Among the suggestions: Post a job board in the parish hall; assign someone to track city council meetings to learn about local housing plans; communicate with legislators to see how federal stimulus dollars might help congregants; and link knowledgeable churchgoers, such as brokers, with needy families.
"Some of our parishioners might be suffering in silence," said Georgeann Lovett, director of the diocese's office of Respect Life, Justice and Peace. "They might feel embarrassed. This could be a comfort to them."
Father Rudolph Preciado of St. Anthony Claret in Anaheim said he planned to start the listening sessions as soon as possible at his church. The priest was trained to be the middleman between his 5,500 parishioners and God when it comes to usual trials and tribulations, but a mortgage crisis? Not so much.
He reaches for his cheat sheet of aid organizations whenever desperate families approach him. But even that doesn't seem to be enough.
"They come every day to ask for help," he said. "I need to network more."
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esmeralda.bermudez@ latimes.com
