Bits from Beth

September 26, 2025

 

Dear Friends:

Last week this headline caught my attention “The Surprising Hobby People Are Abandoning—Down 40%, New Study Finds”.  Before I opened the article I tried to guess – was it sewing? Or photography? Or scrapbooking? Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was reading! A new study from University of Florida and University College London found that daily reading for pleasure in the U.S. has dropped more than 40 percent over the past 20 years, with only 16 percent of people reading on an average day in 2023 compared to 26 percent in 2003. This is a steady decline of about three percent each year.

 

"Reading has always been one of the more accessible ways to support well-being," said Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychology and epidemiology at University College London and co-director of the EpiArts Lab. "To see this kind of decline is concerning because the research is clear: reading is a vital health-enhancing behavior for every group within society, with benefits across the life-course." And there are many ways to read. Many people listen to audiobooks in the car. Others enjoy reading on computers or tablets. And for many of us, we still like the feel of a book in our hand.

 

We encourage reading! Ouachita County has an excellent library which provides a great resource locally. Our church also has an excellent library and we hoping to have it well stocked with church resources, study guides, biblical resources, and good books for the future. There are excellent historians who help us understand what was great about our past and what was hidden about our past. We need both to move forward. In our library you will find books about Methodism in Arkansas and we even have books about our own church history. We also have a wonderful selection of children’s books.

 

Our offerings have been rather slim this month. September is usually one of our lowest months but this year, it is only about a third of what we have been doing monthly. At the end of August we were close to being in the black for the entire year so we do not want to go backwards. If you have not set up your Tithely account, Erin can help you.

 

There are weddings and baby showers this weekend so our prayers are with all the families gathering for these big events. We hope to see you Sunday in worship!

Grace and peace,

Beth