In a sign of the times, and a demonstration of the fact that the church wants to play its part in helping people in these very difficult times, a meeting was held last evening at the monastery of St Paul of the Cross, Mount Argus in Dublin, mother house of the Passionist Province and a parish in the Dublin Archdiocese, to explore how the parish might come together to help those who are unemployed.
The genesis of the idea began with homilies prepared separately by the two priests of the parish, Frs Frank Keevins, cp and Ignatius Waters, cp, on the topic of unemployment.
One thing led to another and last evening, about thirty-five people came together for the first of what will clearly be a series of meetings.
In his opening remarks, Fr Frank spoke his own childhood in Glasgow, of his father being made redundant and subsequently, having to find work in northern England, work, which, with its stresses of being away from home and travelling back and forth each weekend, eventually killed him from a heart attack.
Fr Frank himself experienced unemployment before he answered his vocational call to join the Passionists.
Fr Ignatius on the other, although never being unemployed, spoke of how his life has been affected by meeting those who have suffered in this way.
The meeting was led by Tony Bolger, who focus on the need to do something ensured that the evening became a worthwhile experience for those who attended.
The early part of the meeting focussed on personal experiences of unemployment, both recent and also in the past, especially the 1980’s.
One of the points made was that a key difference now is that unlike the 1980s, unemployment is affecting people in every segment of society, including lawyers, accountants and those with no skills.
However, far from just being an opportunity to reminisce, it was clear that there are lessons to be learned from the past that can be brought into today’s situation.
The meeting concluded by looking for ideas of what can be done, at parish and community level.
A key point made is the importance of education, whether taking on a third-level degree or even retraining to add new skills and become more adaptable and employable.
The meeting is only the first of many and, given the depth of the recession in Ireland, and its impact in communities up and down the country, no doubt an initiative that might be copied in many more parishes.