Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 30, 2007

FYI Other Catholic parishes have career-ministering groups or assistance. Among them are: Our Lady of Good Counsel Every other Monday (next is April 16),| 7 p.m. 47650 N. Territorial Road, Plymouth (at Beck Road) (734) 453-0326 National Shrine of the Little Flower Mondays, 7 p.m., conference center at Woodward and 12 Mile, Royal Oak (248) 541-4122 St. Thomas à Becket Every other Tuesday (next is April 3), 7 p.m. 555 N. Lilley Road, Canton (734) 981-1333

Rochester — It's not only the middle class and city dwellers who are being affected by recent downturns in the state's economy.

Even in Rochester, considered to be a more affluent area of the archdiocese, is being hit by the economy, especially the job losses in the automotive industry. St. Andrew Parish, in Rochester, has recently organized its Career Mentoring Ministry Service to serve the needs of parishioners and the community.

Patrick O'Donnell, 44, of St. Andrew, is one person who was recently guided toward a new job through the ministry. "They were very helpful," he said.

Mentoring committee member Bill Pilchak also pointed out that although people don't often think an area such as Rochester would be hit by economic troubles, when a company is bought out, highest-paid employees are often the first to go. "We get just about everybody," he said.

Parish life committee chair Richard Koerber said there are homes for sale all over the city, even in a section known as the Billion Dollar Mile. And when a big business does down, so do many of the smaller business that supply it, too.

Sr. Rebecca Hodge, OP, pastoral associate of St. Andrew, said the new ministry came out of a parish assembly a few years ago. Also out of that assembly came new ministries to the bereaved and the homebound.

Career ministry events are linked right to the parish's Web site — www.standrewchurch.org — and has features such as a calendar of events. In all, there's a team of about 20 volunteer parishioners who work with others in their career transition.

The core group of volunteers is what makes the ministry work, said Betty Dobies, of the career mentoring committee. "They're very busy people who are willing to give their time and talent," she said.

Because St. Andrew has such a large population, they have many in the volunteer pool, explained Richard Koerber, parish life chair. "There's a tremendous amount of talent here," he said. "There isn't a task we can come up with that someone can't do."

Betty Dobies explained that the group connects the people looking for jobs with resources they might not have, such as referrals to presentations and workshops, and to job listings that might not yet be public. Some of the presentations that could be offered include resume writing, interviewing and networking.

Koerber, also of the bereavement committee, said often, especially if someone's had the same job for decades, a person goes through the same steps of grieving from loss of a person, as for the loss of a job. "The loss of a job is very similar to a death," he said.

Sometimes, a person who's lost his or her job doesn't want others to know. "We find that there is a stigma attached to joblessness," Pilchak said.

However, the volunteers take a pledge of confidentiality, he said. "This is not a place where you get tomorrow's gossip," he said.

Pilchak said many people don't know what to do after they find out they're going to lose their job, especially if they've been in one career all their lives. "Maybe people don't realize what skills they have," he said.

O'Donnell had recently lost his job when he saw on the front page of St. Andrew's parish bulletin that there was a new career transition ministry. His last few positions were in sales, not a great fit for him and his preference for customer service positions, he said.

He started his new position, for a Troy marketing company, in mid-March, and he likes that he's dealing with people who are already interested in the product.

After contacting St. Andrew, the first event he attended was for a kind of job coaching group. He learned a few things, such as the importance of having your own business cards, and had some other ideas reinforced, such as that the best jobs aren't the ones in the classified section.

That workshop also taught him to develop more resources, beyond the usual circle of friends and contacts. In a way, that inspired him to go through a more extended list, which led him to an old call and eventually the Troy job.

"This one did fall on my lap at the right time," he said.

O'Donnell, a Central Michigan University grad, says he eventually wants to go into business for himself, and he usually has a project or two on the back burner. "The thing I'm most interested in, even to this day, is doing my own thing," he said. For now, his focus is on a full-time position.

Among the things he likes about he St. Andrew group is that the job postings often aren't available yet to the public, and that it had a positive focus.

Dick Dobies, of the mentoring committee, and retired from the automotive industry, said he figures since he was there during the best times, he can help out when times are leaner.

"It's a good opportunity for me to give back," he said. "I figure I can do something to help these people."

For more information on the career mentoring ministry service at St. Andrew, Rochester visit www.standrewchurch.org, or call the parish at (248) 651-7486.