Restoration Houses

Mission Statement

The Restoration Houses strive to restore our relationships with God, with humanity, and with creation.

Restoration with God: Seek a close relationship with God, pursue God's will for us, and support others along their faith journey.
Restoration with Humanity: Care for our neighbors near and far by seeking justice, loving kindness, and living humbly in order to promote equity in our local and global communities
Restoration with Creation: Dedicate to serve, protect, know, and value the environment in which we live by cultivating a sustainable lifestyle and a strong sense of place.

Commitments

To engage in fellowship between both Restoration Houses
To support and connect with the Office of Sustainability
To serve in local/campus community through the Agape Center, church communities, or others
To honor God by showing love to neighbors (regardless of differences) and creation
To live sustainably by…
- educating ourselves and others on environmental issues
- making informed decisions regarding purchases
- using resources conservatively
- disposing of waste properly

Activities/Service

Each house will have an individual gathering once a week. This is a flexible time to discuss life, living out the house mission, share a meal, etc.
The houses together will hold one festival each semester open to the entire Messiah community. In the past this has been in the form of a Fall Fest and Spring Lawn Party.
The houses will care for the Office of Sustainability's chickens (1-2 minute walk from the houses). House members will share the daily responsibility of giving the chickens food and water, collecting their eggs, and providing any additional care as necessary.
The houses will seek to minimize negative environmental and humanitarian impacts through using responsible products and packaging
The houses will use water, electricity, heating, and cooling conservatively; they will also search for other innovations to promote sustainable lifestyles.

Apply to live in a Restoration House

The Restoration Houses are advised by Dr. David Foster.

An extra note to prospective Restoration House residents

Living in the Restoration House means living in an intentional community where you spend much of your free time at the house (meals, study time, plain old chillin'). But there are also more concrete and mandatory commitments such as a one hour weekly meeting, and one large event put on by the house each semester (e.g., Fall: Fall Fest and Spring: Lawn Party). The house is different from other campus communities in its focus on "green living" and caring for the environment.