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The Church and Recession
Excerpt from an article by Cliff Newell in The Lake Oswego Review,
August 6, 2009.
Food, clothing, shelter, financial advice, healing of the poor in spirit. Conquering fear.
In ways both basic and unusual, the church community of Lake Oswego and West Linn is rising to meet the demands of economic hardship not seen in the U.S. in 70 years.
This was made quite evident at the conference "Blessed Are The Poor," held at Marylhurst University last Thursday.
Sister Carol Higgins of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary "called every church I could think of" in Lake Oswego and West Linn, and the response was heartening: 24 representatives of local churches gathered to talk about how they are dealing with the recession.
They did have some sad stories to tell. But the overwhelming feeling that emerged is that this is a time of blessing. The response of the church to the economic emergency has been quick and strong.
Mary Brunette of Our Lady of the Lake in Lake Oswego said, "We’re working with six or seven churches to provide houses for families in transition and let moms and kids get back on their feet. It’s a great collaborative effort.
"The major challenge in Lake Oswego is that people are in need, but they won’t come forward," Brunette said.
"The shame element, the silence," said Laura Howard, who is seeking a master’s of divinity degree at Marylhurst. "That’s our culture. You don’t let people know you’re in trouble."
One thing local people suffering from financial hardship can be confident about is that the church is willing and able to help. In fact, right at the conference tables, plans were made to meet again to talk about ways to make the church more effective.