If All Else Fails, Pray...

Here's one way to contend with rising unemployment: Pray. Last month, the Church of England published two new prayers on its Web site: One for workers who have been laid off, and the other for those who have witnessed layoffs in the workplace but still have their job. An excerpt from "Prayer on being made redundant":

I wish whoever wrote that prayer hadn't used that corporate-speak euphemism about being made redundant. The implication is there's some exact duplicate of you who's remaining behind, when of course there isn't; there's only one you, and you just lost your job. But I appreciate the effort to give people solace in their time of despair. And I can't argue with that job-hunting advice.

In fact, the Church of England, like other churches around the world, is brimming with financial advice. For its spiritual and practical guidance in the area of debt, go here.

- George Mannes