Condolences for Joy Ellen Harshberger

Hi Missy, I so hate to write an email to convey my sorrow. I know how terribly you must miss your mom. It sounds like things came about so suddenly and swiftly. Please know that Greg and my prayers are with you and Glen and your kids. So many memories of you as a teenager flood my mind. I ran into her some years ago at a coffee shop and she just beamed talking about you and your family. Joy certainly brought joy. She touched so many. I feel blessed to have crossed paths with her in this life. Best, Ann

On a June evening in 2001, I gave Joy a ride home from the airport. It was time five of us returned from several days of experiencing Samaritan Inns in Washington, D.C. Joy had worked along with me for a few years in the Milwaukee Lutheran Coalition, the ELCA and Greater Milwaukee Synod’s ‘urban ministry strategy.’ That group planted the seed which was to become ‘Serenity Inns.' As we rode toward her home, I asked her about how she thought a Samaritan Inn approach would work in Milwaukee. She immediately and ‘joy'-fully said, ‘Of course. Do you think we can get support?’ I said, ‘Yes, if you would accept being the Executive Director?’ After she took a couple of deep breaths, she bubbled ‘yes, of course.’ That ‘Yes’ became the heart of SI’s mission until 2010. When folks ask how does a dream like Serenity get actualized, I point to that ‘Joy' moment. When she said ‘yes’, I knew Serenity was going to happen, someway, somehow. The internal life of the early years (2002-2010) of Serenity Inns was always a commitment bolstered by ‘hand to mouth’ sustenance. Joy’s work with Ron Jones at Siebert, her staffing beginning with Ellen Blathers and her faithfully establishing the core program of Samaritan Inns as the Serenity approach are a few ways she made it work. Along with Ellen the nitty-grittiy, thankless details that come with working with men in recovery with few resources were owned by Joy on a daily basis. She and Ellen knew commitment. That ‘team’ always showed up. She personally filled SI’s economic needs when gaps appeared between funding cycles. Serenity was her vocation, her ‘call from God.’ That I do not want to forget. That I want you to know and share. We all know the reality of loss. At the same time we know of the kind of acceptance that is possible when we don’t control things. Of course, we wait in anticipation of Joy receiving more of life as we know it. Nevertheless, we claim for her, her family, Serenity Inn, and ourselves the Spirit of life that she will live into. I trust we will be faithful to that memory. I conclude with both sadness and a renewed sense of what a compassion centered life-fulfilled can bring to a community. We continue to be gifted by Joy’s life. Thank you, Joy, and the peace that passes all human understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, who you know as your saving presence.