In a sociology course about 20 years ago I first came across the idea of 'social networks'. Your social network consists of everyone you know. Imagine a set of points some of which are joined by lines. The points are people, or sometimes groups, and the lines tell you who interacts with whom. Each person is in touch with a number of others, some of whom may know each other.

These days people move further away from their 'home town' or childhood village, and they move more often. Social networks therefore replace 'communities'. We know more people more superficially, but our Creator has made us to know and be known by some others very well. As we move house (on the average every 3-5 years in some middle class suburbs) we leave friends behind and are sometimes hesitant to make close friends in the new location, knowing we'll have to leave them behind too.

So marriage is becoming more important to satisfy needs some of which would be met by the wider community in traditional cultures. But the 'catch 22' here is that marriage is becoming more fragile, due to the disintegration of moral values in our society, and other factors. This is the terrible price we pay for a flexible economic system.

How can I get help when I need it? Assist me, Lord, in understanding the possibilities and limits of marriage and passing friendships in this respect - and the possibilities and limits of the church. Amen.