A Different Way to Think About Gossip

How to make space for small talk and person-to-person connecting.

When I was a child, someone from the church’s “prayer chain” would regularly call my mother, updating her on someone’s health status. They’d talk for a good half hour, and then my mother would call the next person on the list, chatting for another chunk of time. I’d hang over the back on the couch, trying my best to look neglected while catching morsels of the conversation.

As an adult I poked fun at this model, saying it was more about gossip than updating people. But in today’s world, where you can shoot off an email to everyone with the relevant information, I do wonder what gets lost.