The Rev. Elizabeth Preston and The Way Station

Nashotah House loves celebrating the work of its Sons and Daughters, and so we are launching the House Highlight. This is an opportunity to learn about how the Sons and Daughters of the House are loving God and neighbor in their ministry.

Today’s House Highlight is an interview with the Rev. Elizabeth Preston. Mother Preston graduated with a Master in Pastoral Ministry in 2018, and in September 2018 she launched The Way Station, an outreach ministry serving Spencer, Iowa. I wanted to learn more about her new ministry, and so I reached out to Rev. Preston with some questions.

Jim Watkins: What is The Way Station? 

The Rev. Elizabeth Preston: The Way Station is an outreach of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. Our goal is to share the extravagant love of Jesus with our community through radical hospitality as we offer worship, food and coffee, books, and art. We have become largely, though not exclusively, a youth ministry and we emphasize relationships over programming.

Life is a journey, and a way station is a stop along the way where travelers can recharge, refuel, and be refreshed and restored. They might change directions or begin their journey anew. Early followers of Jesus were called followers of The Way. We aim to model, teach, and live out the Way of Jesus, the Way of Love, with everyone who comes through our door.

At The Way Station, families appreciate a wholesome and inexpensive place where they can have fun as a family.

JW: This is such a unique ministry that combines hospitality, art, books, worship, and community. What inspired you to launch this ministry?

EP: I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired this ministry through a course I took at Nashotah House called “Church and Contemporary Culture.” I was also inspired by my experiences at The Spirit Wind Center for Creativity and Healing in Stonington, Connecticut, and the Come and See service at St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona.

JW: I love that The Way Station is a gathering place for the community and that everyone is welcome. I’m sure people come for different reasons. Why do people come to The Way Station? 

EP: The Way Station serves mostly youth, and largely middle school students. The majority of the youth we serve happen to be marginalized, at-risk youth from single-parent families and challenging situations. Youth come to The Way Station to eat, hang out with friends, do arts and crafts, play games, and interact with our volunteers. They come to tell their stories and to be heard and loved. They come to GPS (the God Positioning System) to sing, hear the Bible and other Christian stories, and to talk and learn about Jesus. They come to share God Sightings. They also come for YSL (Youth Service League), to volunteer at a local animal shelter, help serve a meal at the Community Outreach, and help neighbors in need. 

Adults come for coffee and conversation, a hot meal, to interact with the youth, to make art and browse the book shelves. Youth and adults come on Sunday afternoon and other holidays to worship. People bring their pets, because we are a place that loves animals as much as they do, and the animals are always welcome. We have treats for them, too.

Adults come for coffee and conversation, a hot meal, to interact with the youth, to make art and browse the book shelves.

JW: It sounds like your ministry has grown in exciting and unexpected directions! Have you found partners to work with in Spencer, Iowa?

EP: Yes! We partner with a Christian organization called Hope Haven that serves children, families, and adults with disabilities of every kind. Their staff and youth often come to The Way Station where they are enfolded into our community, and we all eat, play, and craft together. All of our youth are very kind, compassionate, and good at including the youth from Hope Haven in all that is happening. A supervisor and life coach from Hope Haven serves on our advisory board. Life can be difficult on all kinds of levels for our youth, and we are happy that they find a safe refuge with us.

JW: It sounds like God is using The Way Station to bless Spencer, Iowa. What impact is The Way Station having in its community?  

EP: I believe that we are making an impact on our community by sharing God's extravagant love. Some of our youth, on their own initiative, made Kindness Cards and distributed them up and down the main street. One shopkeeper told me they had brightened an otherwise gloomy day for her. Families appreciate a wholesome and inexpensive place where they can have fun as a family. People appreciate that we are providing a safe place for youth after school. Two of our youth have requested and received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, and we make such a big deal of that, and people are impacted and drawn to worship. Other clergy have begun to call us "the downtown church."

JW: It is so wonderful to hear how God is working through The Way Station! Where do you think the Holy Spirit is taking The Way Station next?

EP: I think the Holy Spirit is leading us in several new directions. One is to develop The Way Station’s ministry to our disabled friends by starting a cottage industry of heritage crafts that can help support them and give them a purpose and a place to be after they graduate from high school. Sheltered workshops have been defunded in Iowa, and often there are no good options after they leave school. We are considering involving seniors in teaching heritage skills such as sewing, weaving, rug making, and other crafts. 

The wonderful thing about The Way Station is that our volunteers are served just as much, and receive just as much, as those we serve. One of our volunteers and Core Team members was recently widowed when she started coming to The Way Station. She was lonely and sad and struggled to find purpose in her life after her husband's passing. But she is a very sweet and giving person, and the youth were drawn to her immediately, always seeking her out to talk to and pour out their troubles to. She attends our worship regularly from the very beginning and has volunteered on Thursday afternoon and evening, when most of the youth attend. She is outspoken in expressing that she credits The Way Station with saving her life, in giving her a purpose and helping her to feel needed. Which she is, very much!

Dr. Jim Watkins is Senior Advancement Officer at Nashotah House. For the past seven years he has worked in Kindergarten - 12th grade Christian education and most recently as Director of Christian Formation at St. Augustine Preparatory Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received a Ph.D. in theological aesthetics from the University of St. Andrews and a Master in Christian Studies with an emphasis in Christianity and the Arts from Regent College.

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