The topic of connectivity may throw you off a bit. In today’s world many people think of connectivity as computers, the internet, tablets, phones, and all other sorts of things. As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”. The connectivity I am writing about has to do with how close you might feel to others in your community.

Pew Research has recently released a study on how close we as individuals feel toward our community and our country. Pew Research found that by age “only 46 percent of adults under 30 feels connected to other Americans, compared with 83 percent of those ages 65 and older.” If this really surprises you, I would like to ask you, “Where have you been the last 30 years?” During the last 30 years smart phones, tablets, chrome books, and laptops have become ubiquitous. The internet floods all of us with tailored ads daily on our desktop computers. Children walk the streets oblivious to traffic as they talk and text with their friends. Talking and texting on a smart phone while driving may be illegal but really, how often do we all “get away with it”?

Then came this minor inconvenience known as The Pandemic. The pandemic denied us the opportunity to eat together, to travel on planes, cruises, train trips, visit ball parks, and all sorts of community gatherings. It became deadly to meet as a Lion or a Soroptimist. We lost touch with our Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, or Mormon brothers and sisters. In fact, almost all of us thought at least twice before we went to a family gathering.

The focus I want to write about is how connected we are to our community. In regard to communities, the Pew Study found “only 42 percent of U.S. adults under 30 feel close to people in their community, compared with larger shares of older Americans”. And before my readers start asking questions about the religious nature of my column, the study indicates that religiously affiliated Americans feel more connected to their communities than the religiously unaffiliated.

I worked in the Oakdale school system from 1994 to 1998. I was in the Lions Club, served on the Traffic Commission, and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce. We shopped at the Save Mart, bought shoes from K-Mart, ate at the China House, got our medicines from Rite-Aid and our clocks repaired downtown. When I left the school district I worked in Hayward, Vallejo, and Stockton. But you know what? Not only did we continue to live in Oakdale, but we continued to worship in Oakdale. My family and I never stopped attending church in Oakdale. Over 30 years we have come to feel and believe that we are connected to this wonderful community called Oakdale. We call it “home”.

Here is the finding from the Pew Research Study that struck me between the eyes, “Religiously unaffiliated Americans are much less likely than those who are religiously affiliated to feel connected to others in their local community (43 percent vs. 60 percent)”. The other side of this finding is, “Religious people tend to be more likely than nonreligious people to volunteer and give to charity – though they prefer these activities benefit others within their own religious groups”. That is to say that religious people feel a much stronger connection with their community. I find this to be incredibly “spot on”.

Are you feeling disconnected or maybe even alienated from your community, our country, and the world? Maybe it is time to get connected with God because when you connect with God you will end up connected with the community.

To be provincial for just a moment let me share the two precepts of the Methodist Church. The first is to worship God and the second is to take that spirituality into the community. The fact of the matter is that if you connect with God, you really have no choice but to connect with the community. The gospels found in the New Testament make the reason very clear and very simple. I could of course cite you the two great commandments but for today let us conclude with the following quote from Jesus. Found in John’s gospel, Christ said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34).

Folks, it cannot be any plainer than that. The sure way to connect with the community where you live is to connect with the community God has given us.

Francis (Frank) Remkiewicz is an area resident and contributes a monthly column focused primarily on faith and religion. He can be reached at fremkiewicz@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.