Don't want to comment on this for now – I've simply posted it for further thought. I'll come back to it later. It raises ( I hate the word) "missional" questions for the Church, for theological education as preparation to engage with life as it's felt and lived. Above all it raises questions of how a consumer obsessed society can recover a capacity to see human beings as loveable, and see themselves as lovers of others. Now that takes me to the very heart of the Christian Gospel – but as I said – I want to let this seep into that place where thinking, theology and love for God coalesce in a prayer for wisdom and courage.
The following is from AOL and can be found here.
One in 10 young people believed life was not worth living or was meaningless, according to an "alarming" new report.
A survey of 16 to 25-year-olds by the Prince's Trust found a
"significant core" for whom life had little or no purpose, especially
among those not in education, work or training.
The poll of over 2,000 showed that more than a
quarter felt depressed and were less happy than when they were younger.
Almost half said they were regularly stressed and many did not have
anything to look forward to or someone they could talk to about their
problems.
The trust, which aims to help vulnerable young
people, said its study revealed an increasingly vulnerable generation.
Chief executive Martina Milburn said: "Young people tell us that family
is key to their happiness, yet too often we find they don't have this
crucial support."
The survey, described as the first large scale
study of its kind, showed that young people who had left school but did
not have a job or a place on a training course, were twice as likely to
feel that their life had no purpose.
Relationships with family and friends were
found to be the key to levels of happiness, although health, money and
work were also important.
Paul Brow, director of communications at the
Prince's Trust, said the study showed there were thousands of young
people who "desperately" needed support. "Often, young people who feel
they have reached rock bottom don't know where to turn for help."
A spokesman for the Department for Children,
Schools and Families said: "The Government wants to make this the best
country in the world to grow up and the Children's Plan sets out how we
will do this with more support for families, world class schools, and
exciting things for young people to do outside school, and more places
for children to play.
"We want all young people to play an active role in society and gain
the skills they need to succeed beyond school. The number of 16-18 year
olds in education or training is at its highest rate ever and since
1997 we have halved the number of young people leaving school with no
qualifications, while the proportion gaining five good GCSEs has risen.
"This is evidence that we are successfully engaging some of our most vulnerable young people in learning."
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