'Dicey' times test faithful
Clergy face financial, spiritual challenges
HACKENSACK, N.J. — "Dear Lord," the parishioner began, "help us make all the right calls, talk to all the right people and network like crazy."
That unusual prayer kicked off a recent meeting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel's career resources ministry, which the Ridgewood, N.J., church set up years ago to help job seekers.
The program, once sparsely attended, now is packed, serving notice that the financial crisis is hitting home with families and presenting faith communities with daunting new challenges.
Congregations are seeing daily signs of a troubled economy, from a surge at food pantries to the day-to-day anxieties of parishioners worried about their savings.
Nearly 50 people attended the Mount Carmel program recently, the most in its seven-year history. "This is a sign of our times," said Carol Shea, a parishioner and executive search consultant who helps lead the program. "This is the biggest group we have ever had."
And they are not alone.
About 19 new families have, in the past two months, begun using the food pantry at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Pompton Lakes, N.J. In nearby Saddle River, a priest said that an increasing number of parishioners facing foreclosure are approaching him for help. He has lined up other parishioners, lawyers and mortgage counselors who can assist.
"People always see me for help for all kinds of issues, but I am seeing this type of thing more and more," said the Rev. Bob Stagg of the Church of the Presentation. "As long as I have been an administrator in the church, I have never seen things so dicey."
Dwindling 401(k)s and a slumping housing market also are creating a spiritual challenge for clergy: providing a message for those who have lived through generations of American affluence and are facing an existential despair as a result of the nation's ills.
"There are a lot of people who are struggling with their spiritual life because of their anxiety over finances," said the Rev. Stuart H. Smith of St. Clement Episcopal Church. "I hear people say, 'Why doesn't God love us? How could God let this happen?' "
Another minister, meanwhile, said she has heard so many recent references to the Great Depression that she has begun advising her congregants to rediscover the ways in which their forebears in the 1930s dealt with that calamity.
Some members have taken her advice and have begun holding family prayer sessions.
"When everybody is trembling in anxiety, maybe we can turn back to our ancestors and discover the simplicity of family prayer, the simplicity of taking care of your neighbor," said the Rev. Dianna Smith of First Reformed Church. "Instead of everyone running in 15 different directions, maybe we can pull back together and realize the family unit is where we gather our strength."
A Wayne, N.J., minister, meanwhile, recently shared with his parishioners anecdotes about financial struggles he experienced earlier in his life, and how he and his wife cut back to one car, bought secondhand clothes for their kids and did without new televisions, stereos, furniture and appliances.
The Rev. John Donnelly of St. Michael's Episcopal Church cautioned parishioners against believing in easy answers, such as a "prosperity gospel" that promises riches in return for unwavering faith.
"There are times when trusting God is a hard choice, but if we claim to be Christians, it is the only choice," Donnelly said in a sermon. "And something wonderful happens when we make that choice. Our problems are not necessarily solved, but we discover that Jesus is worthy of our trust, and that with his help, we somehow will muddle through."
While Our Lady of Mount Carmel's classes focus on the nuts and bolts of job searches — resume, networking and interviewing — Shea, who along with Ed McCabe runs the program, says they bring a compassionate approach that reflects their spirituality..
"You have to help your neighbor," said McCabe.
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