Something is fishy at work

"It's a prayer for me," said Mrs. Pickel, associate director for Adult and Young Adult Faith Formation in the Albany Diocese's Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. "It's a symbol to me that my job is to go out where young adults are, to find them and to bring them to Christ."

When Mrs. Pickel looks up, in other words, she is reminded of what God has charged her to do: to be a fisher of men and women.

Work and faith

"When they think about God, most people are thinking about a spiritual discipline that takes them out of the world into a quiet place where they can meditate," she said.

Churches and homes are such locations, but the workplace can also be a place to find God, she said. For example, He could be acknowledged in the person of a co-worker, in the attitude of a manager toward a frustrated employee and in the family pictures on the desk of a stressed accountant.

"Bringing God into the office involves a discipline that doesn't take us out of this world," Mrs. Pickel explained, "but one that helps us to transform the daily grind into a 'God-moment.' Jesus was very clear: We have to go into the world and make disciples. That's what every person does, whether they are a bus driver, a construction worker or a state worker."

Daily God

"Rather than just looking at a picture," she suggested, "have a discipline that when it captures your attention for a moment, you pray for [the people in the photo] -- and then move on. Every time you look, say, 'I do this because I love my children, and God loves my children.'"

Another way to bring God into the workplace is by altering negative attitudes towards co-workers, customers or clients, said Mrs. Pickel.

"You have to be mindful of the other person," she said. "When you develop that within your own head, you present to the world around you an attitude of peace. [It means] doing little things, like saying thank you, congratulating someone, or being compassionate."

Liking your work

"Believe in the quality of what you do; believe that you do this because it's the right thing to do. It's not just money; it's personal. We want to feel that what we do is good, because we are good, because we have pride in what we do.

"I think that's how you bring God in to the workplace. In everything you do, you're creating with God, showing that you're a part of creation."

(10-03-02) [[In-content Ad]]