"Where Passion Meets Purpose: Elizabeth's Inn"
The Creation of a Pregnancy Home in Light of the Visitation
Aleshia Faulstich '15
Theology, CST and Poverty Studies Minors
Advisor: Professor Bill Purcell
Throughout my undergraduate career, I have immersed myself in the pro-life movement. Although I am wholeheartedly committed to its dream of equality and dignity, I believe we fall short in upholding our mission at times. Through my work in this movement, I began to see a great need for more supportive and nonjudgmental sources of material support and companionship.
After spending the last two summers living and working with women in poverty at pregnancy homes in the western United States (Casa Teresa and Maggie’s Place), I was able to see immeasurable hardships up close. Through intentional, communal living, both Casa Teresa and Maggie’s Place seek to support women on their journeys while giving them the tools and resources necessary for personal growth and achievement.
I used this Capstone as a creative endeavor and a fruitful and theological reflection on past experiences. With the Visitation of Mary and the writings of Jean Vanier and Henri Nouwen as my inspiration, I created Elizabeth’s Inn, the Sophia Home. If brought to life, the Sophia Home would be a welcoming community for live-in staff members and up to six pregnant women/mothers and their infants. My Capstone is a comprehensive document that includes floor plans, home programming, directives for events, counseling suggestions, house rules, etc.
Someday, I hope to bring this project to realization as I seek to use my future Master of Divinity degree to open a home that welcomes women and the unborn into a community of support and compassion.