Dan and I were just sitting in the office, talking about how the financial mess is affecting churches and religious organizations. With that in mind, I started poking around religion blogs and news sources, expecting to find stories about diminishing funds in church coffers stymieing congregations’ abilities to help those in need, how pledges and stewardship campaigns are shifting as a result, what cuts are being made in religious organizations’ budgets, and the like.

When I found “Wall Street’s Woes come to Church", I thought my expectations were confirmed.

But the subtitle-- “Episcopalians consider new economic landscape, extend help to others"-- told a different story.

Mary Frances Schjonberg writes about new and evolving ministries that cater to the needs of those affected by the Wall Street crisis; churches like Trinity Church, (located at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway in lower Manhattan), which is now offering sessions on "Coping with Stress” and "Navigating Career Transitions.” Others offer job-seeking classes; all offered pastoral support and care for parishioners suffering from doubt and anxiety.

It’ll be interesting to see how else houses of worship respond. What’s yours done so far?

(Thanks to Jeff Weiss over at the Dallas Morning News religion blog for posting this article!)