The Church at Clarendon

During the 1980 Presidential campaign, then-candidate Ronald Reagan said: “Recession is when your neighbor loses their job.  Depression is when you lose yours…”  For the sake of this post, I’ll leave out his remaining political commentary and instead focus on the idea that when others in our community face difficult trials, it still does not seem real to us unless we actually face the hardship ourselves.  How real does it need to get?  And if God compels us to act, when do we start paying attention to Him?

The topic of job loss and economic hardship is beginning to become real for me, though I am blessed that it still remains at a comfortable distance.  I currently have a secure job, a and my income is sufficient to provide me a comfortable lifestyle, healthy savings, and manage down my debt.  Most of my immediate friends in the area seem to be in a similar situation as I am.

This came as no surprise when I checked out this map: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/03/us/20090303_LEONHARDT.html?ref=business and learned that Arlington County, Virginia has an unemployment rate of only 3.7%.

My economics professor in college taught us that the unemployment rate is the percentage of people able to and actively seeking a job, but not having one at the moment.

Here in Arlington County, 3.7% = nearly 4,500 people out of work.  Over the total population of the county, that’s 1 in every 45 people unable to find a job.  Job loss and economic hardship is simply someone else’s problem, right?

So I began to listen more closely.  I caught a Today Show seminar one morning about how to prepare for being unemployed.  The financial advisor recommended having “6 – 9 months or more of income in savings to pay for expenses while seeking new employment…..”6-9 months savings?!  Now my “healthy savings” and “manageable debt” took on a whole new meaning.  What would I do if I came to work tomorrow and found out I had been laid off?  How long would unemployment last? How would I pay the rent? Find another job?

Yes, it would be tough but not impossible.  After all, it wasn’t that long ago I routinely went online to job search pages, e-mailed off a few or 50 copies of my resume to places of interest, and sat back and waited for the cell phone to ring.  But that’s me, a Millennial who was lucky enough to have someone train me on how to search for a job, write a resume, and handle an interview.  What do you tell someone who has worked a job for 30+ years and finds themselves with a pink slip and a pension account worth less than a Wall Street hot dog?

Then I read the newspaper from my hometown and came across this: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/may/29/300754/more-churches-are-offering-career-ministries/.  Hillsborough County, Florida.  9.1% unemployed. 56,000 people.  1 in every 24.

I hope to use this post as a lunching point for further discussion on how our church community can serve others in our community by aiding them in many of the things we take for granted.  Job loss can be an extraordinarily stressful time in one’s life, especially if one feels helpless in overcoming such a seemingly routine obstacle.  How can we serve our community and share God’s love with our neighbors in a way that truly helps their lives?

Filed under:
Uncategorized by haleyw