Giving Thanks This Holiday Season

Posted in: From Dr. Chad Audi

December
9

The popular holiday song, Give Love on Christmas Day, encourages people to “give more than just presents from a store” on Christmas. The lyrics state “No greater gift is there than love.”

There is something else that also makes a great gift during the holiday season: Gratitude. Express your gratitude for good health, having a boss who appreciates your work, getting the support of your family and friends, or having a comfortable place to call home. We all need to bless each other with expressions of thankfulness. Tell people what you are thankful for and why. In return you will receive a renewed appreciation for your life, become energized, and build stronger relationships.

Here’s a story that explains why verbal expressions of thanks are so important, not only at Christmas and Thanksgiving, but throughout the year.

During the annual Thanksgiving service, the congregation at a church became confused as they followed along in their bulletins. According to the order of service, the next items were: “Thanksgiving Offering and Presentation of Scripture.” The church members and visitors had just finished going up to the podium one-by-one to share what they were thankful for this holiday season. Their speeches were heartfelt and emotional — filled with stories of recovering from illnesses, spending many beautiful years with loved ones who had recently gone to be with the Lord, and experiencing kind gestures from relatives and friends. They talked about how each passing year helped them see more clearly the thousands of ways the Lord had shown His love for them.

Now, the speaker had taken the podium for the presentation of the Scripture. The congregation was perplexed. What happened to the collection of the offering? Surely, the pastor had not overlooked it, they thought. While they listened to the speaker, the congregation set their offerings aside for safekeeping. However, the service ended and still no offering was collected. Afterwards, many walked over to the pastor and told him, “You forgot to let us give the offering. Here . . . ”

The pastor quickly said, “No, no. It’s all right. I’m happy to take your donations, because we surely need the funds. But, we did take the offering this morning. Don’t you remember? You stood and told God what you were thankful for. That is the offering He wanted from you today!” The church members and visitors smiled; the pastor had gotten his point over in a way they would never forget.

What is your offering today? What are you grateful for? As the pastor in this story acknowledged, it is fine to show your appreciation for people or institutions by giving material items such as money or gifts. But the Lord wants to hear a verbal expression of thanks. That’s also what our family members, co-workers, neighbors, public servants and others need to hear when they do something that you appreciate.

Bless the people who blessed you by verbally expressing your gratitude for their kind actions. It may be the best offering — and best present — that you can give this holiday season.

Detroit’s Homeless Population

Posted in: From Dr. Chad Audi

November
22

Detroit recently made history when its state-appointed emergency manager filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, making it the largest city ever to file for bankruptcy. As Detroit works through this historic financial crisis, we also continue to attack homelessness in the city that I call home.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development just released its “Point-in-Time Count” of the nation’s homeless. The numbers are based on a count made by volunteers who fanned out across the country on a single night in January of this year.
The federal tally indicates the number of homeless in Detroit dropped less than 1-percent from the last count in 2010. The news was much better for the state of Michigan, which recorded an 11.7-percent drop. And, the entire nation saw the number of homeless drop 6.1-percent over the past three years.

On the surface, Detroit’s financial challenges can help explain why the needle barely moved on the number of homeless in the city. The unemployment rate is still high. In some cases, people are working but they’re not making enough money to maintain a home, pay for utilities, and put food on the table every night. And others have been on the streets and in an addiction for so long that they do not have the ability to turn their lives around without receiving significant supportive services.

Here at the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries (DRMM), we understand that we must help the whole person when he or she comes to our doors. It’s not enough to provide the homeless with emergency shelter, food and clothing. We must ease them into transitional and permanent housing, so they can learn how to maintain a household. And, we must address the issues that are keeping them from becoming productive, tax-paying citizens. That’s why DRMM offers substance abuse treatment, education, jobs training, and skills building that will help our clients qualify for jobs or pursue their dream career.

It’s difficult to determine the accuracy of the federal government’s homeless numbers, since the point-in-time count is primarily limited to the homeless who are visible in the streets, parks, and shelters. What about those who may have found a temporary place to sleep that night or who may have been trying to stay warm in an abandoned house?

However, one thing is for sure; Detroit, the state of Michigan, and the nation will need financial support if we are to meet President Obama’s goal of eliminating homelessness by the end of 2020. Currently, congressional budget cuts are reducing the amount of funds that agencies like DRMM receive to address homelessness. A 5-percent cut in aid to emergency housing and shelter programs is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2014.

Let’s encourage Congress to reverse that budget cut, so that our progress on ending homelessness is not reversed.

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