A few weeks ago, a podcast interviewer was asking me about some of the practical complexities and pastoral challenges that single Christians often face in churches today. When asked that question, I often mention that, for some single Christians, something as simple as where to sit in church can be deeply profound and deeply perplexing.  Walking into church alone, looking around and wondering where to sit, who to sit with, and how to feel like you belong can, for some, cause weekly anxiety. And then I typically volunteer that it is something I’ve personally struggled with.

But then, on that particular day, on that particular podcast I added something more. I said that it was something I had personally struggled with and that it is something I feel like I’m struggling with more and more, rather than less and less.

I didn’t know those words were going to come out of my mouth, but they did. And as soon as I said them, I realised that they were indeed true. I find the experience of walking into church alone every Sunday and looking around to see where I might sit increasingly difficult and sometimes even painful. I am becoming more nervous about it rather than less.

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