This year, the mission of Holy Trinity Parish in Washington, D.C., to “accompany one another in Christ,” took on a new focus and a new urgency.
After a Mass earlier this year, a meeting was held for parishioners at the Jesuit parish in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, to discuss the impact of the new Trump administration’s policies.
Jesuit Father Kevin Gillespie, Holy Trinity’s pastor, said a key concern expressed by that significant turnout of parishioners was how people had been affected by the mass firings and layoffs of federal government workers, which have led to tens of thousands of people in the Washington area and across the country losing their jobs.
Holy Trinity Parish is known for its social outreach, including a program that provides housing, legal help and other assistance to refugees seeking to build a new life for themselves and their families in this country. After the concerns expressed by Holy Trinity parishioners about the federal government job cuts, the parish started a job loss support group, to help people find strategies for enduring that loss and finding new work.
“It tapped into the felt need of parishioners who are experiencing enormous grief… These people, their livelihoods, their families have been shook up… (when you’re) out of a job, that’s painful,” said Father Gillespie.
The priest added that Pope Francis and now Pope Leo XIV in this Jubilee Year of Hope in the Catholic Church have called on people to reach out to those in need.
“We’re giving them hope,” the priest said. He added, “It’s part of our spiritual tradition to help people know God is with them.”
Dr. Marie J. Raber, the facilitator of the job loss support group at Holy Trinity, is a longtime parishioner there who formerly served as the dean and director of the Master of Social Work Program at the National Catholic School of Social Service at The Catholic University of America. She earned her master of social work degree and doctorate at Fordham University in New York. Her primary field of practice, research and writing are in the areas of employee assistance programs, downsizing and job loss, and the influence of workplace issues on individuals and families.
During the 1990s, she worked with an outplacement firm in Washington, and her clients included Fortune 500 companies and employees.
“Because I’m a social worker, I could work with CEOs just let go, to (fork)lift drivers… Social workers are trained to help people experiencing problems at every level of the organization” Raber said, adding, “I realized what was critical for people going through job loss was to feel self-worth and self-esteem.”
Holy Trinity’s “Strategies for Survival and Finding Work after Job Loss” support group served its first cohort of 10 people during a six-week session in May and June, and another cohort met in June and July. A third cohort will meet from Sept. 10 to Oct. 15. The sessions, which are held in the Parish Center library, open with a prayer and last about one hour and 15 minutes, and participants can attend the 5:30 p.m. weekday Mass in the parish’s Chapel of St. Ignatius afterward. The program is available to parishioners and other community members.
Noting that nearly all the participants in the support group have been federal government workers or related employees whose jobs were eliminated in the downsizing, Raber said, “This is a social justice issue. These people have been treated terribly.”
Describing what some federal government workers have experienced when they lost their jobs, she said, “There was no time taken to let the person know how valuable they had been to the department or the organization, so they were simply told their job was eliminated, (and to) pick up their things and leave the building.”
A key resource that Raber uses for the job loss support group is the book “Finding Work without Losing Heart: Bouncing Back from Mid-Career Job Loss,” written by the late Jesuit Father William J. Byron, the former pastor of Holy Trinity who earlier had served as the president of Catholic University. Raber said the priest wrote the book after hearing from his brother, a psychiatrist in Washington, who had many clients who had lost their jobs. She noted that since people’s self-esteem is connected to their work, a job loss can lead to them feeling anxiety and depression.
The book’s chapters cover topics including dealing with discouragement and the relevance of religion.
Raber said a key aspect of the job loss support group participants is “they’re not alone. Holy Trinity Parish is with them on the journey.”
She shared the text of a prayer for the group, which opened with the words, “Lord, you are with me in every transition and change. As I enter this new era with uncertainty and even anxiety, I recall your deep compassion, presence and abounding love…”
The Holy Trinity parishioner said she draws on the Ignatian spirituality central to that Jesuit faith community.
“I learned sometimes prayer doesn’t change things, (but) it gives you the ability and the strength and the grace to deal with the challenge. The cross is not taken away, but you do receive the strength and the grace to deal with it,” she said.
Raber structured the program to begin with helping participants deal with the loss of their jobs, which she said is a different experience for each person.
“I tell them it has nothing to do with their performance. In reviewing their resumes, these are some of the most educated and accomplished people that I have ever worked with,” she said.
A period of mourning is natural after one’s job loss, Raber added. “I give them the opportunity to process the loss.”
In the support group, Raber also encourages participants to recognize and understand their key strengths and to review their accomplishments. She asks people in the group to come up with their “best accomplishment that reflects who you are and what you did,” which helps them build self-confidence and seek out the position that fits them best.
Raber said she tells participants, “Don’t just look for the next job, but look for the job that most reflects your abilities, your interests and your strengths.”
Participants also identify their career objectives. The power of networking is also a key emphasis of the program. Such networking, Raber said, is crucial for people who’ve lost jobs and for people who still have their jobs but are worried about the future. “It’s all about relationships right now,” she said.
While the federal workforce is in flux, Raber said people who’ve lost their jobs or who are uncertain about the future of their jobs can take steps for some internal control of their lives, like updating their resumes, talking with mentors, reflecting on their strengths and interests and accomplishments, and prioritizing self-care, with daily prayer, exercise and a healthy diet.
“You start taking control of a couple of things in your own life. Some things you can’t control, like in the federal government, who they’re going to lay off next,” she said.
The support of family members and friends is important for anyone who’s lost a job, Raber said. “You can’t travel this journey alone… You need people who love you and support you.
Raber tells participants that in their next job, they may have to do something different and even relocate in another area.
“As difficult as this situation is, this loss can lead to something positive in your life, such as a new position focusing on a job or skills that you were not able to tap into in the past, or interests that you were not able to tap into in your previous position,” she said.
Related story:
Workers find help and hope in Holy Trinity Parish's job loss support group
