By Paula Day

Thomas Bell of All Saints parish in Dunwoody, knows what it's like to be job hunting. A trained chemical engineer, with experience in research and development, he has been unemployed since last November.

"When you're out of work, you can get awfully lonely in a hurry. It's a leper experience because the human response is to feel responsible and to want to help and if people don't have a ready job to offer you, they avoid you."

Bell's answer to this natural discomfort is simple: "Stick my name on your refrigerator door as a reminder to pray for me and keep your ear to the ground for any job opportunities." Bell's name and those of others looking for employment are listed in the All Saints parish bulletin along with their telephone numbers and work specialties. It was at Bell's suggestion that the parish began publishing this information so parishioners could support the job seekers through their prayers as well as by being alert to job opportunities.

"We need the support of the parish family -- of Christ's mystical body," Bell explains. "That support comes at two levels -- prayer, because the stress level (for someone out of work) is so high, and, on the mundane level, the support of being aware of needs and opportunities and matching people and jobs. It's been the experience of those in the job search that 85 percent of successes come through this kind of networking."

Bell is convinced of the power of the parish family's spiritual 'network.'