ON A GOOD NOTE
TEXT BY PETER GATHJE | PHOTOS COURTESY OF MANNA HOUSE
Manna House
provides hospitality for people experiencing homelessness and others in poverty. The group seeks to welcome others as the very presence of God. As Jesus taught, they recognize that he is present in “the least of these” (Matthew 25:31-46). Manna House offers hospitality for guests at two locations, House of Hospitality at 1268 Jefferson, and Women’s Sanctuary, which they run in partnership with Room in the Inn Memphis. At the House of Hospitality on Monday and Thursday mornings volunteers welcome guests for coffee and conversation, showers and a change of clothes. They seek to meet a variety of the guests’ other needs, including hygiene 74 | At Home Memphis & Mid South • January 2022
items and seasonal items like coats and blankets. On Monday evenings guests receive a take-away meal at the House of Hospitality. The Manna House Women’s Sanctuary offers shelter for women several times a week, including a meal, showers, clothing, a safe place to sleep and a light breakfast. As an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff, Manna House is committed to building relationships among volunteers and guests in which there is mutual respect and affirmation of dignity. Motivated by God’s love, the organization seeks to share that love, as well as to receive it from Manna House guests. Now in its 16th year, the mission continues to practice a personal, human-scale hospitality in which the only agenda is love.
