SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Larry Adakai was out of options.

He lost his welder job after taking too much time off to care for his ailing wife. The Navajo father had no savings and few places to turn.

That’s when the Rev. Steve Keplinger and the members of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Page, Ariz., stepped in.

They offered him handyman work around the church and prepared dinners for the family. They paid his union dues so he could be hired at a nearby site. They faxed his application to the new company, then gave him gas money to go there and take the necessary welder exams.

It took six months, but now Larry Adakai has the job, Mary Ann Adakai is fully recovered, and their 14-year-old son, Marcus, is feeling good about life.

Today’s economic realities are prompting more and more workers like the Adakais to turn to their religious communities for encouragement, advice, contacts, training, financial aid, spiritual solace and, frankly, jobs.

People in every profession and at every level — everyone from executives to students to hairstylists — face an unknown future, many for the first time.

“We used to place 300 people a month,” says Ballard Veater, manager of LDS Employment Services, who has worked for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1978. “Now it’s half that many.”

For many people of faith, helping the unemployed is more than a kindhearted gesture. It’s a spiritual mandate. “When I was scared, they talked to me,” Mary Ann Adakai said of St. David’s leaders. “When I lost all hope, they helped me with prayers.”

Indeed, such assistance is the centerpiece of Keplinger’s theology.

“Trying to help people get back on their feet is the most Christ-centered thing we can do,” he says. “It is more important than worship.”

With typical pragmatism and organizational zeal, Mormons created a worldwide program to combat unemployment. Every congregation in the nearly 14 million-member LDS Church is expected to assign one of its members to serve as “employment specialist.” The idea: Build networks in every field and match job seekers with potential employers.

“Here’s how you go about getting a job,” Val Markos, employment specialist with the Mormon church in Atlanta, tells people. “It may take a long time, but it will work.”

Markos, a retired executive with BellSouth, has a vast array of job contacts, professional relationships and Mormon experts he can tap. He has years of experience as a manager and in human resources and has had much success in aiding workers.

It’s at least $2,000 worth of free advice, a recipient said recently.

“This is a very rewarding calling for me,” Markos says. “It’s amazing the number of good, qualified people who are looking for work. I see this (assignment) as very much tied to our role in helping our brother.”

The LDS Church also has 330 employment centers across the globe. About 95 percent of staffers are volunteers, many called on “missions” to serve this jobless population for 18 months to two years. The center at Salt Lake City’s Welfare Square has 32 employees; only two are paid.

The system is free and open to everyone, not just Mormons.

It begins with an assessment of background, skills, education and employment history. Volunteers ask what jobs the client wants and then suggest steps for getting there. The client can access jobs in the church’s massive database and use the center’s phone, fax machine and Internet. Centers also offer career workshops, resume tips and interviewing skills.

Many find openings at LDS-owned Deseret Industries, where they can work while being trained for other types of trades. Others go straight to more experienced or management positions.

(BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

Nico Pratt was devastated when she was laid off as an enamel painter in 2005 after 14 years on the job. The South Salt Lake designer then worked at the LDS Church’s clothing manufacturer, Beehive Clothing, until an injury made it impossible. She now works as a cashier at the thrift store while completing classes in electronic mechanicals — learning how to assemble circuit boards, for example.

“I have been self-reliant all my life,” Pratt said. “When I lost my job, I never had to scream so loud for help. I really had to humble myself, but it’s helped me grow and become a better person.”

Jennifer Zavala, of West Jordan, Utah, went to Welfare Square the day after she lost her job with a construction company .

“I was still in tears,” said Zavala, a mother of two. “They showed me how to register on the new (Web) site and how to make a power statement about myself in 30 seconds.”

Every Monday morning , Zavala went to a networking meeting at LDS Business College in downtown Salt Lake City. After three months, she had a job with an industrial auctioneering company.

“I tried to do everything they teach in the workshops,” Zavala said, “then relied on the Lord.”

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

Sunday was hardly a sabbath, an unemployed Presbyterian woman told Anne Gardner last fall, because of the stress of not knowing what Monday would bring.

That comment prompted Gardner, a business executive, to launch the Park City Career Network, with a handful of Jewish, Catholic and Greek Orthodox professionals. Among other benefits, the effort helps job-hungry seekers define “The Brand Called You.”

The group offers people of all faiths free training similar to the LDS approach. It also provides monthly speakers, who might address such topics as debt negotiations, retirement planning and the emotional stress of job searching.

The weekly meetings attract about 15 people; 21 “graduates” have found jobs and another nine have started their own businesses through this effort.

Karen Aries had been out of the labor market for 16 years when her marriage to a successful businessman fell apart. She found herself navigating unfamiliar employment expectations. After meeting with the Park City group, a more confident, re-energized Aries found several types of work.

“I was like Cinderella trying on the work slipper to see if it would fit. I had to re-enter the work force as a new person,” Aries says. “I was only able to do that with the support of the Park City group and with my Catholic faith.”

(Peggy Fletcher Stack writes for The Salt Lake Tribune.)