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Tuya’s collection of bongs occupies an entire bookshelf in her immaculate little flat, though she does not smoke marijuana—she just likes the way they look. Her weaknesses, alcohol and pills, landed her in a homeless shelter in Helsinki for three years. But since 2018 she has had an apartment of her own, thanks to a strategy called “housing first” with which Finland has all but eliminated homelessness.

Akbar has no such luck. Last month the Afghan migrant stood in the mud of a camp outside Paris, brushing his teeth at a hose that served as a communal shower. For two months Akbar had been living in a tent city of 3,500 Asian and African migrants, hoping to apply for refugee status.

Tuya and Akbar are at opposite ends of Europe’s growing homelessness problem. Finland is the only European country where the numbers are not rising. In other rich welfare states, escalating housing costs are pushing more people into homeless shelters. In countries with weak social services, many end up on the street. And everywhere, migrants with the wrong papers fall through the cracks.

Statistics on homelessness are patchy, but dispiriting. In 2010-18 the French government doubled the spaces in emergency accommodation to 146,000, yet cannot meet demand. In Spain the number in shelters rose by 20.5% between 2014 and 2016. In the Netherlands homelessness has doubled in the past decade. In Ireland, the number in shelters has tripled. The German government estimates homelessness rose by 4% in 2018 to a record 678,000, most of them migrants. All this has thrown a spanner into governments’ plans. For years, they have been trying to shift from providing beds for the night to housing-first strategies like Finland’s. Instead they are struggling to keep people off the streets….

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In Finland it seems that homelessness is solvable. Can bigger countries do the same? https://t.co/4fRNFmJj2J

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 22, 2019

Swinney, an evangelical Christian, is reluctant to elaborate with reporters about his faith; he declined an interview request for this story. But in the moments after Clemson’s 44-16 win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game Jan. 7, he made a bold statement in front of a global audience.

“We beat Notre Dame and Alabama. We left no doubt. And we walk off this field tonight as the first 15-0 team in college football history,” he said. “All the credit, all the glory, goes to the good Lord.”

Recruiting new talent is perpetually on the minds of college football coaches, and Swinney, who will lead Clemson against Ohio State in the Dec. 28 Fiesta Bowl, has struck a chord with prospects who come from strong Christian backgrounds.

Players insist Swinney doesn’t force his views on others, but it’s clear faith is imbued in the program.

The results are the envy of the sport: five straight College Football Playoff appearances, two of the last three national titles, 28 consecutive wins.

“Only God can do this,” Swinney said Jan. 7 inside Levi’s Stadium, purple and orange confetti clumping on his pullover. “That’s a fact. People may think I’m crazy or quacky, or whatever.

“But only God can orchestrate this.”

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The Post and Courier spoke to 13 current and incoming @ClemsonFB players for this story.

All attributed their college decision in large part to Swinney’s transparency about his faith. https://t.co/0xuygpvqBY

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) December 21, 2019

Lord God Almighty, King of glory and love eternal, worthy art thou at all times to receive adoration, praise, and blessing; but especially at this time do we praise thee for the sending of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, for whom our hearts do wait, and to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, be honour and dominion, now and for ever.

–Prayers for the Christian Year (SCM, 1964)

‘She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’
Matthew 1:21

Art:
Saint Joseph’s Dream
By
Antonio Palomino, (1655–1726) #Gospel #GodWhoSpeaks #KalinaB #VerbumDei #YearOfTheWord #YOTW2020#Advent pic.twitter.com/Acm3KHXDXx

— Kalina Boulter (@KalinaBoulter) December 22, 2019

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.

–John 3:16-21