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Commentary

By Liz Quirin

Understanding Faith in the Marketplace

Hardly anyone believes it but we have suddenly found ourselves in August. What happened to the carefree days of summer? No days seem completely carefree anymore, especially with so many people out of work, bills that continue to come in whether we work or look for work, and school will be starting again much sooner than anyone thinks — probably because it begins much earlier than in those days when we attended.

In the midst of all our worries and our malaise about the economy, the ethical lapses that have sold newspapers and air time in the media, The Messenger is announcing the names of people who will be recognized for taking their faith to work with them. (Please see page 2 for the names of people who will be recognized this year.)

This is not a novel idea, either taking your faith into the workplace or recognizing the people who do it; but at this time in our history, it seems more important than ever to single out people who respond ethically and faithfully to the challenges and the people they meet at work. Many people qualify, but we can only recognize a few of them each year. You probably know people who quietly go about doing the right thing even though it may be quite difficult. They might say this was the way they were raised, to tell the truth, to act with justice without looking for praises or prizes for the way they live and work.

While these folks are probably also the volunteers we see in our parishes, taking up collections, bringing in food for the pantry or helping to build a home for someone who has none, that’s not why we want to recognize them. Because so many of us spend so much of our time at work, we want to stop and tell some of their stories about the way they work — not what they do but how they do it — with kindness, honesty and care, not just listening to the words of Scripture in the pews at weekend liturgies but putting those words into action every day of the week.

Don’t misunderstand, these are not saints, although some might be, but they are people that we can point to as examples of Christians living their lives, struggling sometimes to make ends meet, to remember why they do what they do and continuing to put others around them ahead of personal ambitions or agendas. Wouldn’t it be great to work for somebody like that? We know people who do, and those employees told us stories about how their employers or their coworkers live the Gospel day in and day out. They gave us examples of what faith in the marketplace looks like.

We will recognize this year’s group Oct. 17 with a dinner and a remembrance of the occasion, a bowl that was especially made for these folks, to remind them that we are all earthen vessels, that God is our potter, and we are the clay, that must be fashioned uniquely, becoming vessels that we will be happy to present to our God, filled with faith we have carried with us into our marketplaces..