BBC Radio Wales FM

Migrated podcast image for: BBC All Things Considered

All Things Considered

Discussion & Talk

Religion & Ethics

Religious affairs programme, tackling thorny issues in a thought-provoking manner

Religious affairs programme, tackling the thornier issues of the day in a thought-provoking manner

All Things Considered: Loneliness

Loneliness

BBC Radio Wales - All Things Considered, Loneliness

Roy Jenkins examines whether having a faith can influence the way we cope with loneliness.

Roy Jenkins asks to what extent faith communities can help in dealing with what seems to be an inevitable part of the human condition.

In recent months most of us have experienced greater isolation than we could ever have imagined. For some this unexpected solitude has been a welcome relief, a chance to reflect and take stock, but for others it has been accompanied by profound feelings of loneliness. Loneliness can affect people of any age, and most of us will feel lonely at some point in our lives. 
 
We hear from three different people in Wales about their experiences of loneliness. Zahra is a Muslim and made a new home in Cardiff aged forty-five when she was forced to flee from Iran.  She found a route out of loneliness through a FAN (Friends and Neighbours) group in Canton. 
 
University chaplain Rev. Sam Aldred tells us about loneliness in the student community, and we meet Katie, a young student who is missing her church community due to the Corona virus lockdown. 
 
At St. Mary’s Malpas in Newport a Dementia Café run by Rev. Rebecca Stevens is reaching out to the isolated in her community.  She discovered that it wasn’t only those suffering from dementia who were lonely, but their carers were too. Retired vicar Rev. Henry Davies tells us how the café has offered support. 
 
We ask whether faith communities have something unique to offer when it comes to loneliness - does having a faith make any difference?  Experts Rev. Professor James Woodward, Principal of Sarum College, Salisbury, and Dr Deborah Morgan, senior researcher at the Centre for Innovative Ageing at Swansea University, offer their perspectives.

BBC Radio Wales

Comprehensive News and Sport, the latest information and the best entertainment for Wales.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

All Things Considered

Loneliness

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio Wales FM

About BBC Radio Wales