Two continue Christmas spirit

The first Christmas, shepherds and kings hurried to a barn in an obscure village to see the promised Christ-child. Since then, the message He preached in actions and words, has frequently been corrupted by a few selfish, power-hungry persons. The most current revelations of the secret sins of a minority in leadership, threaten to drown out His message of love, forgiveness and service to others. In spite of all that, wise men and women still follow His way, as evidenced in recent wire stories.
In Traverse City, Mich., Jim Fouchey’s only concern was for the person who lost the toolbox filled with $4,483 in cash which he found near U.S. 31. “I thought, you know, it was an employee and he’s going to lose his job and it’s darn near Christmas,” he said. The state police used identification in the toolbox to connect it with an employee of Gilbert’s Service Oil Co. of Traverse City. The employee called and thanked Fouchey.
It would have been easy for Fouchey to have destroyed the identification and secreted the extra cash away for a rainy day. No one knew what had happened to the box.
But Fouchey knew what he would have wanted to have happened if he had lost the box. He acted according to Christ’s Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12 (NIV). Not “do first, before they do it to you,” not “do as it has been done,” but do as you want it done to you.
In Columbus, Ohio, Angela Lariviere, 30, was done in by the state’s foster child system which frequently moved her from one bed, home, school and community to another. As an adult, Lariviere converted to Catholicism so she and her husband could raise their children in one faith. She does not excuse the sins of the leaders of the church, but through faith looks beyond them to the true head of the church and His call to repent and follow His teachings.
Her mission is built on her childhood, “I never thought anyone else lived like I did,” said Lariviere. Through AmeriCorps she realized that many children still live as she did. She formed the Youth Empowerment Program with the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. With the input of 700 people between 10 to 24 years-old, Lariviere seeks changes in state laws, school policies and shelter rules affecting 35,000 homeless children in the state of Ohio. Most of the young people involved are not orphans or street kids. Most live in community shelters and transitional housing with their families.
Last year, the council successfully lobbied for a state law that protects the rights of homeless children to get an education and persuaded shelters to drop rules that barred boys aged 13 and older from staying with their families. Kevin Blackledge, an AmeriCorpsVISTA worker, said that while the effort is driven by young people, it would not have been possible without Lariviere’s vision.
“She’s been in the same situations,” said 14-year-old Nick Molina. “So many people don’t understand us. She does because she’s one of us.” Sasha Bowers, 13, said Lariviere treats young people in the program as adults. “She knows that we have more responsibilities than other kids our age because she did, too,” Bowers said.
Lariviere drives them to meetings or projects, lets them do laundry and hang out at her home; feeds them and gives them money if they need it; and, most importantly, takes them in if they would otherwise have to sleep on the streets.
“It’s her faith, commitment and her own experience that have given her both the power and the passion to do this kind of work,” said Mark Huddy, vicar for Catholic Charities and Social Concerns in the Diocese of Columbus. With people like Fouchey and Lariviere, the message that came 2000 Christmases ago will not be lost, not even when secret sins compromise its impact.
(Joan Hershberger is a reporter at the News-Times.)


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