Churches take on role of teaching financial skills

By Lesley Mitchell and Steven Oberb

May 31, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Ira Popper knows a lot about the exotic mortgages that in recent years have made homeownership easier but ultimately helped land scores of homeowners in Utah and nationwide in financial trouble.

Popper, however, isn't a loan officer -- he's not even in the mortgage industry.

Instead, he is the pastor of the nondenominational Adventure Foursquare Church of Draper, where some of his congregation are struggling to get by. Some have taken out hard-to-understand mortgages or large loans that they are now having difficulty repaying. Others are simply struggling to get by with wage increases that haven't kept pace with the higher prices for food and gasoline.

"There's a lot of people who weren't taught some of the basics such as budgeting, about not buying too much of a house, not using exotic mortgages to buy a home," Popper said. "These are the things that have caused a lot of stress for a lot of Utah's families."

That's where the church comes in.

Adventure Foursquare is one of a growing number of churches nationwide that are trying to help people not only get through tough times, but also, through workshops and counseling, teaching sound money-management principles to help members of their congregations avoid financial trouble in the future.

Popper's philosophy and efforts mirror that of other ecclesiastical leaders across the country. In New York, the Rev. Jeffry Dillon switched from the religious to the secular on a recent Sunday morning to ask his parishioners a pointed question: "Do subprime mortgages scare you?"

Then he announced that the Roman Catholic parish was offering a workshop after Mass to help people in danger of losing their homes.

Embracing the religious tradition of helping the poor, religious leaders around the nation are doubling as financial shepherds for their financially distressed flocks.

"We are all called upon to be good stewards of the Lord's resources," said the Rev. Steve Klemz of Zions Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City. "And as part of that we are called upon to act with grace and be generous in helping care for the poor."

The need is real. Nationally, 243,353 properties, or one in every 519 U.S. households, received a foreclosure-related filing in April alone, according to California-based RealtyTrac Inc., which monitors the market across the country.

Utah's economy is comparably better off than most others. Job growth is not only positive but among the best in the country. People are still moving to the state. And unemployment remains low.

Signs of trouble, though, still abound.

In Utah, foreclosures are up more than 60 percent over last year. In the state, 1,318 properties, or one in every 684 households, received a foreclosure-related filing in last month. RealtyTrac's data includes default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.

At the Adventure Foursquare Church of Draper, church leaders have teamed with Zions Bank to offer a workshop designed to help people live within their means and stay out of debt.

"So many people are feeling behind the curve financially, we feel we needed to do this," Popper said. "It's nowhere as bad in Utah as it is in the rest of the country. But with gas and food prices skyrocketing and health insurance going up so fast, it could get worse."

Other church leaders such as the Rev. France Davis of the Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City say, while Utah's economy may not be as bad off as other states, many families here are struggling financially.

Davis said he's being increasingly called upon to help people pay for basic needs such as food or utility service.

"Utah is supposed to be doing better than other parts of the county," he said. "But certain people here are not participating in the good economy."

And it's not just one particular segment of the population that is suffering. He said he's seen singles, families with young children, empty-nesters and seniors struggle financially. "We have people who can't seem to take care of all they owe with what they make," he said.

At the same time, many church leaders see their mission as going beyond just providing the assistance necessary to address the immediate needs of the members of their congregations with financial challenges.

"If we have an elderly member who is struggling, we have some members of our congregation who are knowledgeable about working with the elderly and can help them set up a budget, if they are willing to be helped," said the Rev. Tom Goldsmith of the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City.

Rob Brough of Zions Bank in Salt Lake City, which offers money-management workshops, said he's glad to see churches get involved. "No one organization can tackle this problem by itself," he said. The bank has teamed with a number of churches to offer financial-oriented workshops to their congregations.

Elsewhere, in New York, 10 churches in Brooklyn and Queens have offered workshops this year to counsel anyone who shows up -- church members or not -- on how to avert foreclosure and the so-called predatory lending that can make financial victims of homeowners.

Around the country, Catholic Charities USA, the Alexandria, Va.-based umbrella group for its member relief agencies in various states, is running programs similar to the ones in New York. The national group says it's helped more than 4,000 homeowners in a dozen communities from Atlanta to Santa Rosa, Calif.

In February, Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio -- whose diocese includes Queens -- convened a forum to tackle the crisis, with the help of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., housing organizations and banking officials.

"Church-based and other religious groups are vital to making sure that the families most in danger hear directly from their spiritual leaders about how to get help and receive the best advice in the country from local community groups to help save their homes," Schumer said.

In a similar vein, Monsignor Alfred LoPinto, the vicar for human services at the Brooklyn diocese, said church officials want to help people before foreclosure, "while there's still some breathing space."

"We try to make sure people don't end up in the streets," he said.


By Lesley Mitchell and Steven Oberbeck. The Associated Press contributed to this story.


RESOURCES:

--Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn: www.dioceseofbrooklyn.org

--Acorn: www.acornhousing.org

--Catholic Charities USA: www.catholiccharitiesusa.org

Newstex ID: KRTB-0192-25694503