What did you give this Christmas?
One of the great and unexpected pleasures of my role is spending time with people from different faith traditions. I strongly believe that people of faith have far more that unites us than that which divides us.
Which is why, earlier this year, I was delighted to be invited to a Christmas service at a local Latter Day Saints church. The service featured very personal reflections on the season from people at different life stages. All were deeply thought-provoking, but I was particularly struck by 15-year old Emily Dunham.
Her message was that we should replace the traditional post-holiday question, “what did you get for Christmas?” with another, more subtle but more meaningful one: “What did you give for Christmas?”
That’s not something that most Calgarians need to hear; we are a people who give and give. The core success of our community is not that there are carbon atoms in the grounds nearby, but that we have figured out a simple truth—a truth that evades far too many souls in this broken world: we are all in it together.
The truth that our neighbour's pain is our pain—that our neighbour's success is our success.
Certainly, we've seen that over the last six months in the response to the flooding, which was the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.
We did not just answer the call to give; we sought out the opportunity to show compassion, to make life easier for those around us.
And we are very generous when we see a need.
When a mother realizes that an overnight stay at the Children’s Hospital is made more tolerable just by being able to brush your teeth, she organizes a donation drive for toothbrushes to be used by parents staying there with their sick children. When listeners hear a news story about how the Drop-In Centre needs winter coats, they give thousands of jackets. When a child in Crescent Heights sees that kids she doesn't know are flooded out of their homes, she makes lemonade to raise money for the Red Cross.
Our community has been through so much this year, but it was our compassion as fellow citizens that ensured our resilience. Our city is filled with stories of daily giving by everyday people.
I am worried, though. I know that many of you feel that this year, you've given so much. So much time, so much money, so much of yourselves, that there’s no more to give. But Calgarians—our neighbours—continue to face significant challenges. Many of them were in dire need even before the flood overwhelmed our hearts and—dare I say it—our pocketbooks.
Many living at the margins before the floods have been pushed even closer to the edge. Poverty, hunger, homelessness, addiction, family violence: all still exist in our city and the need is as great as ever.
Fortunately, there are organizations and many citizens that work hard to combat these issues every day. Organizations like Neighbourlink, which provides essential items for low income families. Or the Bowmont Seniors Assistance Association, which helps seniors live in health, comfort, and dignity. Or the Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society, which provides a safe space and important programming to support First Nations women and children.
These are just three of the 12 agencies that are benefiting from the Calgary Herald 2013 Christmas Fund. They do amazing work all year 'round.
Thank you to all of you who rise up and do what’s needed. Thank you to the organizations that help us to help our neighbours. Thank you to the Calgary Herald and its employees for doing what it can to make it even easier for us to give.
Calgarians are immensely proud of our city, and we should be—especially when we come together whenever we can to help our fellow citizens. What happened this summer was amazing, and we need to keep that spirit of generosity strong.
Giving to the Calgary Herald Christmas Fund is a great way to do just that.
Have a very merry Christmas!
- Mayor Naheed Nenshi
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