ATLANTA 20 April 2009 Hundreds of thousands of volunteers from community and faith-based organizations will strengthen communities and bring relief to those struggling because of the economic downturn in an unprecedented single day of service across 11 southern states on 25 April 2009.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized the project under the direction of Elder Walter F. González, who presides over church affairs in the southern United States. He challenged over 665 congregations from Florida to Indiana to join forces with other faiths and civic organizations to render significant community service in what is being called “The Helping Hands and Linking Arms Project.”

Elder González said: “It’s powerful when like-minded people join together to meet a wide spectrum of needs in diverse communities. We can bring help and hope to others no matter what their circumstances.”

“The impact of these feet on the ground during the day of service will…

I know all the local sizzle is on the new Archbishop steak. But I can’t help but pass along this Easter-inspired sprint around the globe by a New York Times guest columnist who goes by the one-word name Bono. Above is one choice quote in a column packed full.

Here’s another…

Christianity, it turns out, has a rhythm - and it crescendos this time of year. The rumba of Carnival gives way to the slow march of Lent, then to the staccato hymnals of the Easter parade. From revelry to reverie. After 40 days in the desert, sort of …

Near the end he begins to describe our global crisis as an overheated economic Carnival that has now left us in the Lent of recession. Which actually gives me hope. Because it’s Lent that makes Easter taste so sweet.

Or as the old preacher’s formula goes: “Friday’s here. But Sunday’s coming…”

…

Old Courthouse photo courtesy of www.mo.gov

They say that if you want to know a person’s real priorities in life, look at their checkbook.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” and all that (Matthew 6:21, for those who are wondering).  Well, what holds true for individuals often holds true for the state as well, and today Missouri’s leaders are faced with difficult choices about how to spend our money.

The decisions that our state government makes during these next few weeks regarding the 2010 budget will have real and lasting consequences for everyone in the state, but no persons will be more directly affected than the poor, the disabled, children, and the elderly.  In other words, those very people for whom we are most responsible, if we wish to be a just and compassionate society.

Lawmakers and others are pleading poverty for the state, saying that we simply can’t afford all of…

Trinity Wall Street, photo by Leo Sorel, courtesy of SFGate

Do more with less.  There was a business story on the radio the other day about this phrase, where it comes from and how it can be used in ways that either empower or demoralize employees.  My mind strayed to the dozens of articles I have been reading about faith and the recession.  The anecdotal evidence suggests that more people go to church in economic hard times, but that while the pews may be full the coffers are not.  Giving is going down, at least in many denominations.  In other words, churches need to do more with less.  An article on CNN’s website put it this way:

“In faith-based communities, if you ask pastors across the country, many will tell you that attendance is up; however donations are down,” said [Lynnette] Khalfani-Cox, who is known as the Money Coach. “People are turning to…

I enjoyed Tim Townsend’s article, The Mormon Index, that appeared on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on January 22. Tim discussed how some economists look at the numbers of people using the Mormon welfare program to gauge the economy.

It’s an obscure index, one that was lost on me though I am a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon). My view of the welfare system of the Church is as an insider who has been benefited by it. I don’t think too many LDS, with the exception of a few LDS economists, were aware of “The Mormon Index” until reading Tim’s article.

The Church’s welfare program is supported by a facility that typically includes a food storehouse, a cannery, an employment resource center, and a family counseling center. The Bridgeton facility in St. Louis Missouri is a central focus in Tim’s article.

My family has been benefited by the facility. In the past, when we’ve needed to stretch…

The New York Times reports on Detroit-area churches responding to the crisis of the Big Three.

The Times highlights the responses of the Pentecostal Greater Grace Temple and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Detroit. I would suspect there would be a wide range of responses in between those two ends of the Christian religious spectrum. Not to mention the responses of other faiths.

The article does give a keen sense of the gravity of this crisis in the daily lives of people living in Detroit. Regardless of how we feel about the bailout of the Big Three, we all could do little better than to pray….