The links that are included below will take you to the Good Works website where you will find more complete descriptions of the initiatives listed.
WORSHIP
Spiritual Formation as Worship
A Work Retreat is a continuous worship experience with each activity being a catalyst to spiritual formation. It is our desire to cast a vision for spiritual formation to help us see that whatever we are doing, and the attitude that we bring to it are all acts of worship…offering up our lives as living sacrifices. We do what we do because of what God has done in us. Part of this spiritual formation experience is recognizing that God is always speaking to us in many and various ways in order to draw us into His goodness. But are we willing to listen? Are we willing to receive the goodness God has for us?
The Development of Relationships as Worship
Relational engagement is not just a by-product of the service; it is the reason we do what we do. It is the formation of relationships that is transformational. We must constantly be asking ourselves if the “connection” is happening. Connecting people is the heart beat of the mission of Good Works. We must foster, nurture and enable these relationships to take place in each of the contexts into which we are serving.
Part of this relational development is among the group members themselves. We want the Work Retreat to be an opportunity for you to deepen their relationships with one another. In addition, we want you to develop relationships with GW staff, interns and our local volunteers. And we especially want to see you connect with those in the community we are serving.
Service as Worship
We also want a Work Retreat to be a time when the group accomplishes something that makes a tangible difference in the lives of those we serve and for the ministry of Good Works. These tasks are an important part of the Work Retreat experience, because the task is the catalyst to spiritual formation and the development of relationships.
Worship That is Transformational
The overall objective of the Work Retreat experience is transformation of all who are involved – staff, interns, volunteers and those we serve. We experience the Kingdom of God by creating relational connections with people that cross social and economic boundaries. This we believe leads to the transformation of our lives.
Planning the Work Retreat
We view the planning of your Work Retreat as a joint effort. While we have a structure we are working with, we also want to be attentive to the unique needs of your group
Your Commitment
Good Works has always developed ministries of loving our neighbors with the commitment of welcoming people from the community to volunteer to serve with staff, interns and the people we are seeking to help. In other words, without you, we don't do what we do. The structures we create are designed to invite people into the community. We are making a commitment to you on the basis that you are making a commitment to Good Works. And it is out of these commitments that we experience the kingdom of God.
For a Summer Service Work Retreat, we request a minimum size group of 15 people.
The Summer Service Work Retreat Application
The application for a Summer Service Work Retreat provides you with some basic information about this initial step and provides us with a basic sense of your group. Once we have your application and deposit, the week you requested will be confirmed and set aside for your group. Click here for the application.
The Summer Service Team Profile
The Team Profile is the next document we will need. This provides us with the detailed information about your group that will help us to plan for your Work Retreat.
Requested Donation
May the following serve as a guideline…
We ask for a total commitment of $3,500 for a Summer Service Work Retreat with a minimum group size of 15 people. Out of the $3,500 total, we ask for a deposit of $500. This is due with your application and is non-refundable. It will reserve the week you have selected for your Summer Service Work Retreat. (Checks can be made out to Good Works, Inc – Work Retreats.) Each of the 15 people are providing $200 of the remaining $3,000 balance. Each additional person over 15, up to a total of 30 people, provides an additional $200. However, if the group size falls below 15, we still ask for the Requested Donation of $3,500.
If you cancel your scheduled Work Retreat, the deposit can be used to re-scheduled the Work Retreat within the same calendar year. However, we cannot guarantee you another available week. If you are unable to reschedule within the same calendar year, you will not be able to apply the deposit to a Work Retreat in the following year.
Of the remaining balance, $1,500 is due June 1. Please include $100 (of the $200 individual Requested Donation) per additional person. This can be sent to us. This deposit is non-refundable after it is received. If you must cancel your scheduled Work Retreat, you may reschedule another during the current calendar year, but we cannot guarantee an available date.
The balance of the Requested Donation and the Volunteer Releases can be sent in with the Team Profile about two-three weeks prior to your schedule Work Retreat.
Why do we call this a donation?
Although this could be called a fee that is due, we prefer to consider it a donation. We want Work Retreats to be accessible to all groups of various economic levels. Each year we have a few groups come that are not able to give the requested amount to us. We recognize that for some churches and groups this donation request can be a challenge. For others, this is not difficult. Please do not allow this request to stop you from coming and serving with us or from offering more to assist us in the many expenses associated with Work Retreats. We would like to adjust this donation according to the circumstances of your group. If you find that this suggested amount is too much, please discuss this with us so we can work with you to come up with a more workable option. Your presence with us and the relationships that will form is what is most important to us.
The Requested Donation is what makes Work Retreats possible. It is an important financial resource to fund the maintenance and development of the Good Works properties and facilities. It also helps to defray the expenses associated with your stay in the Hannah House. Most importantly, your support enables the ministry of our staff, interns and volunteers, including your group, to make an impact into countless lives of people in our community.
Orientation and Communication
At the center of the Work Retreat experience is the desire to develop relationships that honor God and one another. How we do what we do is more important than what we do and who we are comes before what we do. What follows is an intentional effort to do this.
Your Arrival
Before you arrive, we encourage you to stop to have dinner with you group on your way to Good Works. This will facilitate getting settled into the Hannah House. Suggested arrival time is 7:00. If you need something different, just talk with us as you are planning the Work Retreat.
When you arrive on the Good Works property, several people will welcome you. One of these are your Host for the evening. You will likely know their name before you arrive, so you will know who to look for. This person is available to you as needed. Feel free to seek them out for anything that comes up.
Initially your host will help you to get settled into the Hannah House, the facility where you will be staying. They will show you some essentials so you can unload, unpack and unwind from your trip. They will also talk with you to arrange a time to bring everyone together for...
Orientation
The Orientation is the welcoming of your community to the Good Works community. Together we will form a community of hope for our week together. This time is intended to open up the lines of communication between you, your group and the GW community. We want to use this time to learn about your community. And we want to give your group an initial introduction to GW in general and the Hannah House, where you will be staying, in specific. This will take about 45 minutes and is a great time for the members of your group to ask questions.
Communication Through The Week
Monday morning will be a morning leadership check-in. This is to make sure nothing has been missed as we begin our week together. We want to let you know we are here to listen to any concerns you have and to address these in the best way possible. This will include a discussion about Friday Night Life with the Friday Night Life coordinator.
Wednesday morning we will have a brief check-in time to make sure things are going ok. This is a great time to bring up any concerns so we can make mid-week adjustments.
Friday at around 1:00, we will have an evaluation time with you as the leader of your group. Our desire is to hear from you and learn how we can grow in leading Work Retreat experiences. We also want to hear about any difficulties you have had during the week. Your honest feedback helps us to do this better!
A word about reconciled relationships
Living in reconciled relationships is a high priority for the staff of Good Works both with one another and with the larger community. We are committed to resolving any conflicts or issues of concern that come up while you are with us. We have attempted to put in place a structure that will facilitate this, but our efforts to reconciliation must go beyond just following a structure. Together we must commit to one another to live in a reconciled relationship. You are free and have our permission to approach us at anytime about any issue that comes up during our time together. Our desire is to provide you with a positive, life-changing experience of relational service. But these efforts will be undermined by unmet expectations and unresolved conflicts. Please help us to not let this happen by talking with us about any difficulties that are surfacing.
Thank you for helping us to communicate well!
Your group is a community joining another community. Together we will form a
Community that is called the Body of Christ — a community of hope.
All the Work Retreat groups of Good Works participate in the community that lives in the Hannah House. You will be joining us in various aspects of our life together. One of the goals for the Work Retreat experience is to build up the community life of your group and we endeavor to do this through sharing life together in this context. What follows is a description of some of the people you will encounter while staying in the Hannah House during your Work Retreat.
The Community Life Coordinator
This person oversees the life of the community in the context of the house. They are intentionally focusing on the development of the Christian community that is living together, whether that is for a year or for a few days. This is sometimes a single person and sometimes a couple sharing this responsibility. They live on the second floor of the house. They are available for you during your week with us.
Your group will be living with our Summer Interns. These young men and women have felt a call to grow in discipleship and leadership. One aspect of their experience is living with the Hannah House community. They also live on the second floor of the house.
It is also possible that you will live with our Appalachian Immersion interns. This is a 3-9 month full-time internship, getting involved in many of the initiatives of Good Works and developing relationships with our neighbors who are struggling with poverty.
You will likely have contact with our Kingdom Interns, though you won't be living with them. These are teens who are followers of Jesus and seeking to grow as young disciples.
Guests
Hannah House is our primary space for extending hospitality to the many people who come to visit. So it is likely that there will be other guests in the house while you are here. Sometimes this could be a Family Work Retreat, in which a family has come to serve and grow together. Although we often have guests come on short notice, we will try to let you know who will be sharing the house with you.
Hannah House is also where residents live who are seeking a more stable environment and a longer term solution to their housing situation. This program is called Life In Transition and serves residents of the Timothy House. These single men and women have lived in the Timothy House for a period of time, have demonstrated a desire to participate in community and have gone through an extensive application process. We believe that they will not only benefit from the community, but will also contribute to the community.
Your group will be joining these who are living in the Hannah House creating a unique community living experience.
You will be staying in two large, air-conditioned dorm rooms, each with 15 beds, one room for women and one room for men. Mattresses with fitted sheets are provided, but please have each member of your group bring their own bedding (though if someone comes without, just talk with us).
Adjacent to the dorm rooms, is the bathroom your group will use. It is one bathroom - we call it the community builder! - with two toilets, two showers and two sinks. There is a sign on the door that switches from men to women. Because of the large number of people in the house during the summer, we ask that people keep their showers to 5 minutes to make sure everyone can get a hot shower.
You will be staying in two large, air-conditioned dorm rooms, each with 15 beds, one room for women and one room for men. Mattresses with fitted sheets are provided, but please have each member of your group bring their own bedding (though if someone comes without, just talk with us).
Lights out time is 11:00 and can be a bit stressful. It is helpful to make sure people are getting ready for bed around 10:30. The interns, who have been working with you all day and hosting for the evening. will be ready for some down time.
Regarding dress, we have two broad guidelines:
1. Safety during the day. Dressing appropriately for the tasks you will be doing is important. Shoes that cover the foot and are secured to the foot are required. Sandals are not permitted on projects. Please have gloves for each members of the group.
2. Modesty at all times. Shirts are required. Tank tops and short shorts are inappropriate. Since men and women are sharing a bathroom, dress when moving between the bathroom and dorms should be carefully considered.
The Process of Leadership Development
There are two key leadership roles that should be assigned during the planning of your Work Retreat. Occasionally the group leader takes on all of these roles, but this can become a bit overwhelming with a large group. Consider helping others grow in their leadership development by assigning these to others:
The Meal Coordinator - This person is responsible for planning and preparing meals for the group for the week. You can assign others to work with them. The section that follows provides information about Meals with Good Works, which should be shared with this person.
The Chore Coordinator - There are many tasks associated with a group living together for a week. This person is in a key role for seeing these and delegating them to the members of the group.
Meals with Good Works
We believe that sharing a meal together is a context for experiencing the kingdom of God, especially when our meals go across cultural, economic and social boundaries. These meals are an opportunity for us to come together as the people of God to be nourished physically and spiritually. And together we give thanks. Your group is assisting us in making this experience possible.
What we are asking from you...
During a Work Retreat, we turn our kitchen over to you for the preparation of your meals. You are responsible for providing and preparing meals for the members of your group. That being stated, in practice, this is more of a shared experience.
Our basic request is that you include the people who are living in the Hannah House in your meals. During the summer, this will be 5-8 people and will vary depending on who is present. This will be clarified for each meal through a chart that will be posted.
We are also requesting for you to include 10-15 people in your lunch
plans. this can be as basic as putting out lunch meat and chips. On
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, this lunch will include our Transformation
Station volunteers, who are volunteering just like you are but are also
seeking a resource such as a vehicle. This becomes a wonderful
opportunity in the middle of the day for people to come together.
The kitchen...
The kitchen you will be using is a large u-shaped space. It has two
sinks, a stove, a microwave, with various cookware and small appliances
available. There is no dish washer as we use the process of dish washing
as a way of bringing the community together in a task that serves one
another.
Your group will also be serving someone through Neighbors Helping Neighbors, in which we help people with needs at their home. There are times when you will return to the Good Works property for lunch, and other times when you will stay at the person's home. When the members of your group will remain at the home of the person being served, they will need to bring their lunches. Usually this is for 3-5 from your group plus the Good Works staff or intern who will be with your group. We also ask that you include a lunch for the person you will be serving so that it can be a community experience.
During the summer, the Work Retreat group is present for our community meal called Friday Night Life. We ask that you sponsor the meal, providing and preparing the meal for 75-100 people. Once the Work Retreat is set up, we will be in contact with you about the details for Friday Night Life.
What we are providing to you...
As our contribution to the meals you are providing, you are welcome to use the food in our food pantries. This is non-perishable food that has been donated to Good Works. While this will not completely cover the meals for the week, we hope it will be a contribution toward these meals. There may also be a perishable contribution that comes in that must be used. Please do your shopping for meal preparation after you see what we have to contribute.
During the summer, we prepare a daily healthy meal for the children who participate in Summer Kids Discovery Club and people in area of The Plains. This is called Summer Lunch. The members of your group who are participating in this, will have their meals provided Monday through Thursday.
Two members of your group will be joining the Timothy House community Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for dinner and the evening activities. So their meals will be provided.
We compost and we recycle. You will learn more about this during orientation.
Keep in mind that we discourage the use of disposable dishware. We are mindful of the amount of waste created through this in the course of many groups who serve with us and we try to keep this to a minimum as much as we can. We also encourage group members to bring a water bottle with their name on it and use it as much as possible.
Gratitude
The intentional practice of gratitude is part of the meal experience with Good Works. Before we begin filling our plates with the food that has been provided by the Lord and lovingly prepared by your Meal Coordinator, we offer thanks. This is done by sharing our name and something we are grateful for at this particular moment. Gratitude is worship and this is a wonderful way to experience the kingdom of God. Following this, someone can offer a word of thanksgivng unto the Lord as we join our hearts in prayer.
Thank you!
We recognize that our meal requests are a lot to ask from a visiting group. Please know that this is a significant blessing and contribution to the community of Good Works. Thank you! Because of this and your presence, we believe we are experiencing the kingdom of God as we together gather for our shared meals. If you feel like we are asking too much, let us know and we can discuss what adjustments can be made to make this more accessible to your group. We don’t want these hopes or expectations to deter you from coming.
We are God's workmanship — God's masterpiece — created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:10
Our acts of service are all offerings of worship unto the Lord, arising out of God's redemptive work of reconciling us to God. And these are all done with gratitude in our hearts for God's goodness to us that we in turn share with others. This is what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Areas of Service
Throughout your week with us, you will be involved with several GW initiatives seeking to love our neighbors. In each of these, we view the service experience as a catalyst to the development of a relationship.
You will be serving our elderly and disabled neighbors with needs they have on their property. We seek to address many needs, some as simple as mowing and yard work, and other skilled tasks such as building a ramp or replacing rotting floors.
Kids Discovery Club
Your group will assist us in serving the children of our community who often come from at-risk homes. Under the leadership of our Kids Club Coordinator and Summer Interns, you will help to provide meaningful activities in an environment to nurture faith.
Summer Lunch
Providing a daily, nutritional meal for children participating in Kids Club and others from the surrounding area is the objective of the Summer Lunch. Your group members will be helping with preparing and serving this meal. You will then participate in the meal with those from the community.
Good Works Development and Maintenance Projects
With the help of many volunteers, Good Works has grown in its capacity to respond to the needs of people in our community who are struggling with poverty through community based initiatives. These volunteers have also helped us to keep these properties in good order, keeping them safe for the community. Your group will be involved in these throughout the week.
During Summer Service, the Work Retreat group with us becomes the Sponsoring group for Friday Night Life. This is a large community meal serving 50-75 people plus the members of your group. After the Work Retreat is set up (application and deposit submitted), the Coordinator for Friday Night Life will contact you to get your group set up to be the Sponsoring Group.
Good Works Staff and Interns with Your Group
Your group will be serving alongside our staff and interns. We have several objectives in our leadership role with your group:
Facilitate the formation of relationships
During a Work Retreat, there are many contexts in which you will be present with the people - our neighbors - whom we are loving and serving. We will help you develop a relationship with our friends during your time with us.
Supervise the Overall Experience
Our staff and interns will oversee the project assigned to your group. In some cases, they will have the skills to accomplish this and you can rely on their leadership to do this. At other times we will rely on the skills of your group to complete the project. In either case, we ask that you be attentive the GW leadership provided. For teen groups who come to serve, we ask that there be one adult present for every four teens in your group and that there be an adult present where the project is being completed. The staff or intern are also responsible to make sure you have safe, working equipment available. We also want to make sure that the necessary materials are on site to the best of our ability, though it is not unusual to make additional trips for unexpected material needs.
Be attentive to safety issues
It is our priority to keep everyone safe. We do all that we can to create a safe environment for the members of your group. If we see an unsafe behavior or situation, we will do our best to address this quickly and with respect. You can help us keep people safe by using your eyes and ears as well.
Look for teachable moments - mentoring
We would like to see the older members of your group take advantage of the teaching opportunities that arise during the various aspects of your Work Retreat experience. We view these opportunities as fulfilling Jesus' command to make disciples of all people. Disciple making and completing a project can happen at the same time and are exciting times of connections.
Good Works has many individual and group volunteer opportunities. All of these have the mission of Good Works — to connect people from all walks of life with people struggling with poverty so that the kingdom of God can be experienced — as a central focal point. On average, we have about 1000 volunteer participating in these volunteer opportunities each year. It is our desire that at some point during your Work Retreat you will connect with these other volunteers.
Our interns have made a commitment to the community for the sake of growing in their discipleship journey with the Lord. There are several internships with which you may intersect:
Appalachian Immersion - a full-time experience that could be anywhere from 3-12 months long, living in the Hannah House.
Summer Internship - an intensive 9-week experience leading our summe rWorki Retreat groups, living in the Hannah House
Hannah House Internship - a part-time internship for those still in school of varying lengths while living in the Hannah House
Kingdom Internship - a teen experience during the summer for those who want to grow in their relationship with the Lord
Academic Internship - These are directly related to an academic requirement and take various forms.
Week of Service - this is a week-long volunteer opportunity for anyone 16 and older who wants to experience the community of Good Works while living in the Hannah House.
Other Groups
Occasionally we have more than one group present at a time. This could be a family who is staying in the Hannah House with you. Sometimes another volunteer group will be present. And at other times you may be intersecting with the sponsoring group of Friday Night Life.
Good Works Volunteers
These individual volunteers make a commitment to volunteer with us for a certain period of time, coming out once a week or once a month.
Transformation Station Volunteers
Our Transformation Station volunteers create the opportunity for the members of your group to move from "doing for" to "doing with". Rather than serving the poor, you come alongside and serve with someone who is struggling with poverty but who is trying to access a resource to help themselves. Transformation Station creates the opportunity for people to enter into a volunteer capacity and building relationships with others, while at the same time accessing items that have been donated to Good Works: vehicles, appliances, bicycles and food. Your group members are simply volunteering alongside them and sharing a meal with them during lunch times.