What exactly is the Hope House? You may know it as the Hibben House. You may know it as the house that housed Americorps workers or you may know the Hope House as the house on our campus that no one could quite figure out what to do with. You may have never thought about the house one way or the other but, in the next few months we believe that the Hope House will be a fixture and an integral part of the life of MPPC.

In 2008, MPPC began a new journey in its long history with an emphasis on becoming a Missional church. The leadership of our church began the work of

defining what that really meant. Over the past year, many wonderful initiatives were begun in an effort to fulfill this new vision. I became a

member of the Local Missions Impact Team. As we worked on developing our local mission initiatives I wondered where God was directing us. One

question kept coming up; was there some way that we could use our own campus to reach out to serve in our local mission work? One place in particular never seemed to fit with our campus. It was a part of it, but at the same time it had potential that was not being realized. The question always seemed to be: what to do with the Hibben House? There had been a number of suggestions: a coffee house, room for additional Sunday school classes, temporary missionary housing, housing for guest speakers, etc., and while they were all good uses for the house, they were never quite ³it². One evening during a meeting an idea bubbled forth.

Could the house become a ³home away from home² for those in need? In 1990, my mother and I lived out of a closet for three weeks while my father was in an Intensive Care Unit at a hospital that was not near either of our homes. It would have made such a huge difference to us if there had been a place where we could have gone for a little rest and food or even to take a shower so we could get back and be with him.

The Hibben House had the potential to be that place: three or maybe four bedrooms, a good kitchen and living room. But while the idea seemed like a good one, to me, it raised a lot of questions. The house clearly needed some work and up fitting. Then who would be allowed to use it? Who would staff

it? Would it be possible to pull together a ministry team which would have a passion for a project of this size? If we answered these questions, could we engage our congregation with this project and embrace it so that it could be successful? The team came together quickly as there had been a number of us

who had had to depend on the kindness of strangers in a crisis.

The meetings began with the purpose of researching need in our area and developing a vision that worked with our new mission statement and strategic objectives. Did we want to become a spillover for the Ronald McDonald House? Did we want to serve the East Cooper area exclusively? Were there other agencies that we might partner with? After several months of work, the most pressing needs became clear and we settled on our population.

What we found was that there is no facility in the Charleston area to serve families whose family members were hospitalized in ICU. Our area hospitals have 100 beds, with more on the way, with the new hospitals being built in our East Cooper area. So, the seed was planted and we have worked diligently to bring this dream into reality.  We have asked for God for His guidance throughout the process and we could see doors opening as obstacles appeared in our path.  At the August 10 meeting we adopted our Purpose Statement: ³The purpose of the Hope House is to function as a hospitality house and provide a safe, secure temporary Œhome away from home¹ for individuals and families in need.

² Little did we know that the very next day we would be provided the first opportunity to live our Purpose Statement.

August 11 our first family to stay at the Hope House literally arrived at our door and was thrust into our congregations¹ care. Were we ready yet?

No, not in our minds but God was ready for us to do His work. One of our Elders, Bill Metz, received a call that a family was coming to MUSC because

their 20 year old daughter had been involved in a serious accident. The

family initially thought that they were being housed at the Ronald McDonald

House. When they arrived there they were told that their child was too old

for the family to qualify.

There was literally ³no room in the inn². Within a matter of hours, through

a series of events that can only be called miraculous, the family had been

contacted and brought to our Hope House. There were no sheets on the beds

but before the day¹s end there were meals planned and support coming from

everywhere. The congregation responded with love and care.

Now, we are at your door, the door of the community knocking and asking that

you also embrace the Hope House and get involved in some way. We need

volunteers to meet the guests and help them check-in to the house. You do

not have to be a member of Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church to volunteer.

We want volunteers from throughout the community.

Members who served on the committee are Pam Murray, Chair, Michael

Murray, Chris Spach, Elizabeth Grantham, Becky Neuhaus, Beth Moore, Peggy

Leete, Jenny Conway, Don Horres, Jeff Griffith, Jerry Rice and myself. If

you have ever felt the need to try and make a difference in someone¹s life,

this is your chance!

³For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you

gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me inŠ The King

will reply: I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of

these brothers of mine, you did for me.²  Matthew 25:35,40