It is hard to find a job in a good economy, much less find one in a poor economy, and that is why a group of area religious congregations in Saratoga Springs have decided to join forces to help local residents develop the resources and resilience they need to help them get through the current economic downturn.
On Thursday, June 11, religious leaders representing St. Paul's
Lutheran Church, the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian-New England
Congregational Church, the Unitarian Universal Congregation, St.
Peter's Roman Catholic Church, St. Clement's Roman Catholic Church and
Temple Sinai will join together at the United Methodist Church, located
at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Henning Road, to hold an event called
"Recession Resilience." The program will include an overview of the
current economic situation, an examination of available and needed
resources in the local area for individuals facing job loss or
adversely affected by the economic downturn and strategies for building
one's personal resilience in challenging times.
"The economic downturn has affected everyone in ways large and small," Rabbi Linda Motzkin, of Temple Sinai and co-event organizer, said.
Rev. Adam Wiegand, of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and co-event organizer, said the idea behind the event started about two months ago when a number of area clergy came together to answer the question as to whether the recession was touching people within their congregations.
"The answer was, 'not as serious as we are seeing on the national stage,'" Weigand said, "But it is starting to touch us, so we put our heads together to come up with something that might be helpful for those people who are not necessarily in the poverty-stricken pool but those people who find themselves newly effected."
Weigand added that the local congregations do not typically meet together, but do occasionally convene to talk about issues affecting the community.
"We find we are drawn more together when something presents itself for us to respond to proactively," he said.
Leaders from the congregations hope that the event will be successful in developing networking opportunities to help people find their next job, form a structure so people can help one another and depending on their faith, help people recognize the spiritual dimension to their work through resilience, Weigand said.
The event will include presentations by Roy Rotheim, Quadracci Professor of Social Responsibility at Skidmore College, Margie Ingram, Transitions Life Coach and V.P. of the Humor Project, and Joe Dalton, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.
The program starts at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Child care will be provided, as well as refreshments from Temple Sinai's Slice of Heaven bakery. For those who can't make it, the congregations intend to start holding the event on a monthly basis to help accommodate everyone who is currently being affected by the economic downturn.
For more information on the community-wide program on "Recession Resilience," call the office of the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church at (518) 584-6091.
"The economic downturn has affected everyone in ways large and small," Rabbi Linda Motzkin, of Temple Sinai and co-event organizer, said.
Rev. Adam Wiegand, of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and co-event organizer, said the idea behind the event started about two months ago when a number of area clergy came together to answer the question as to whether the recession was touching people within their congregations.
"The answer was, 'not as serious as we are seeing on the national stage,'" Weigand said, "But it is starting to touch us, so we put our heads together to come up with something that might be helpful for those people who are not necessarily in the poverty-stricken pool but those people who find themselves newly effected."
Weigand added that the local congregations do not typically meet together, but do occasionally convene to talk about issues affecting the community.
"We find we are drawn more together when something presents itself for us to respond to proactively," he said.
Leaders from the congregations hope that the event will be successful in developing networking opportunities to help people find their next job, form a structure so people can help one another and depending on their faith, help people recognize the spiritual dimension to their work through resilience, Weigand said.
The event will include presentations by Roy Rotheim, Quadracci Professor of Social Responsibility at Skidmore College, Margie Ingram, Transitions Life Coach and V.P. of the Humor Project, and Joe Dalton, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.
The program starts at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Child care will be provided, as well as refreshments from Temple Sinai's Slice of Heaven bakery. For those who can't make it, the congregations intend to start holding the event on a monthly basis to help accommodate everyone who is currently being affected by the economic downturn.
For more information on the community-wide program on "Recession Resilience," call the office of the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church at (518) 584-6091.
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