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\nEmbodying Kindness<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/356222447_638410461654526_8571988944287148986_n-500x375.jpg\")
Caridad Gardens<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
For Shawn Duncan, it\u2019s the little things \u2014 like getting a birthday card \u2014 that mean a lot. Perhaps it\u2019s because Shawn, a military veteran living in Las Vegas, hadn\u2019t had a mailbox in years. Or a home.<\/p>\n
A native of Michigan with no strong family ties, Shawn had been struggling for years with homelessness and mental health issues \u2014 including PTSD \u2014 when a chance encounter on Facebook with his former youth pastor changed the direction of his life.<\/p>\n
Shawn\u2019s life-changing introduction was to Caridad Gardens<\/a>, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit dedicated to helping and \u201chumanizing the homeless.\u201d Caridad Gardens offers job skills training and mental, emotional and physical wellness programs. Its founder, Merideth Spriggs, a former youth pastor, was once homeless herself after losing her job and her home.<\/p>\n\u201cI realized if homelessness could happen to me, it could happen to anybody; and that I could be a unique voice. Even though I really felt God\u2019s calling on my life to do this, most days I would not have picked this \u2014 and still don\u2019t pick this \u2014 but I do not feel released from my calling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMerideth has been a big inspiration to me,\u201d said Shawn. \u201cShe is not someone who is just talking about something, but she\u2019s actually doing something. She\u2019s not necessarily beating people over the head with the Bible, she\u2019s actually living it \u2014 walking the walk and treating people with kindness and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shawn said that Caridad Gardens gives him something to be a part of and lets him know who he wants to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeeting people and forming relationships, where we share common things \u2014 our struggle with mental health, our struggle with homelessness \u2014 we\u2019re able to support each other,\u201d continued Shawn.<\/p>\n
Caridad Gardens<\/a>\u2019 mission is made possible, in part, through a grant from the\u00a0Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People<\/a>, which is in turn supported by generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing<\/a>. The Offering also benefits the ministries of the Presbyterian Hunger Program<\/a> and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance<\/a>.<\/p>\nComing from the \u201cchurch world,\u201d it\u2019s natural for Merideth to ask what Jesus would do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell people Jesus says you should feed the homeless, but he doesn\u2019t stop there,\u201d she said. \u201cJesus didn\u2019t call us to give people a stale peanut butter and jelly sandwich \u2014 he called us to be in community. We\u2019re called to be with our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving to the Offering creates an opportunity to be intentional about embodying justice and hope by involving them in the changing of lives and communities in deeply profound and healing ways,\u201d said the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, coordinator of the Self-Development of People<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhich is what One Great of Hour Sharing is designed to do.<\/p>\n
Please give generously and join with others to be intentional about embodying justice and hope. And remember \u2014 when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.<\/p>\n
Caridad Gardens<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
For Shawn Duncan, it\u2019s the little things \u2014 like getting a birthday card \u2014 that mean a lot. Perhaps it\u2019s because Shawn, a military veteran living in Las Vegas, hadn\u2019t had a mailbox in years. Or a home.<\/p>\n
A native of Michigan with no strong family ties, Shawn had been struggling for years with homelessness and mental health issues \u2014 including PTSD \u2014 when a chance encounter on Facebook with his former youth pastor changed the direction of his life.<\/p>\n
Shawn\u2019s life-changing introduction was to Caridad Gardens<\/a>, a Las Vegas-based nonprofit dedicated to helping and \u201chumanizing the homeless.\u201d Caridad Gardens offers job skills training and mental, emotional and physical wellness programs. Its founder, Merideth Spriggs, a former youth pastor, was once homeless herself after losing her job and her home.<\/p>\n \u201cI realized if homelessness could happen to me, it could happen to anybody; and that I could be a unique voice. Even though I really felt God\u2019s calling on my life to do this, most days I would not have picked this \u2014 and still don\u2019t pick this \u2014 but I do not feel released from my calling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMerideth has been a big inspiration to me,\u201d said Shawn. \u201cShe is not someone who is just talking about something, but she\u2019s actually doing something. She\u2019s not necessarily beating people over the head with the Bible, she\u2019s actually living it \u2014 walking the walk and treating people with kindness and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Shawn said that Caridad Gardens gives him something to be a part of and lets him know who he wants to be.<\/p>\n \u201cMeeting people and forming relationships, where we share common things \u2014 our struggle with mental health, our struggle with homelessness \u2014 we\u2019re able to support each other,\u201d continued Shawn.<\/p>\n Caridad Gardens<\/a>\u2019 mission is made possible, in part, through a grant from the\u00a0Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People<\/a>, which is in turn supported by generous gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing<\/a>. The Offering also benefits the ministries of the Presbyterian Hunger Program<\/a> and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Coming from the \u201cchurch world,\u201d it\u2019s natural for Merideth to ask what Jesus would do.<\/p>\n \u201cI tell people Jesus says you should feed the homeless, but he doesn\u2019t stop there,\u201d she said. \u201cJesus didn\u2019t call us to give people a stale peanut butter and jelly sandwich \u2014 he called us to be in community. We\u2019re called to be with our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGiving to the Offering creates an opportunity to be intentional about embodying justice and hope by involving them in the changing of lives and communities in deeply profound and healing ways,\u201d said the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Johnson, coordinator of the Self-Development of People<\/a>.<\/p>\n Which is what One Great of Hour Sharing is designed to do.<\/p>\n Please give generously and join with others to be intentional about embodying justice and hope. And remember \u2014 when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/pcusa-seal-4-color-500x500.jpg\")
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