Tuesday, September 15, 2009

DAYTON DEANERY — A special Labor Mass held on Sept. 7 at Immaculate Conception Church in Dayton brought the community together for prayer and to find hope the midst of our challenging economy. A number of area parishes chose to forgo their regular Labor Day Masses so parishioners could attend the liturgy.

Father Brinkmoeller was the celebrant for the Labor Day Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Dayton. (CT/E.L. Hubbard)

Organizers included Father David Brinkmoeller, dean of the 32 parishes in the Dayton Deanery; Noreen Wendelin, Dayton coordinator of the archdiocesan Family Life Office; and Pam Long, regional director of the archdiocesan Catholic Social Action Office.

“For a while now our nation has been faced with a troubling economy, and in Dayton we will be facing new challenges in the years ahead,” Father Brinkmoeller said.

The Mass enabled people to gather to pray about the challenges of living in a difficult economy, he added, noting that it included the concerns of job seekers and those who have had a significant reduction in income, as well as their families.

In addition, it celebrated the solidarity of a church whose people are committing to be together in challenging times, along with celebrating the social teachings of the church, including the dignity of work and importance of the common good, said Father Brinkmoeller.

During the Mass there were specific blessings for several different groups — those in need of work and their families, including job seekers and those who have lost their homes to foreclosure; employers and policy-makers and all who make hiring decisions and create policies in government or the business sector concerning employment in the community; and the support community, including parish St. Vincent de Paul volunteers and St. Vincent de Paul employees, job trainers, food pantry workers and workers at Catholic Social Services and other social service agencies.