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Magdalena House Offers Healing and Hope
Facility Seeks Applications from Battered Women
by Linda Owen
Denise Barker had a dream seven years ago. She wanted to help abused women by providing them a place to stay while they were rebuilding their lives. God’s call was so distinct that she took seminary classes in pastoral care and women’s issues. Feeling God nudging her into “untraditional” ministry to the world instead of the local church, she began doing volunteer work at the Visitation House, a shelter for battered women in San Antonio.Later, at one of their spiritual retreats, she told herself: One day I’m going to run a facility like this. But I want a residential model, where women can feel at home instead of a dorm-like environment.Today Barker is the Minister of Justice and Missions at University United Methodist Church. Among the congregation and the San Antonio community, Barker found over 300 volunteers to help her build a four-bedroom home for women in poverty who would not have the resources to leave an abusive spouse. On five acres of land in northwest San Antonio, they added a slab and two rooms to the already existing brick house. To enlarge the kitchen for multifamily use, a wall was knocked down and three separate pantries were built. The land, donated by anonymous Christians, was leased to the church for one dollar a year. All of the furniture needed for three families was also donated.After almost 2,000 hours of construction work provided by the volunteers, Magdalena House was finally ready for its unveiling on Oct. 1. During the open house, one exciting moment for Barker was the house blessing by District Superintendent Rev. Virgilio Vazquez-Garza of the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. He joined about 200 friends and supporters of Magdalena House in celebration of its opening. They enjoyed refreshments, toured the house, took a look at Magdalena House's wish list, and discovered how to put their gifts and talents to work in helping battered and abused women and their children. In the upcoming weeks, applicants will be interviewed by Barker, undergo a background check and drug testing, and interviewed again by mental health professionals. “We're looking for women who aren’t just interested in a place to stay,” saysBarker. “We're looking for women who are eager to change their lives—primarily through education. And we are interested in ministering to children and helping to break the cycle of violence. We know this type of transformation is done only through God's power as women come to understand through our actions how much they are loved by God.”Magdalena House will provide new hope, a fresh start, and a safe refuge for these women (and their children) for as long as two years, while they earn an education. House residents—three women and their children—will be referred to Magdalena House through Child Protective Services and local family courts.In addition to housing, residents will have access to educational and vocational counseling, tutoring and mentoring, and a host of additional services, including parenting, finances, spiritual formation, life skills, and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. Children of Magdalena House will participate in comprehensive programs designed especially for their unique needs.Currently Barker is accepting applications for families and a house mother. One major challenge in the selection process will be to find families that are compatible. Barker asks for your prayers for the future of the women and children who will live in the new facility. “We want Magdalena House to be a place of healing, hope, and multiplied blessings,” she says. To learn more about Magdalena House and its new ministry, telephone 561-0505.
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Linda Owen
Contributing Writer/Online Editor
Linda Owen is a regular writer on faith, retirement, travel, and general interest subjects for a variety of newspapers and magazines, both secular and Christian. She received her B.S. in Education and Journalism from SWTSC and a Master of Divinity Degree from Perkins School of Theology (SMU). Before seminary, she taught English and Media Communications at Churchill High School. After seminary, she worked on staff at churches in Dallas, Cotulla, and San Antonio. Linda teaches a weekly Bible study at University United Methodist Church. See Linda's web site: www.angelfire.com/zine2/lindaowen-writer/index.html.
linda@saworship.com
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