The Practice of Hospitality at Manna House
What We Offer in Hospitality at Manna House
Manna House located at 1268 Jefferson is a place of hospitality in the Madison Heights neighborhood of Midtown Memphis. It is a place of welcome for homeless persons
and others in need. At Manna House we
welcome each guest with respect and compassion.
Many
of those who come to Manna House live nearby, either in modest homes or on the
streets. Others come to the neighborhood
to eat a meal at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen (called “the radio
station”), located just a few blocks away.
Manna House is a place to sit and visit before or after a meal
there. It is a living room for people
from the streets.
Manna
House is open for hospitality every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:00a.m. to 11:30a.m. Our hospitality takes a variety
of forms. We offer a place where people
can come inside for conversation or rest.
(In warm weather our guests enjoy our backyard with picnic tables). We offer something to drink (coffee, and in
warm weather cold water). We offer use
of a bathroom. We offer showers that
include a change of clothes. We offer
some personal hygiene items and limited clothing items (such as T-shirts and
socks).
Our Vision of Hospitality
In offering hospitality we affirm that hosting our guests
involves not only providing needed material goods, but more importantly honoring
our guests’ humanity and personhood. We
are not a social service agency; rather we are persons welcoming other persons
to share ourselves, our gifts, and gifts we have received from others. We seek to know our guests as persons with
names, histories, and hopes. We seek to
be stewards of God’s graciousness, not possessors of power and privilege
dispensing charity from above. We seek
to build relationships and we are not out to “save” people or remake them in
our own image. We recognize and repent
of our racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism, and we seek to create a
community of hospitality in which all are welcomed as children of God. We recognize our own vulnerability and
brokenness as we minister with our guests who are also vulnerable and broken.
We are committed to providing a place where everyone is
treated with respect, both guests and volunteers. In engaging with each other as persons we
refrain from the posting of rules. We do
not ask for identification. We reject
racist, sexist, and any other form of denigrating language. We respond to conflict in a spirit of
peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution.
We sometimes have to ask a guest to leave who has become disruptive or
abusive so that the peace of hospitality may continue.
We
abide by the vision and practices of Manna House that are necessary for the good
order needed for hospitality. Among
those practices is the recognition of the need for boundaries and limitations
on what we can offer and when. We affirm
that sometimes it is necessary to say “no” to a request from a guest in order
to continue to say “yes” to those forms of hospitality to which we are
committed for the long haul. We
recognize our limitations and seek to be honest with our guests about what we
can and cannot do.
Before we open at 8:00a.m., we gather for a brief prayer. To
prepare for the day, including making job assignments, and to make time for prayer
we ask volunteers to arrive at 7:45a.m. We also gather at the end of
each morning at 11:30a.m. for prayer
and reflection. We consider this time
together after we close to be crucial to our practice of hospitality. During this time we encourage each other to
share our experiences from the morning of offering hospitality, to examine how
we may improve in our practice of hospitality, and to bring all that we have
done to God in prayer.
Areas of Practicing Hospitality at Manna House
Hospitality at Manna House
revolves around two main areas: the
clothing room and the frontporch/living room/dining room/backyard. A long-term volunteer guides the hospitality
in each of the two areas. Other
volunteers should rely upon the long-term volunteer for direction, and to
answer any questions or to respond to problems that may arise. It is important for volunteers to work as a
team that offers hospitality in ways consistent with the vision and practices
of Manna House.
Opening Responsibilities
Please do not arrive at Manna
House or seek to enter the house until 7:45am. Prior to that time those who have arrived
early to begin the coffee and engage in other work seek time for reflection and
prayer.
When you arrive at 7:45am please seek out the person in charge for that day for
work assignments. Also, please be ready
to immediately join in some tasks necessary for opening. These typically include filling the sugar
containers, setting out items necessary for serving coffee, preparing items in
the clothing room, wiping off picnic tables in the backyard or setting up
chairs in the front yard.
All volunteers gather for a
short prayer at about 7:55am.
Clothing Room
Persons
offering hospitality in the clothing room area are responsible for offering
showers, and sharing the hygiene and clothing items with guests who are signed
up to receive these items. A volunteer
will put the names of guests on two different lists. One list is for “socks and hygiene” and the
other is for those who will shower. The
person who “works the list” will begin signing up guests for the showers and clothing
room before Manna House opens and also when the doors of Manna House open at 8:00a.m. The person
working the list will also call the names of the guests in order and bring
guests to the clothing room, telling the volunteers in the clothing room if the
guest is there for a shower or for “socks and hygiene.” No guests should be in the clothing room if
their name has not been called. Also,
guests are not to re-enter the clothing room once they have been served.
Guests
signed up for “socks and hygiene” may receive a shirt, socks, and hygiene
items. We do not give out pants or
underwear as these are reserved for persons who are showering. We do not have the resources to give out
these items to everyone. Some hygiene
items (such as deodorant) are only given out on specified Thursdays. Please respect these limitations. Although it is difficult to say “no” it is
only in saying “no” to some needs that we are consistently able to say “yes” in
meeting other needs. For the sake of the
order needed to practice hospitality these limits are necessary.
On
Mondays and Thursdays showers are offered for men. On Tuesdays, showers are offered for
women. Guests sign-up for showers on the
day previous to the day Manna House will be next open. Once a guest’s name has been called for the
shower and he/she has been brought to the clothing room, other volunteers will
assist the guest, giving him or her, a towel, wash cloth/face towel, razor,
toothbrush, and assisting the guest in choosing clothes. Soap and shampoo are already in the
showers. After guests shower and put on
clean clothes, guests give us their dirty clothes. We launder these clothes and they are returned
to the shelves of the clothing room to be used again.
There
is also important work to be done in the “sorting room” which is at the back of
the house. In this room donations are
sorted and organized to be shared in the clothing room. Guests are not allowed in the sorting
room. Shoes and coats are always stored
in the clothing room. Shoes are given
only to those on the shower list. Coats
in the winter are given out at More on Monday, a meal served at Manna House
each Monday beginning at 4pm.
Living room/dining room/backyard
Persons offering hospitality in the living room/dining
room/front porch/backyard areas are responsible for serving coffee or other
drinks. We strive to keep a steady
supply of hot coffee ready for our guests, along with any other drinks we are
serving. Persons working in this area of
hospitality also need to attend to the sugar, creamer, and number of coffee
cups to make sure there is a steady supply.
We typically do not prepare or serve any food as this is not a type of
hospitality we are equipped to provide during this time. We do, however, serve a meal on Mondays
beginning at 4pm, and also on the third Thursday of each month at the
monthly Foot Clinic.
In
addition to preparing the coffee and maintaining the needed sugar, creamer and
coffee cups, volunteers should attend to keeping these areas clean by picking
up cups, cleaning the table, mopping up any spills, and emptying trash cans
when full. It is also important to
supervise the bathroom located off of the dining room, making sure it remains
clean, and that guests who use the bathroom are using it for legitimate
purposes.
Most
importantly, volunteers working in these areas should engage in conversation
with guests, getting to know them as persons.
Please do not congregate in the kitchen, but enter into the living
room/dining room/front porch/backyard areas to interact with our guests.
Closing Down, Reflecting, Praying, and Cleaning-up
At 11:15a.m., we begin to let our guests know that we will be
closing soon by announcing “last call” for coffee. We ask our guests to begin leaving at 11:25a.m. so that we can close down and have time to reflect
and pray before cleaning-up. By 11:30a.m. we seek to have all guests out of the house and/or
the backyard. It is very important that
all volunteers help to direct guests to prepare for closing, so ending
conversations, games, haircuts, etc. should begin by 11:15am.
From
11:30a.m. to approximately noon., we gather to share our
experiences from the morning’s work of hospitality, to reflect together, and to
pray. This is a very important time for
us to share experiences from the morning, to learn from each other’s
experiences, and to gather our experiences up in prayer. Either before or following this time we turn
to clean-up tasks: sweeping and mopping
the living room and dining room, taking out trash, cleaning coffee pots,
etc. We also clean the two bathrooms and
the showers and sinks. Both bathrooms
should also be mopped. Before leaving we
need to make sure all windows are closed and locked, and all doors are locked.
Some Short “Do’s” and “Don’ts
Do welcome each guest with
dignity and grace.
Do engage in conversation
with guests.
Do learn names and stories.
Do keep a sense of humor and
a sense of compassion.
Do follow the leadership and direction of those experienced long-term volunteers
running each area of hospitality.
Do ask questions.
Do be patient with yourself,
with other volunteers and with guests.
Don’t give money if asked by
a guest.
Don’t give rides to
guests.
Don’t give out personal
information such as phone number, address, etc. to guests.
Don’t lend your cell phone to
guests.
Don’t use your cell phone
unless absolutely necessary. Sitting
playing games, searching the web, doing Facebook, etc. distract one from the
practice of hospitality. If you must
make a call or respond to a call do this in a room not frequented by guests.
Who Runs Manna House?
A nonprofit tax-exempt organization,
Emmanuel House Manna, provides the funding for Manna House through donations
from a variety of individuals, churches, and synagogues. Members of the Board of Emmanuel House Manna
along with volunteers at Manna House set the vision and practices for Manna
House. Monetary donations may be sent to
Emmanuel House Manna, 53 N. Auburndale St,
Memphis, TN 38104. Donations of
clothing and other times may also be left on the front porch at this address or
brought to Manna House during the days and times Manna House is open. Please do NOT leave donations at Manna House
when it is not open.
Directions and Parking for Volunteers
Manna House is located at 1268
Jefferson. Please park
across the street in the parking lot provided by Mississippi Boulevard Church. Do not park
in the parking lot immediately next to Manna House. The owners of that building have asked us to
not park in that area.
Manna House’s Additional Ministries
More on Monday
More on Monday is a meal that
is served every Monday. Guests arrive
beginning around 4pm. Volunteers should arrive by 4:30pm
Foot Clinic
Every third Thursday Manna
House provides a foot clinic. Guests
sign up in advance for this evening which involves dinner, foot washing, and
evaluation/treatment by a foot doctor.
Some of the Inspiration for Our Hospitality
“The Lord appeared to Abraham
by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the
day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran
from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, ‘My
lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water
be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me
bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may
pass on--since you have come to your servant.’ So they said, ‘Do as you have
said.’” Genesis 18:1-5
Then the Lord said to Moses,
“I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go
out and gather enough for that day….”
This is what the Lord commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you
needs… Let no one leave any of it over until morning.” Exodus 16:4, 16, 19
“Is this not the fast that I
choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let
the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless
poor into your house; when you see the naked to cover them, and not to hide
yourself from you own kin? Then your
light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up
quickly… Then you shall call, and the
Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and God will say, Here I am.” Isaiah
58:6-9
“I was a stranger and you
welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35
“Let mutual love continue. Do
not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have
entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews
13:1-2
“Be hospitable to one another
without complaining. Like good stewards
of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you
has received.” 1 Peter 4:8-10
“The stranger requires much
attendance, much encouragement, and with all this it is difficult for him not
to feel abashed; for so delicate is his position that whilst he receives the
favor, he is ashamed. That shame we ought to remove by the most attentive
service, and to show by words and actions, that we do not think we are
conferring a favor, but receiving one, that we are obliging, less than we are
obliged.” St. John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on 1
Timothy
“If you cannot relieve, do
not grieve the poor. Give them soft
words, if nothing else. Abstain from either sour looks or harsh words. Let them
be glad to come, even though they should go empty away. Put yourself in the
place of every poor person; and deal with him as you would God should deal with
you.” John Wesley, in Christine Pohl, Making Room, 71.
“Those
who offer hospitality are not so much providing a service as they are sharing
their lives with the people who come to them.” –Christine Pohl, Making Room, 71-72.
