| “Whatever you did for one of the least of these…you did for me…” I’m often struck this time of year, on the cusp of Advent, by the contrast between Christmas-as-consumption messages and the actual life and lifestyle of the One we’re meant to remember in the annual “Christ Mass.” Somehow Jesus, who was born in an overflow shelter (manger) and who was often found dining and consorting with “sinners” and prostitutes and tax collectors, has become the reason for the season of buying a bunch of stuff. Similarly, the gifts of the Magi to the humble newborn King have devolved into promos like Black Friday. It’s enough to make me wonder whether I should send this message at all. Having spent several days reflecting on my own motivations…I’ve decided to finish this message and send it to you. Mostly because I’m asking for you to help me help others who live on the margins of our society. Because if Jesus is found anywhere in our day and age (or in any age), it’s not in glitzy or triumphal ads or in prominent places of power, it’s alongside our neighbors who are forgotten, discarded and displaced, and among image-bearers for whom there is no room in the proverbial inn. They’re the ones I want to be around and advocate for, anyway. Just this morning, at Broomfield’s Severe Weather Activation Program (SWAP) intake, I rubbed shoulders with a roomful of people who don’t have a roof over their heads. They had to wait in line to request a hotel voucher to avoid exposure to life-threatening temperatures and conditions forecast for the upcoming holiday weekend. I lost track of how many times they thanked my intake colleagues and me for our help. Now, in this moment, I want to thank them for maintaining their humanity in the midst of such difficult circumstances. I want to thank the man who gave up his voucher earlier this month in the midst of a snowstorm so that a distraught single woman could get one in his place. To me, that’s the kingdom of God breaking into this world. In 2024, while I’ve helped with SWAP and maintained other on-the-ground connections, I’ve also done more community-level work than ever. I’ve helped catalyze a multi-pronged housing campaign toward 100-percent local housing stability and made a number of new housing-for-all connections regionally. I’ve helped cultivate a nearly official Sister Cities relationship between Broomfield and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma. With the help of the local historical society, I’ve also published Broomfield Yesterday, a booklet that tells often untold episodes of our community’s story. At the same time, to make ends meet, I’ve worked two part-time jobs, submitted multiple grant applications and welcomed several new monthly supporters. More importantly for this particular message, end-of-year financial contributions have long been an important tool in my fundraising belt, because they help me continue my ministry of presence, justice and memory in the new year in a sustainable way. FYI, I’m hoping to raise $5,000 from this particular end-of-year appeal. Would you please consider making a special, year-end donation of $100, $250 or some other amount to help me meet my goal and continue my work in Broomfield and beyond in 2025? Every contribution helps! If so, to give online, CLICK HERE, select my name from the “Project or Member Designation” dropdown menu, and follow the prompts from there. You can also make a check out to “Global Service Associates,” write “Dormish” in the memo line, and mail it to: GSA, P.O. Box 20425, Boulder, CO 80308. For additional ways to give, please visit my blog’s donate page. As a commissioned member of the Christian missional order Global Service Associates (GSA), all donations to support my work are tax-deductible. If you’ve already donated, THANK YOU, and in any event, thank you for your time and consideration! May the Lord bless and keep you and yours this holiday season, and, May Jesus’ Kingdom come! |
| “She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (from the Gospel according to Luke) |
