Mar
24
2009
Sunday brought me an experience which touched me with compassion. As I drove home from church I noticed a man standing at the side of the street with a sign. His sign said LAID OFF, please help. He was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, and white running shoes. The first thing that struck me was how much like any average person he was. He could have been any friend of mine or any family member, he was approximately fifty. I realized in that moment, as I drove that the face of those in need has changed radically. Our economic recession has brought desperation to middle class families across America. Last week a friend of mine was laid off, and I know several others deeply affected by the economy. I’ve seen family members laid off, homes lost, and others struggling with the loss of their savings in this economic downturn.
Feb
10
2009
More and more I’m seeing news coverage, internet coverage and talk at my church of how we can support one another and how churches can help guide us through this economically challenging time. I think this is a great blessing for our country. It’s a time where our country and our global community are realizing we have to think outside the box. We have to begin living our lives in a different way, with different attitudes and convictions for our future.
We must make efforts to curb our out of control consumerism and learn to live in harmony with the earth and our values. Constantly buying more is not only destructive to our wallets it’s destructive to our family life, when finances need to be budgeted. It also isn’t helping our planet with the trash produced by this continual cycle of buy and throw away that we have been living for at least the last decade.
What I am seeing through this coverage is a new way of supporting each other, a simplified way of living with reality checks. Churches here in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area are creating Sunday sermons on topics such as personal debt, and classes on handling finances, others are offering classes on saving on groceries, some have launched websites of tips and inspirations for surviving this economic downturn. I think this is a coming together of spirituality and every day life. We are learning to support each other with both practical knowledge and spiritual understanding through an economy that has everyone concerned.
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