|PIC1|With the first week of the new year already dealing some heavy blows to the business world, the Church of England has published prayers to comfort people affected by redundancy.

Marks and Spencer became the latest high street fixture to announce major job losses, with more than 1,200 employees set to go from across its most underperforming stores. The high street chain blamed poor pre-Christmas trading.

Earlier in the week, the fine china company and British institution Waterford Wedgwood announced it was calling in receivers and Woolworths closed the doors for the last time at its remaining 200 stores, following in the footsteps of 600 branches that ceased trading last month.

The ‘Prayer on being made redundant’ has been published to help ease the anxiety in those who have already lost or face losing their job in the wave of redundancies triggered by the credit crunch.

It includes the verse: “Hear me as I cry out in confusion, help me to think clearly, and calm my soul.”

A prayer has also been issued for those remaining in the workplace and addresses the guilt and the increased workload they may face.

It asks of God: “In the midst of this uncertainty, help me to keep going: to work to the best of my ability, taking each day at a time.”

The prayers feature on the Church of England website’s ‘Matter of Life and Debt’ section alongside advice from Resources and Stewardship Officer, Dr John Preston, on how to survive the financial crisis. The section also offers resources to help people put together a balanced household budget and other prayers related to debt and financial worries.

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and Chairman of the Church of England’s Stewardship Committee, the Rt Rev John Packer, said the prayers demonstrated the way in which the Church was there for people at all times, especially times of crisis.

“This is a pastoral initiative,” he said. “We need to be on the look out to support those facing redundancy. Neighbourliness is so important in crisis situations, whether it’s offering people new prayers to God, or by simply being there with a listening ear.”

More job losses are due to be announced in the coming weeks by InterContinental Hotel Groups, the world’s largest hotel company, and Bellway Homes.

The job market faces a rocky year after the latest Report on Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountants KPMG revealed a rapid decline in the number of full-time job offers at the same time as the number of job seekers was rising sharply.

On the web:

‘Prayer on being made redundant’ and ‘Prayer for those remaining in the workplace’ are published online at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers, and also feature in an A5 leaflet containing some of the Matter of Life and Debt material. This leaflet is available for local parishes to print out and distribute in their church, at www.cofe.anglican.org/debt.