Happy Thanksgiving! Detroit Mercy will be closed Nov. 26-27 and reopen Nov. 30. Please stay safe and healthy and be thankful for all of God’s blessings.
As a reminder, mask up, wash hands, respect social distancing and see the CDC information for “A Safe Thanksgiving.” Additionally, consider the CDC’s “Other Thanksgiving Activities,” whether celebrating solo or as a small group. Visit the Titans Together website at udmercy.edu/titanstogether for travel procedures and the latest COVID-19 protocols.
A message from the Office of Mission Integration
Many of us find ourselves having to adapt once more. Plans to be with family and dear friends have had to be curtailed. What has traditionally been the most important time of year for families to gather has instead been transformed into an opportunity to show our love and care for those most important to us by staying apart. While this may mean some sadness in our hearts, the invitation to spend these days reflecting on those things for which we are most grateful remains. Distance may in fact offer us an opportunity to bring to mind the faces of all those we wish were around our Thanksgiving table and to take the time to pause and relish all that we appreciate and love about those persons. This Thanksgiving, we may even find ourselves thinking of people that would not have been invited to our dinner but who nevertheless inspire us to whisper words of thanks for their presence in our lives.
As you enter into this holiday weekend, may these unusual circumstances become an opportunity for you to experience gratitude in your heart in an even deeper way. Gratitude for the people in your life. Gratitude for a warm place to lay your head and a meal to sustain you. Gratitude for work. Gratitude for your health. And gratitude for a community that desires to support you when these things become less than certain for you or your family.
In the spirit of the season, the Office of Mission Integration would like to appeal to you to consider a donation to the Employee Emergency Fund as an expression of gratitude for and solidarity with colleagues, especially those who continue to experience challenges due to the pandemic. Needs up to the current “pause” have depleted the funds and yet the needs continue. Your gifts to the fund have assisted many members of our community over these past months and future gifts will allow us to help others through these winter months as we await the time that we finally turn the corner.
For all that we take for granted, may we give thanks. And may you and yours have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.
