Author: MaryAnn Horstman

HOSPITALITY HOUSE OF CHESTER
C/O MARY ANN HORSTMANN, TREAS.
115 SOUTH 7TH STREET
ELKVILLE IL 62932-2515
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Hospitality House
Newsletter

120 Ferry Street …..Chester, IL 62233 Phone 618-826-9810

HOSPITALITY HOUSE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

The Hospitality House has new operating hours. It is now open seven days a week to accommodate the many visitors needing a place to stay while visiting their loved ones who are incarcerated or institutionalized. The mission of the Hospitality House is to provide low-cost lodging to family and friends of the incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center or Chester Mental Health.
New House Director, Gayle Ayala, has been managing the Hospitality House since March of 2011 after former director Mary Kay Keim resigned because her husband was transferred. In the interim between directors, the Hospitality House was thoroughly cleaned and rooms repainted. Gayle Ayala has redecorated the entire house. Guests have commented they love the home-like atmosphere.
Hospitality House is governed by a five member board which meets every two months. Board members are Fr. Leo Hayes of Ava, Don Winston of Carbondale, Dr. Doris Thomson of Sparta, and Mark and Mary Ann Horstmann of Elkville.
If any church or organization would like a tour of the Hospitality House or would like to learn more about this prison ministry, call Gayle Ayala at 618-826-9810 or her cell # 618-771-9121 to set up an appointment.
Hospitality House has been operating since July of 1986 and has served over 28,340 guests. Hospitality House has non-profit status and operates solely on donations. A financial report is included in this newsletter.

Special points of interest:
370 guests stayed at the Hospitality House in 2011
Friend Hospitality House on FACEBOOK
Visit out website
http://hospitalityhouse.
yolasite.com

A Tribute to former HH Board Member

Frank Childs, 64, of Ellis Grove, Illinois, died on January 6, 2012, in Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn. Frank’ funeral service was held at Grace Church Ministries in Chester on January 11th with Rev. Ron Coleman officiating. Frank is survived by his wife, Helen, two sons, daughter, two step-sons, and grandchildren.
Frank served as a board member on the Hospitality House Board of Directors for ten years, from September 1991 to November 2001.
Frank gave freely of his time and service to the Hospitality House ministry. Frank’s love of God, family, and his fellow man was easily seen by others. He will be remembered by all as a kind, loving, jovial, and helpful man of God. Praise Jesus for men like Frank!

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Hospitality House
Newsletter

From the Director: Reflections from the past year…

I arrived in Southern Illinois 10 months ago when I moved here to join my husband who is a Chicago native but now resides in Southern Illinois. As a prison activist back in Virginia, the opening for a Director of the Hospitality House in Chester was a perfect fit for me. I had stayed at the Hospitality House in Vienna so I knew very well what the job entailed and I knew I could do it. But once I realized that this job was truly a “ministry” and that I would not be “paid” in cash, I hesitated. I still had bills to pay and a house I’d rented back in Virginia. How could I make this work? I decided not to take the job but when I told Fr. Hayes, he would not take no for an answer. He encouraged me to find a second job in Carbondale where jobs were more available than in Chester and said that he would wait for me no matter how long it took. The Holy Spirit was already at work in my life. He knew that I was a perfect fit for this House better than I did. So I decided to take a “leap of faith.” I rented my house out, gave my notice at the law firm where I’d worked for 20 years, called the movers and drove my two kitties out to Chester, IL where I arrived on March 8, 2011. I was greeted by Mark & Mary Ann Horstmann who were here at the Hospitality House waiting for me that night and who have continued to be there for me every step of the way. I found good work as an office manager at a Christian Church in Carbondale, a 40-mile commute one way, four days/week. I love my job at the church and the two pastors I work with. That too is a perfect fit for my new life. Additionally, I brought another part-time job with me from Virginia, attending to the financial affairs of internationally-acclaimed author, Paul Theroux. I have worked with Paul for 21 years now and am blessed to have his trust and friendship.
I immediately set out to put my touch on the Hospitality House and make it a place of warm comfort to the travelers who stay here while visiting their sons, brothers, boyfriends and husbands at Menard Correctional Center and Chester Mental Health. There were guests here my very first weekend and those same guests are now my friends. The house hosts many of the same return guests who typically travel from Chicago or Central Illinois to visit their loved ones monthly. But I’ve also hosted a woman from Germany who comes twice a year, a woman who comes as often as she can from Phoenix, as well as people from Tennessee, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Some people stay to themselves in their rooms, but most embrace the hospitality I extend to them as we commiserate the incarceration of a loved one and the tremendous injustice of the Criminal Justice System in this country. I’ve met some amazing people and have never felt happier or more blessed than I do now, in this “Encore” career. I don’t miss the rat race of my hectic life working in Washington, D.C. nor do I regret the tremendous loss of income. Instead I feel fulfilled at the lives I touch and the friends I’ve made, which is priceless. Leaving my secure, established life and career behind at this time in my life was definitely a “leap of faith,” both personally and professionally, but I have never looked back. I miss my son Michael terribly but he is now a mature young man making his way in the world and I am but a phone call away when he needs me and thank God, he still does
I am very grateful to the Board of the Hospitality House for selecting me as their new Director: to Fr. Hayes for not taking no for an answer; to Dr. Doris Thomson who makes me feel so welcome here and is always there for me when I need her help; to Don Winston, who helps me so much with the many repairs needed at a 100+ year old House; and especially for the kindness and generosity of Mary Ann & Mark Horstmann for all the labor, support, and love they have given David and me over the past year as I settled in at the Hospitality House. I pray that my tenure here will be long and I will be a blessing to those who come here looking for hope and peace.
Happy New Year and God bless all who have generously supported this ministry.
Gayle Ayala

BALANCE ON HAND AS OF JANUARY 1, 2011............................................................................$ 219.76
INCOME
RECEIVED FROM:
370 House Guests ( Average $17.87 per guest)................................................$ 6,614.00
37 Individuals................................................................................................ 2,521.06
Catholic Diocese of Belleville Catholic Urban Program.................................. 1,000.00
ELCA Southern Fall Lutheran Women............................................................. 82.00
ELCA Southern Conf. Central/Southern IL Synod............................................. 50.00
Gilster-Mary Lee Corporation.......................................................................... 25.00
Loan.............................................................................................................. 2,502.60
Methodist Men's Club (Chester, IL)............................................................... 100.00
Society of Precious Blood (Chicago, IL)............................................................ 200.00