Single Seniors

Why is there no organization in the church so that older seniors can socialize together? It is difficult for seventy-somethings to fit in with fifty-somethings.

The ward is mainly responsible for helping to meet the needs of all members, including single members age 31 and over. The stake supports and assists the wards. And stakes in each area are part of a regional council that also works to support their needs.

The circumstances of single adults in the Church vary so much that it is difficult to define a "program" that works in every ward, stake, or region. Local leaders use their best information, resources, and judgment to help where needed.

The best starting point for tapping into the single adult world will be to contact your stake single adult representative, or the counselor in the stake presidency over single adults. That person will be able to point you toward activities and other events in which the single adults in your area are involved. In my area, for example, most activities are planned at the regional level. Our region, supported by the stakes in the region, tries to provide a variety of different activities that will be of interest to all of the differing ages within the broad range of 31+. While everyone is invited to every activity, communication about each event includes an indication of the targeted age for that particular event, whether for the younger (relatively speaking) or older (again relatively speaking) single adults.

Talk to your stake contact and get connected to the communication link the single adults in your area are using. (And there may be several of them.)

If you read though the General Handbook of Instructions, you'll see the youth gets quite a bit of attention and organizational help from the adults. The YSA gets some organizational help, but generally planning and running the events falls on the YSA. When you reach Single Adults (31 and over), the stakes "may" organize a committee.

Even if you were to get though to the leaders and cause the Handbook to be re-written to add your age group, it's unlikely that it would be any different from the current situation where each stake evaluates their needs.

Which is a long way of saying that I would not look to church headquarters to solve the problem. It will have to be done at a local level - and most likely carried out by the very group the activity is intended for.

A starting point may be to organize "a group of us" to go to some community event/activity just to start building some momentum.