“For someone who faces a job cut or health crisis or watches retirement savings wither away, prayer offers a way to voice fear and anxiety. I have learned to resist the tendency to edit my prayers so they sound sophisticated and mature. I believe God wants us to come exactly as we are, no matter how childlike we may feel. A God aware of every sparrow that falls surely knows the impact of scary financial times on frail human beings.”
“The tottering economy gives faith groups new pastoral challenges, greater charity obligations, and emptier offering plates. How they respond may define them for decades.”
“We are God’s polis, a holy city – one not governed by the stock market or housing prices, but by grace, generosity, and goodness. This alternate city, the community of grace, is ultimately strengthened by worldly hardship because it reminds us that our spiritual investment is in a realm not seen. Our community is one marked by holy insecurity…”
“Just as we have weathered economic storms in the past, we can weather this one. This is unnerving, humbling, and even frightening, but at the same time we remain optimistic and encouraged that we can continue to do the work that we have been called to do.”
