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mission shaped church

employment changes, including the increase of

women's employment

  Most people in their middle years work outside the home. In 2002, 

91.8 per cent of men aged 35 to 49 were in work, and 78.1

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per cent 

of women in the same age group. There has been a significant increase

in the number of lone parent women working outside the home. In

1992, 18 per cent of lone women with dependent children were working

full time, but in 2002 it was 23 per cent. The change for lone women

with children under the age of five is most dramatic: in 1992, 21 per

cent worked; in 2002, 34 per cent were working either full  or part time.

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  The hours worked have also changed. In 2002 most men worked about

40 hours a week, and most women in full time work worked about 38

hours a week.

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However, about 25 per cent of working men and 11 per

cent of working women worked more than 50 hours a week. Fourteen

per cent of those aged 35 to 49 would like to work fewer hours for less

pay each week.

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  This means that many people have less `free time' than in 1970.

Weekends, especially Sundays, are now seen as family time. This is a 

big tension for Christian partners of non Christians.

mobility

  Today people are vastly more mobile than they were even 30 years ago.

Since 1971 the distance travelled each year on roads in cars or vans

has almost doubled from 313 billion to 624 billion kilometres.

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The average length of trips varies significantly by household income   

15.3 km for the richest 20 per cent and 6.7 km for the poorest.

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We are all more mobile, but a number of factors   where we live, 

where we work and how well off we are   influence how far and how

often we travel.

  These statistics are matched by the number of vehicles on the road. 

In 1971 there were just under 12 million vehicles on the roads; 

in 2001 it was just under 26.5 million.

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  Most families, apart from the poorest, have access to a car, and are

ready to use it. This means that people are able to work further from

home, at the expense of having a longer commuter journey. It also

means that at weekends people are able to do things at a distance 

from where they live. In churches this can be seen in the phenomenon 

of `church shopping'. Someone who moves to an area will check out

several churches, not just the nearest.

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