Anyone who doubts that adversity brings out the best in a lot of people needs to spend some time with the folks I was lucky enough to interview last week for a package of stories on parish response to the unemployment crisis.

These parishioners – from the tip of the diocese in Northern Monmouth County to the toe on Long Beach Island and areas in between – have taken it upon themselves to reach out in faith to the growing number of folks trying to overcome job loss.

When you start out on a project like this, you hold your breath until the interview process is over hoping that you’ve found the folks whose stories make for a compelling read.

This time out, there was never a doubt.

Each woman and man who responded to the query brought a unique story to the mix, one that expanded my own horizons about how the faith fares in the Diocese of Trenton.

Take Kathi Morley, for instance. She could have rested on her good fortune after she found a new job at a wonderful non-profit. But she didn’t.

Throughout her own employment crisis that included the loss of a much loved job, her home parish – St. Ann in Lawrenceville – had been there for her, providing support and spiritual nourishment.

Morley decided to pay the parish back by starting an employment support group there. Word of mouth on the St. Joseph the Worker Career Transitions Network is so good that other area churches are beginning to turn to St. Ann’s for how to’s.

The gentlemen – and I use that term deliberately – who oversee the flourishing Employment Resource Committee at St. Catharine Parish, Holmdel, are more of the same.

Angelo DeRosa, Deacon Tom Di Canio and Deacon John Flanagan who founded the enterprise nearly three decades ago, have created a network of more than 300, highly qualified volunteers who lend their expertise to those experiencing “job transitions.”

Then, there’s Dr. Dennis Cadigan, a clinical psychologist and certified diocesan spiritual director who is reaching out in faith Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. to the people of Coastal Monmouth County hit so hard by this bear market.

He’ll be speaking at Holy Cross School on behalf of the PTA about the role of faith in times of economic hardship.

Cadigan, who was blinded as a young soldier in Vietnam, spent years recovering his own life and faith. He will present ways to help people “cope without fear or despair” as they persevere on their own journeys to restore their professional lives.

“As a spiritual director, I’ve given many talks and focused on contemplative prayer,” said Cadigan. “This is the first time out when I’ll be speaking on a a crisis situation. We’ll be focusing on how does one cope when you crash.”

The session is for “singles, couples, anyone who has lost their job, people who are faced with outright (financial) catastrophe,” he said. “It’s for everyone who is searching for what to do to maintain survival.”

While, it may be cliché to think of this as an opportunity to “turn lemons into lemonade,” Cadigan said, the financial crisis is the right time to listen for the voice of “God calling us to come into union with him and journey with people who are also suffering.”

Cadigan will share his own experiences of what it was like to free himself from depression, desperation and outright anger against God and find the sense of peace and joy that fills his life today.

His presentation is free of charge and open to adults and students 7th grade and above.

For information, call Holy Cross School at 732-842-0348.