The Hannah House
The Good Works Hannah House has been thus named to reflect a living prayer that the men and women who come to live in this house will, like the Old Testament prophet Samuel, learn to hear the voice of God and become a prophetic influence in their generation (I Samuel 1-3). Hannah, the mother of Samuel, travailed in prayer that God might grant her a son and when her prayer was answered, she dedicated this child to serve God all of his days. In the same way, we too labor over those whom God has entrusted to us and we pray that each person at Hannah House will experience a new birth and a life dedicated to being a full and functioning member of the body of Christ! Therefore, we ask that by God’s grace we may have the persevering love of Hannah who demonstrated sacrificial and ‘suffering love’ for Samuel. Hannah House is not only a physical house—a place of transformation, but is also a people; a people whom scripture calls ‘living stones’ (I Peter 2:4-5) .
Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain”
This vision is practiced on a day-to-day basis, as the Hannah House serves as a place for community to gather in various ways:
- Day staff: Offices for Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Transformation Station staff are located in this house.
- Community Life staff: These staff live in the Hannah House. They help to care for interns staying in the house, as well as to guide the community for those who visit us.
- Interns: Appalachian Immersion, Summer Service, and Hannah House interns live and grow in this space over the span of several months. Living in the house, interns are encouraged to develop authentic and healing community with other members of the household in addition to offering their gifts in hosting work retreat groups and other short-term guests.
- Work retreats: Two dorm rooms house the work retreat groups that stay overnight with us. Meals, games, and life-giving conversation take place in the house among these groups, interns, and staff.
- Short-term guests: Those who are visiting the Good Works community for any reason have a place to stay overnight and an opportunity to connect with others at the Hannah House.
- Life in Transition: In 1990, we began our Lorene project as a second-step transitional house for residents after they left the Timothy House. In 1994, we re-developed this ministry to offer a “live-with” approach at Good Works’ Transitional House, renamed the Hannah House in 1999.
The Life in Transition program exists to envelop those transitioning from a housing crisis into the healthy, caring, structured, and hopeful Christian community that exists among the staff and interns living at the Hannah House. This is a lifestyle of discipleship.
Life in Transition is dependent upon having staff and interns in the Hannah House who are committed to living in the house long enough to develop meaningful and stable relationships with those participating in the program. For that reason, Life in Transition is not always active, but it is our hope, as a community, to be able to provide this opportunity to people transitioning from a housing crisis.
- Community meals: Most of the meals on the Good Works property are prepared in the kitchen of the Hannah House and enjoyed in the dining room or on the porch. Over the course of a week, both lunches and dinners (as well as breakfasts when a work retreat group is present), bring together staff, interns, residents, volunteers, work retreats, and other guests. During the summer, the Hannah House provides a space for Friday Night Life sponsoring groups to prepare food for that weekly meal. The Friday Night Life meal is served outside on the Good Works property, not at the Hannah House, but the Hannah House is used for meal preparations.
Located on the Good Works Luhrig Road property (about 2.5 miles from the Timothy House on Central Avenue), the Hannah House has an apartment for live-in Community Life staff, 6 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, a dining room, kitchen, and two dorm rooms that will hold 30 people. We can accommodate up to 6 residents and 6 interns at one time. Click here for a map to Good Works’ properties.