows that 84% of adults in the UK have felt lonely at some time in their lives.
When this is broken down we can see that 8% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 years old feel lonely more than half the time. 6% of 25 to 34 years old feel lonely more than half the time. Meanwhile 11% of 35 to 44 years olds and 15% of 45 to 54 year olds feel lonely more than half of their time. This percentage drops to11% for those between 55 and 64 years old. It drops again to 10% of 65 to 74 years olds. This percentage then rises to 13% of those aged 75 years and older that feel lonely more than half the time.
It is said that women are more likely than men to feel lonely. People living alone are twice as likely to be lonely too. This is concerning as reports from 2016 show that 7.7 million people lived alone.
Which brings us back to the original question; are you a good conversation starter?
Within Light Project Peterborough we have Peterborough City Centre Chaplaincy. This was where Light Project Peterborough began. The Peterborough City Centre Chaplaincy team are excellent conversation starters. Although for some of them this has been a skill they have worked on and improved over the years.
The Peterborough City Centre Chaplaincy can be found in and around the city centre on Fridays. You may see them in Cathedral Square sharing God’s love, listening to people and just being ‘present’ to help where they can. Alternatively you may spot the Peterborough City Centre Chaplaincy in pubs or coffee shops in Peterborough City Centre playing games, painting prophetic art, offering prayer or just chatting.
They are a group of volunteers that start conversations with strangers. These could be mums with kids at school, parents shopping with young children, a businessman on a lunch break, someone on a day off, shoppers, workers and more.
If you want to help us tackle loneliness and share God’s love in Peterborough then why not join the Peterborough City Centre Chaplaincy? We can help you with all the conversational tools you need to talk to complete strangers. A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.
