The Lonely Times

It’s just another afternoon at the Senior’s Drop In Center… until four women admit what they usually keep tucked away behind polite smiles.

The Lonely Times gently opens the door on loneliness in its different forms: grief after losing a spouse, the ache of being single longer than you ever expected, and even the quiet isolation that can creep into a long marriage when communication fades. The dialogue feels real, the moments are relatable, and the questions land where many in the church quietly live: “Where is my faith in this… and what does God do with me in the middle of the storm?”

Anchored in Psalm 25:16–18, this skit is a meaningful fit for senior adult ministry, women’s events, pastoral-care Sundays, or any service where your congregation needs honest hope and tender reassurance.

Cast:    4

• Marie widowed
• Jessie never any dialog with her husband
• Norma never married
• Beth facing divorce
  • all seniors

Bible Reference: 

• Psalm 25:18

Set:      bare

Lighting:        standard

Sound:     wireless mics if available

Song:     none

SFX: none

Costumes:    standard

Props:   none

Special Instructions:   none

Time:    7

Sample of script:

Marie & Jessie come on stage, Norma & Beth sit apart from the others, overhearing some

Marie:

We come here every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 PM. . Tell me again why we do it?

Jessie:

You know very well why we come to the Seniors Drop In Center, Marie! We have tea and a cookie and beautiful talks with all our friends.

Marie:

Oh, right, Jessie . . . silly me, I forgot about the stimulating conversations with Freda over there. . I’m sure I have only heard her tell about her hip surgery maybe a thousand times. . Or old Charlie over there asking if I want to see his latest EKG results.

Jessie:

They are just lonely Marie.

Marie:

Well, so am I! . So is every single in this place! . You are lucky . . . you’ve got your Edward there 24/7.

Jessie:

Yes lucky me! . I get to see him sitting in front of the TV, sound asleep, never a word from him for hours.

(𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮)

Sorry Marie, I do know I am fortunate having Edward with me. . I know how hard it’s been on you since Roger passed.

Marie:

No Jessie . I don’t really think you can even imagine how hard its been. I never had any idea how lonely it is in a house filled with memories of almost 50 years, always expecting Roger would just walk in that door and . . . 

Norma moves to Marie & Jessie

Norma:

Hi girls, mind if I join you?

Jessie:

Come on in and pull up a chair Norma.

Norma:

What with the long faces girls?

Marie:

Ever noticed back when were young we would always address our friends as “ladies” . As in . “how ya doin’ ladies?” Now you get to our age and it’s . “hey girls?”

Jessie:

Guess we always thought things would be so much bigger and better after we got to . an older age . any older age.

Marie:

Guess it’s human nature to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Norma:

Actually the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. . But the water bills are higher too. But back to my question. Why the sad faces?

Jessie:

Marie and I were just discussing the lonelies.

Norma:

The lonelies?

Marie:

Dealing with being alone after a life partner is gone.

Jessie:

And dealing with married life in the retirement years in those cases when communications just doesn’t happen.

Norma:

I can’t imagine.

Marie:

You are lucky Norma, never marrying; you don’t have to go through all of this.

Norma:

And you arrive at this conclusion exactly how?

Marie:

Well it would seem to me you can’t miss what you’ve never had.

Jessie:

Marie, you can’t be serious, saying that. . Having someone there who cares is something important in every age and stage of life.

Want to see how the story unfolds? Get the complete script and bring this powerful moment to your stage.