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It’s a kind of hurt, a need, that’s overwhelming some faith congregations: the large numbers of people in the pews who are out of work or lost their benefits or need to lean on someone else for the first time in their lives.

“Our confidence, a lot of times, is wrapped up in our jobs and being able to provide for our families,” said the Rev. Odell Cleveland, president and CEO of the Welfare Reform Liaison Project, a faith-based group that works to empower people through education and job training. “When we lose that ability to provide for our family … we go through emotional dips, downers, and a support group would be so important here to know, 'I’m not the only one,’ or to vent, or to have someone to care how we feel.”

The 2009 Guilford County Community Faith Summit, sponsored by Cleveland’s nonprofit, will focus on a range of these issues, including how people can access help for dealing with that recent layoff, but also how people can give back to a community that really needs their time.

The faith summit’s “Common Ground” strand looks at how the faith community is reaching out to meet needs in a bad economy, including through support groups that can be replicated in other congregations. It is open to anyone from the community — lay leaders from mosques, churches and synagogues, nonprofits and government agencies.

The conference May 7 is planned to provide equal measures of information and problem-solving. The biennial faith summits, which take on timely topics, traditionally draw hundreds of people from the Triad.

“I would not define success in the number of people who show up, but in the number of collaborative efforts that come out of this,” Cleveland said. “A lot of people have never been in this situation before, and a lot of them are turning to their houses of worship. This is just really overwhelming houses of worship.”

The conference theme is “Lessons Learned” and includes a day of workshops including “Facing a Bad Economy with Good Faith,” “Latino Entrepreneurship” and “Making Good Health Happen” for the uninsured. Scholarship money has been donated for those who want to attend but do not have the $20 fee.

“It’s bringing together the people who can answer the questions, 'How do you deal with not having health insurance?’ or 'What are the options in foreclosure?’” he said.

Three afternoon information sessions include the interfaith clergy trip to Israel with Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro; “The New Struggle: From Civil Rights to Silver Rights”; and “ Education Matters: What difference can you make?” in partnership with the Guilford Education Alliance.

The faith community, Cleveland says, should be a major player. And, that includes encouraging volunteerism with nonprofits trying to do more with fewer resources, he said.

“From a corporate perspective, a lot of the giving is going down, but they are having to deal with the new demands,” Cleveland said.

Contact Nancy McLaughlin at 373-7049 or nancy.mclaughlin@news-record.com