The Delivery RoomSummer 2010

Hospitality of the Heartby Jaime Mitchell, The Magdalene House

What is the true meaning of hospitality? Is it when you open a door and see a truck full of donations, and you welcome the donors into your home? Is it when you have volunteers come over to make dinner for the house community, and you sit down and share the meal with them? Is it when you welcome a mom into your home for the first time? Is it when she sees her room all prepared for her and her unborn baby? It’s a combination of all of the above, and it was only after I came to Maggie’s Place that I understood the true significance of hospitality.

As a Hospitality Management major, I spent my days and nights learning the ins and outs of the

hospitality field in hotels, restaurants, airports, conference centers, and banquet halls. I hoped that my college degree would help me secure the job of my dreams: working for an airline.

I worked in the hospitality field for over ten years, but it was only when I was asked to chaperone a group of youth ministry teens to Biloxi, Mississippi to rebuild homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that I heard God’s voice calling me to serve Him more deeply and in a very special way. Upon returning home and discussing this calling with my mom, she suggested Maggie’s Place. After I researched the far-away community, what really drew my heart was the core value of the Mission of Hospitality. God was calling me to Maggie’s Place.

Our core values include: embracing the duty of the moment, offering the gift of presence and having a welcoming and loving spirit to all who enter are at the heart of Maggie’s Place. To put aside all tasks and to be present in the moment, whether it is for a mom, a fellow staff member, or a donor at the door, embodies the true meaning of hospitality. One vivid image that plays over and over in my mind is the biblical story of Mary as she sat at the feet of Jesus: she anointed his feet with perfumed oil and dried them with her hair. I, too, want to be at the feet of all those who enter our house and to be their humble servant.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”(1 Peter 4:8-9)

2 • The Delivery Room Summer 2010

Maggie’s PlacePO Box 1102Phoenix, AZ 85001www.maggiesplace.orgemail@maggiesplace.org

The Fiat House Coordinating Office:Phone: 602-262-5555Fax: 602-262-5556Mary Peterson, Co-FounderChariti Wuethrich Kim PiehlJeff FuentebellaCarrie NeidorfKristen MasloskiKathy HenryMadeleine HeckKristin TegethoffBrian RauchRoxy Schroeder (Intern)Melissa Herzig (Intern)

The Magdalene House, Phoenix, AZ:Phone: 602-257-4648Fax: 602-258-0675Jaime MitchellBrittany AllenAshleigh WeaverSarah RedfordEmily MillerMarie WienkeClarissa KrajewskiMichelle Mitus

The Elizabeth House, Tempe, AZ:Phone: 480-491-0446Fax: 480-491-0495Hannah BurkeHayley RuffnerMeredith KugarKristen Tate

The Michael House, Glendale, AZ:Phone: 623-842-1000Fax: 623-842-1001Mary McManusSarah KeatingRebecca HigginsMaria EicholdDonna Dochney

The Mary House, PO Box 3665Coeur d’Alene, ID 83816Phone: 208-667-2184Fax: 208-667-3040Annie MetzgerMiranda PetersonClaire FinleyChristina Ortega

The Zechariah House, PO Box 347364Parma, OH 44134Phone: 440-886-2620Fax: 440-886-2625Jennifer RodgersAmy NelsonPeggy AdamsAlicia SantosKristin StrikerSamantha BrownMeagan McMahonChristine Nowak (Counselor)

ArizonaA Place to Call Homeby Marie Wienke, The Magdalene House

My mom was the kind of person who made friends in line at the grocery store. People confided in her. They knew that they could pour their souls out to her, without her once glancing at her watch or fidgeting to get away. When you were with her, it was as if you and she were the only people in the world. She was warm and caring, and, more than anything, open and fully present. To me she fully embodied hospitality, a truly welcoming spirit. Home was wherever she was, a place of acceptance and peace.

At the heart of Maggie’s Place is its mission of hospitality, welcoming with open arms the lost, the lonely, and the abandoned—women who, for various reasons, are left alone during their pregnancies. Oftentimes the women who enter our doors carry with them deep wounds of abandonment. They need shelter and food, but more than that they need love and emotional support. Everyone longs to belong somewhere. The hospitality at Maggie’s Place is unique because it is available day or night, seven days a week.

One evening as a group of moms and staff members relaxed in the living room, one of the newer moms began to express her concerns for the growing baby inside of her. She did not know if she would be able to provide the kind of life she wanted for him. As we listened to her, she suddenly exclaimed, “This is why I love being here. You guys actually listen.”

Authentic hospitality is not easy. It is easier to tune out another person’s needs, to remain independent and closed. Hospitality involves risking rejection, ingratitude, or indifference. It goes beyond the first welcoming smile and warm introductions. It becomes an exercise of virtue months into a relationship with a mom, when you’ve had a particularly lousy night of sleep, you’ve just stubbed your toe, and she knocks on your door crying, desperately needing someone to talk with. It is at that moment—when the secular world would say, you have served enough; it is time to think of your needs for a change—that you have the freedom to exercise the virtue of hospitality.

Hospitality is a choice to be open and fully present to one another. In order to flourish, the virtue of hospitality must be nourished by prayer and the recognition that our strength comes from above. For if we try to rely only on our own human faculties, our efforts will fail, and we will become hardened and bitter.

Hospitality, like its related virtue joy, is attractive and infectious. When someone welcomes you into her home and tends to your needs graciously and without hesitation, you feel loved and val-ued. And that love cannot remain dormant for long. You take that love that you received back to your own home, and the virtue of hospitality bears fruit.

I was blessed with my mother’s example of authentic hospitality, which is really an expression of charity. She taught me that each person deserves to be recognized for her unique gifts and talents, and most of all, should be acknowledged and loved. I know that not everyone has been blessed with such an example. At Maggie’s Place, I have the opportunity and the responsibility to share the gift of hospitality with those who need it most. My mother’s exercise of hospitality demonstrated a great truth: every person should have a place to call home.

The Delivery Room Summer 2010 • 3

Mother’s Day Party, May 8, 2010,

Jaycee Park, Tempe, AZ

Special thanks to everyone who participated in the Miracle of Motherhood Love Rocks event sponsored by Discount Tire. Thanks to your participation, this event set a new record for Maggie’s Place! We were blessed to have the support of three wonderful sponsors: Discount Tire, Spooner Physical Therapy, and General Dynamics. The night was amazing due to the tireless work of our co-chairs, Helen Nadolski, Marilyn Majors, Carol Lawless, and Jeanne Greer. Thank you to all the individuals and business who made this night possible. To view the slideshow of the event, visit www.treative.com/maggie/momevent2010.

A Race for Maggie’s Place

November 13, 2010Arts Park at

Tempe Town LakeTempe, Arizona

9K Run • 10K Race • 3 Mile Walk/ Stroller Push •

Free Kids’ Dash

Start Time 8:02am

Register now for an early registration discount.

To register go to www.race4maggiesplace.com

4 • The Delivery Room Summer 2010

IdahoPortrait of Hospitalityby Annie Metzger, The Mary House

So many small thoughts come to mind when I think of hospitality at Maggie’s Place. Each of these thoughts stems from a genuine encounter I have experienced during my time there, and as I reflect, these memories are, for me, a mosaic portrayal of hospitality.

• One particular family is famous for their hospitality to us at The Mary House. Their home is a place of warmth and welcome. We don’t need to knock, there’s always an eager child waiting to give us a hug, and we have an open invitation to dinner. Since I first arrived in Idaho I have been awed and inspired by the amount this beautiful family gives. Their hospitality is genuine, deep, and life-giving for every staff member and mother at The Mary House.

• It is a frigid Saturday in February 2009. I am gently rocking on the double glider in the living room, exhausted from a rigorous Work Saturday and the uncommonly high level of tension in the house. As a mom walks through the room, I comment that I like the pants she’s wearing, and that they fit her well. She thanks me. Ten minutes later she comes down from her room and hands me the pants, a gift just to show she cares.

• Genuine hospitality demands a giving of oneself, an outpouring of love from the heart. The epitome of genuine hospitality is Christ upon the cross. He gave everything, and through that act, He extended, to each of us, an invitation to stay in His eternal home.

I came to Maggie’s Place wanting to serve in a house of hospitality. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that to be hospitable, we must receive hospitality; first, in our redemption, and second from those around us. Hospitality comes from the heart, and when exercised properly, it becomes the heart of things. When a household embraces hospitality, it becomes a home.

“Be hospitable to one another without complaining. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4: 9-10

Have a Great

Summer!

The Delivery Room Summer 2010 • 5

Thank you! Your participation helped make the first annual Maggie’s Place Idaho race a huge

success. For photos and race results, visit www.race4maggiesplace.com.

Photos courtesy of Eric Strate Photography

6 • The Delivery Room Summer 2010

OhioHospitality: Being on the “Other” SideBy Kristin Striker, The Zechariah House

It is the little things that sometimes mean the most. When I was growing up, my family always found ways to give back to our community, whether it was by planting flowers at my high school or by putting together gifts for a family at Christmas. My mom helped with Meals on Wheels, and I would sometimes go with her. I also spent many years volunteering at the local hospital, where I worked in the OB department, never imagining I would be working with moms and babies in the future. I have always been on the “giving” end of the hospitality spectrum.

However, the past nine months at Maggie’s Place, I have had the pleasure of being on the “receiving” end of hospitality. It has been quite a different experience, and one that I know has changed me forever. I have felt everything from utter unworthiness to profound awe at how mankind can be so generous and giving. It makes me wonder: did anyone I helped when I was younger feel those same emotions? If they felt even a fraction of what I feel every day, then I am thankful.

Living in the Maggie’s Place community has really made me look at hospitality in a whole new way. It has opened my eyes in a wonderful way to how the “other side” feels. Suddenly, I am on the receiving end of so much giving and loving. Whether it is a mom wanting to share a special meal or a volunteer who wants to offer his or her extra bedroom for a day off, we as staff are often blessed with the same love and support that we aim to show in return to the moms. It can be a very humbling experience and the sense of being “waited on” can even be uncomfortable. We are not used to being served when we feel called to serve, but the hospitality we are shown is just another way that God’s love is poured out during this chapter of our lives.

There are many times I have been brought almost to tears when I see the generosity of others and experience their hospitality. Recently, I walked into the dining room, knowing that a group was cooking us dinner, but nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful place settings that graced our table. There were gorgeous tulips in decorative vases, picture frames at each seat, and cloth napkins. I was so overwhelmed by the great love these women showered on us, in what to them was a very natural action: moms making a meal to be shared. I think that Mother Teresa truly got to the heart of the matter when she said we are called to do “small things with great love.” To me, that is a true, living definition of hospitality. I feel truly blessed and privileged to witness these small things every day.

A Race for Maggie’s PlaceMetroparks Zoo, Cleveland, Ohio

September 19, 2010

9K Run • 3 Mile Walk/Stroller Push • FREE Kids’ Dash

If you would like to be a Shodow Runner or to get the race shirt and support Maggie’s Place, there is

an option for that online at www.race4maggiesplace.com.

The Delivery Room Summer 2010 • 7

Entertaining Angelsby Tiffany Fleischman, an Alumna Mom

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:1-2) I met the first of my angels in November of 2002. He weighed a healthy six pounds eleven ounces and stuck his tongue out with a frog-like movement when he was hungry. He knew the weight of my heart and the extent of my pride within the first few moments of his tiny angelic life. My angel, whom I named Christian, and I recovered for four days in the hospital after my cesarean section. Each day in our hospital room I drew my baby closer and loved him just a little stronger. During this time I learned at lightning speed the joy of patience, perseverance, love, and the “power nap.” Four days after giving birth to an angel, I understood the meaning of hospitality.

I had experienced hospitality before. I lived for some time with my youth pastor’s family while my mother and I needed to work on our relationship. I also spent quality time on the couches of hospitable friends and their family members after nights of early-college experimentation gone awry; and, although these people who supported me were amazing and loving, nothing would match the hospitality I felt walking through the doors at Maggie’s Place with my newborn baby.

I came to Maggie’s Place in August of 2002. Recently unemployed and disowned by my mother, I found myself with absolutely zero options. A close family friend offered me the number for Maggie’s Place, and within 24 hours, I was meeting with the staff. They asked some pretty easy questions and “oohed and ahhed” over my ultrasound pictures with me. Shortly after our meeting, I was touring Maggie’s Place with a sense of awe unlike anything I’ve felt before.

As I walked through the door, I met a few of the staff and several of the mothers. I was given the basic rundown of house rules and shown to what would become my room. Part of me was relieved. I had found a place that was warm and friendly to live while my baby enjoyed his temperature-controlled belly-bungalow, and he would have a loving home for when I handed him the eviction papers for said belly-bungalow. I would give birth to my child and watch him begin to grow in a safe, healthy environment.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that another, much larger part of me was somewhat suspicious. What I knew about Maggie’s Place is that five college women decided, “Hey, I want to spend my nights and days with the hormonally challenged! I want to decorate my bathrooms with the smell of baby diapers and attempt to get beauty sleep while your infant is screaming into the wee hours of the morning!” What I didn’t understand was, “WHY!?” I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea that these women not only understood the sacrifice but offered such care and hospitality lovingly and freely.

Hospitality wasn’t this grand idea of sacrifice and hardship--hospitality became slippers down the stairs on sleepy mornings. Hospitality was exchanging stories on porch swings and sharing Tuesday night community dinners. Hospitality was family without biological connections. It was love without expectation, without guilt, without want; these small things made Maggie’s Place home.

Hospitality was the feeling that my angel and I were welcomed to that breezy day in November. Christian was welcomed home with banners and streamers. We lived in the chapel-to-be for some time since he was born early by cesarean and there was, in essence “no room [downstairs] at the inn.” It was sweetly decorated and made comfortable, but more important than the fanfare and the comfortable lodgings were the hearts of those who unwittingly entertained an angel and his mother - something for which I will forever be grateful.

Maggie’s Place Inc. is a 501(c)3, tax exempt organization with the tax ID# 86-0972675. Maggie’s Place Arizona, Idaho, and Ohio exist as supporting organizations. Please contact us for additional information.

SATurDAy, July 24, 2010

Children’s Museum of Phoenix215 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ 85034

Play * learn * Explore9:00 - 11:30 A.M.

Family reunionVFW Hall : 4853 E Thomas rd, Phoenix, AZ 85018

Celebrate * Socialize * reconnect5:00 - 9:00 P.M.

SuNDAy, July 25, 2010Celebration MassSt. Thomas the Apostle

2312 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85016Pray * Eat * love

9:00 A.M. MassContinental breakfast provided. Spiritual reflections to follow.

Come help us celebrate 10 years of humility, hospitality, and hope!

All are welcome!