I have a job. My wife owns a business. I can pay my mortgage and put food on the table, at least today since no one knows anymore what tomorrow might bring. Despite my blessings, this crisis that we all face hits home in a deeply personal way every day. With each vignette, I appreciate anew that my neighbor needs me – that your neighbor needs you and your prayers and support no matter where any of us are in this economy.

On the morning I wrote this, I went out to the church yard to make sure our JOB SUPPORT GROUP signs are angled so that every passing motorist is aware that our new ministry is here for them. A member of our church who has been out of work for a few months brought up a variation on that old line from “Jaws” as we talked about the growing numbers coming to Career Connection. “We’re going to need a bigger room,” he said.

Each time I run into this particular church member I’m friendly with, I ask him how his job’s going since he works for one of the big banks in town. “Fine so far,” he kept answering. Then I turned around at our last Career Connection meeting – we gather every other Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. – and there he was, walking through the door. They gave him a pretty decent severance package.

At a recent meeting of our Faith Communicators group, we shared stories of personnel and other cutbacks at our congregations. You could feel the pain over the losses, and the worry over who or what might be next to go as we do our best to serve God in these times.

My old friends at The Observer are calling and e-mailing more than ever. Amid the decline and perhaps fall of newspapers, one of the many journalists just laid off called to ask if she could use me as a reference. Another wanted to ask my advice on freelancing. Another wanted me to keep him in mind if I hear of job openings. Two others I’ve been informally mentoring – one got axed, the other survived – are looking into PR and nonprofits. A woman who got fired after 26 years at the paper told me it’s as if the last two-plus decades of her professional life have been for nothing. I ran into an old friend at the fitness center the other evening. He got the news that morning. After 30-plus years of distinguished work, he was done. He doesn’t know exactly what he’ll do now. Anyone hiring a 50-plus-year-old guy who’s done nothing but newspapering?

At the Mecklenburg Ministries board meeting, executive director Maria Hanlin shared that she is determined to get our interfaith coalition involved in reaching out to casualties of this crisis. First up: Compiling a list of churches with such ministries. This, she said with the passion of a preacher, is something we must do.

A producer working on a national TV documentary on the crisis is focusing on Charlotte because of its ties to the banks. One of the themes will be how Charlotte churches are trying to help. He called to ask if there’s anyone at our church to interview. Remember my friend who attended Career Connection for the first time? He said he’d be glad to be interviewed.

And so it goes, day after heart-wrenching day, from the morning we pick up the paper to read the latest bad news to the quiet moments at day’s end when we pray for God’s grace on all whose burdens are heavy.

May we pray together.