As layoffs impact federal workers across the D.C. area, one pastor is spearheading efforts to support affected individuals and their families.
Pastor Meredith Keseley of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Burke, Virginia, has launched several initiatives aimed at assisting federal employees facing job insecurity.
“A large number of our church members and folks in our community are federal workers,” Keseley told WTOP. “We saw a big impact when USAID funds were cut. A lot of the work that our folks do is humanitarian work.”
She added that “ss their livelihoods were called into question, we, as their church, needed to step up to say that what they do matters.”
To provide practical assistance, Keseley has established a Federal Workers Support page on the church’s website, offering resources and information. She has also organized a weekly, confidential Federal Workers Gathering support group, designed to give federal employees a safe space to share their experiences. The group is free and open to the community.
“As the cuts started to happen, we realized it is really important to us that the loudest voices … here are voices of thanks, voices of gratitude from their fellow citizens for stepping up to answer the call to serve their country and their neighbors,” Keseley said.
On March 18, Abiding Presence will host a resume and headshot workshop for community members, led by a church member with a communications background. The workshop will guide federal workers on best practices for updating their LinkedIn profiles and resumes. A professional photographer from the congregation will also provide free headshots for attendees.
“It has been amazing, to me, to see the outpouring of people who want to do something. I am being contacted almost every day by folks who are offering to look at resumes, to be a mentor, to help folks navigate. It is wonderful to see our community come together,” Keseley said.
Beyond these events, Keseley has expanded the church’s food pantry to provide food beyond regular distribution times, ensuring that those in need can access essential supplies whenever necessary.
“We have a food pantry that has seen a significant increase in the number of people who are coming each week because we’re a no-questions-asked pantry,” she said. “Those are the kinds of things that we’ve started to do as we keep listening and looking for what else our community needs.”
Guided by scripture, Keseley and her congregation draw inspiration from 2 Corinthians 3:12-16, which they have embraced as their mission: “Since then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.”
“What we believe here is that we are filled with hope for a future beyond the one that we can see unfolding in the news. And because we have hope, it is time for us to act with boldness,” Keseley said.
As uncertainty continues for many federal employees, Keseley said she remains committed to finding new ways to assist those affected. She also encouraged other congregations and community organizations to step up in any way they can.
“My encouragement is for every congregation, every community organization, every faith community to do something small, start somewhere,” Keseley said. “People right now are searching for support, and the more of us who decide that it is our mission to be loud voices that tell our federal workers that they are important and they matter, we can become a louder voice than the voices that they’re hearing right now out of the government.”
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