Over the last few weeks, the airwaves have been saturated with discussions of the debt crisis and the possibility of default on payments. Added anxiety came with the awareness that credit agencies were thinking of a downgrade on our AAA rating.

Writing in Bloomberg on August 3, 2011, Suzanna Kim said the following: “Now that President Obama has signed the debt ceiling deal and averted a default, economists are waiting to see if ratings agency Standard and Poor's will downgrade the nation's credit rating. The uncertainty surrounding the US's now-perfect AAA rating has also thrust the three major ratings agencies into the spotlight, raising questions about the significance and boundaries of their credit assessments.”

Looking to God in Times of Trouble

As I look at the conditions of the world this week and seek to select a theme for reflection, and to ask what it says about religion and faith, I must confess, there is more than I can reflect on. The dumping of radiated water in the sea around Japan, the prospect of a government shutdown here in the United States, the battles in Libya, Ivory Coast, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are all issues that have caught my interest. Whatever else may be said, it is most evident that we are living in a crumbling world. This, of course, makes most significant the words of the old spiritual, “If ever we needed the Lord before, we surely need him now.”

Worship for Life Community Outreach, Inc., a Jackson based non-profit organization, recently held the inaugural ‘Prestigious Woman of New Jersey’ luncheon. The event, held at the Metuchen Golf and Country Club in Edison, recognized the community service and business accomplishments of women throughout the state.

“A prestigious woman is a woman of virtue,” said Madie Nash, co-founder of Worship for Life Community Outreach and Senior Account Manager, Sales and Marketing for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. “These women have demonstrated this with their devotion to those in their professions and in their communities.”

NEWARK - Rev. Mark. M. Beckwith considered the inaugural Newark Interfaith Coalition for Hope & Peace Week, held June 1 through 6, a qualified success.

"We expanded the interfaith breakfast into a week of services for the first time," said Beckwith June 11. "In retrospect, we ought to have given a schedule in advance but we were committed to holding that weekend's interfaith services."