Christian Comment with Louise Rees-Cansdale, PSALMS Sports Intern

Striving for community

I’M sure we’ve all got memories of having to do sport during our childhood, for some of us they will be happy memories, for others not so much.

Maybe it was cold, wet and no matter how many times you called, still nobody passed you the ball.

Week in week out the same people getting the praise, always being picked last for the team, this was my experience, was there something missing?

Sport offers the opportunity of community, it goes further than player of the match but strives to include everyone together.

When I think about this, I see a strong connection to what God wants for us.

In Genesis 1 God made Adam, but then he made Eve so that Adam would have support and a companion.

God tells us that “two is better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9) so clearly God believes that living in community is better than living alone, and sport gives us the opportunity to do this.

When it comes to young people, 60 per cent of girls opt out of everyday activities because of how they think they look and around half of adolescent boys are unhappy with their bodies (Dove research).

If as Christians we believe that we were made in God’s image and to be in community with one another, why do so many young people feel on the outside?

It has been scientifically proven that sport and exercise help to boost people’s self-esteem, so if we really want to live like Jesus, we should be encouraging the young people in our communities to be involved in sport.

In a world that so often tells us to put ourselves first, why don’t you look out for someone else today?

Because our young people need us and we need them.

Louise Rees-Cansdale- PSALMS Sports Intern.

PSALMS are a local charity that work across the Stroud area and also more widely across Gloucestershire in partnerships with local churches.

They work with children and young people exploring issues around faith and life through the activity and language of sport.