Habitat for Humanity 2022: Final Update
“a place that is wonderfully made” – These are words Arnita Allen used to describe what she was looking forward to in the building of her Habitat house. The house has been built and it surely is that! Plus, it was surely built with love! Saint Luke’s was in the volunteer mix with Arnita, Atlanta Habitat and 10 other churches. The dedication ceremony took place on August 13th. Erin Rugh, in one of her last official acts, was there to receive another Habitat hammer. Arnita Allen exuded per joy as she thanked the volunteers present that day and those present on previous Saturdays for helping her build her house. She recently penned a message that she wanted to be sure made it to all of the volunteers.
“Thank you, I loved working with so many fabulous people. I have learned a lot, from building a home to maintaining grass. I want to again thank the eleven churches that helped me. They all are beautiful inside and outside. When your heart beats for the care of others, Love Shines Everywhere!!!! Again I Thank All Eleven Churches. God Bless.”
Although the dedication ceremony took place on August 13th, there was still a lot of work to be done. A few of us at Saint Luke’s offered to help the Atlanta Habitat house leader, Ev, finish the work. So, a few of us pitched in on a couple more days to help her finish up.
The generosity of Saint Luke’s members helps to make this outreach mission possible. And of course, those who are able to volunteer to work on site are critical to a successful build. The limitation on the number of volunteers we were allowed cramped our Saint Luke’s style just a bit. Those that made it on one or more Saturdays or on one or both of the two additional finish-up work days were Val DeFriece, Steve Cashwell, Bill Womack, Mark Thomas, Tom McIntosh, Mark Ryan, Nancy Moore and me. It was a true privilege to help Arnita build her house. She was right there working with the volunteers and she was always effusive in praising them for their work. The move-in date for Arnita is some date in October. This is an exciting time in her life and it is so good that Saint Luke’s has been a part of her spectacular journey!
About Habitat for Humanity
Through the work of Habitat for Humanity, thousands of low-income families have found new hope in the form of affordable housing. Churches, community groups and others have joined together to successfully tackle a significant social problem―decent housing for all. Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller. The Fullers called together a group of supporters to discuss the future of their dream and Habitat for Humanity International as an organization was born. The eight years that followed, vividly described in Millard Fuller’s book, “Love in the Mortar Joints,” proved that the vision of a housing ministry was workable. Faith, hard work and direction set HFHI on its successful course.
In 1984, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn took their first Habitat work trip, the Jimmy Carter Work Project, to New York City. Their personal involvement in Habitat’s ministry brought the organization national visibility and sparked interest in Habitat’s work across the nation. HFHI experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new affiliates around the country. Today, Habitat for Humanity is a true world leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing having helped build or repair more than 800,000 houses and served more than 4 million people around the world.
Partnering with Dodd-Sterling United Methodist Church, Saint Luke’s has worked with Habitat for Humanity for nearly two decades and has helped to build more than 20 homes. For further information on Habitat For Humanity, please check the Habitat for Humanity website.