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Rice received a lot of calls, several from friends at Lehman who were distressed by the devastation of their colleagues. One told him, "I have never seen grown men cry like that." A consultant to several financial companies relates that one friend called to say, "I need to see you to talk me off the ledge."

NYC-area pastors also began calling their members who work on the street. Rice got a call from his pastor, Jeff Ebert, of New Providence Presbyterian Church in New Jersey. Fred Provencher at Cornerstone Christian Church, also in New Jersey, asked his team to keep tabs on anyone who might need help. This Sunday he will preach that "things get worse before they get better. Amid the people's groanings, God will be revealed."

New York City is the center of the world for most members of the financial community. One chief operating officer of a multinational firm that services Wall Street banks told CT, "It's like the old Sinatra song: 'If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.' So you go around with a little swagger."

Rice says the emotional impact of the current crisis on Wall Streeters is amplified by attitudes like those described by the chief operating officer. "There is an element of, 'I am master of my fate. I put in 18-hour days and am making it.' Then, this crisis pulls the rug out from under them. This may be the first dislocation of their lives. Their savings have disappeared in 15 minutes."

Churches and ministries in NYC also face tests as their funding may drop. Many ministries already report that the year's funding has been flat. Over the summer, Shiloh Bible Camp in New Jersey received cancellations of most of their reservations due to the cost of travel and economic uncertainty, though they were able to find other campers to fill their schedule.

Ministries in particular are facing big gaps in funding. Wilson Goode, former mayor of Philadelphia, thinks that "in the longer term there will be less money going to congregations, religious institutions, and social programs." One ministry reported that one donor this week had to cancel his $150,000 gift. Churches' funding is more stable because they rely more on weekly tithing than year-end gifts. Cornerstone's Provencher says, "Our weekly giving is steady. You might say our base is flat with no gravy."

Some Christians in NYC hope that God can use the crisis for good. Pier says, "God can use this situation as he did in the 1857 Layman's Prayer Revival that started on Wall Street to draw people to a fresh recognition of our absolute dependence on his grace and love."

Mike Faulkner, pastor of New Horizon Church, says, "Honestly, I am praying God will bring healing and revival." He recalls how during the 1930s Wall Street crash, Central Baptist Church on Manhattan housed people who had lost their homes. "The church should be available in every way for people on Wall Street who maybe didn't think much about God before."

Bethel's Caesar hopes that "the two-hour-per-week Christians will get faith in their bones" so that it will last. "When you are in a fox hole, people make crazy promises. Afterward, they ask God, 'Can we renegotiate?' " Harry Tucker, a longtime strategic adviser to Wall Street executives, believes that God has put "us in crisis to grow our courage."

Goode brought an optimism based on his ministry to children of prisoners in NYC: "By faith we know that tomorrow will always be better. One should be comforted that righteousness will prevail. Those Christians on Wall Street can go back tomorrow and simply wait on the Lord. I have investments and if these don't turn out the way I think they should, it is still God's will."

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September (Web-only) 2008, Vol. 52