A Generous and Grateful Heart Mercy Home Celebrates Thanksgiving Together 

December 18, 2024

Thanksgiving is the perfect time for the Mercy Home family to gather together and share their gratitude for the many blessings in our lives. 

The week of Thanksgiving, our young people and coworkers celebrated the holiday together with a spiritual celebration and a delicious meal featuring all the traditional favorites, including ham, turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, mac and cheese, and cranberry sauce, plus appetizers that included veggie spring rolls, beef wellington bites, and chicken quesadillas. Dessert was also plentiful, with servings of apple, pumpkin, and cherry pie, cupcakes, peach cobbler, and banana pudding—all prepared by our talented kitchen staff. 

At our girls home, some of our youth wrote letters thanking someone in their life and shared them with everyone gathered. One youth, Dania, shared the letter she addressed to her staff advocate Dorothy Murchison. 

“She’s been here for me from the beginning,” she said. “Dorothy always advocates for me and always has my back no matter what. There’s been times where I felt like giving up, but Dorothy always helped me find a way to push through and also put a smile on my face. Dorothy is the reason why I’m able to stand in front of all of you today with confidence. Because of you, when I got into this world alone, I know I can handle situations head on and show the world what I’m made of.” 

“Talk about being given not just a second chance in life, but being give a new life,” he said. “Jesus gives them a new life and they can return to what they love. [But] only one comes back and says thank you. One has a heart of gratitude. Jesus doesn’t make any other judgments, but he recognizes the one who has a grateful heart. 

Read Fr. Scott’s full reflection on Thanksgiving. 

The girls then moved to the dining room to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast together. 

Later in the week, our boys gathered in our cafeteria for their own spiritual celebration which was also centered around the theme of gratitude and the importance of having a grateful heart. Some of the young men also shared letters thanking someone important in their lives. 

Dylon was one, reading the letter he addressed to all of Mercy Home. 

“I was here in 2016 in Noah Home, and I left because I didn’t understand program,” he said. “Then I decided to come back here and it’s a great place to be. The staff are wonderful. Everybody’s amazing. It’s been a great thing just to come back here and be around all [these] amazing people.” 

Fr. Scott then gave his reflection to our young people and coworkers, again sharing the story of the leper who demonstrated a grateful heart when he was healed by Jesus. Fr. Scott shared that his spiritual director once told him that they key to a happy life is a generous heart. 

“It’s not going to be found in things. It’ll be found in relationships,” he said. “Having a grateful heart leads to a generous self. You’re grateful and in return you want to do for others. What is the heart of the gospel? Doing for others, working together to create a better world, a better community, a better home. When your heart is generous, you do for others.” 

Fr. Scott emphasized that by having a grateful heart, you can then bless others. 

“Generosity is hard and great,” he said. “Share the gifts that all of you have been blessed with. Think about what truly makes you happy in life. From my experience, I think it’s probably all the spirit of generosity that God gifts us.” 

Our young people enjoyed their special celebrations and the opportunity to spend the holiday together. At each event, our youth and coworkers made sure to express their gratitude to our kitchen staff for creating this incredible feast and feeding us year-round. 

Beyond the festivities for the young people who live with us full-time, we also celebrated Thanksgiving for former residents and their families who remain connected to our Home though our Community Care program. None of these events would be possible without the generosity of so many caring donors and friends. So, in the spirit of the season, Mercy Home extends its deepest gratitude to everyone who helped our young people enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.