For women rebuilding their lives, former Springfield yoga studio becomes 'a sanctuary'

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
·4 min read
Bishop Frank Beard, center, of the United Methodist Church's Great Rivers Conference, gives the benediction during the blessing of the Wooden It Be Lovely residential house on South Grand Avenue in Springfield on Thursday June 2, 2022. Up to four women who are recovering from addiction or who have experienced poverty or abuse are expected to live in the house.

The Rev. Margaret Ann Jessup called the "Be Lovely Home," another component of the Wooden It Be Lovely program she started at Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church nine years ago, "a sanctuary for healing."

"So many people come into the house and say, 'This is a shelter?' A sanctuary is a place where you're surrounded by hope and love," said Jessup. "It's a place where we feel God is present and that's what we want this place to be for the women who live here, a true sanctuary."

See also: Local cancer survivor reflects on battle, advocates for National Cancer Survivors Day

The residence at 801 S. Grand Ave. W. was always part of Jessup's vision for Wooden It Be Lovely, a non-profit organization, where women recovering from forms of addiction, poverty or abuse are given jobs refurbishing furniture, sewing or making candles.

On Thursday, WIBL held a blessing of the residence that included Springfield United Methodist Church Bishop Frank Beard, which set off a public open house running through Sunday.

Four women are expected to eventually live in the home rent-free for up to two years. They will also have jobs at WIBL, which is still housed in the church.

Wooden It Be Lovely staff coordinator and lead designer Megan Murray speaks during the blessing of the Wooden It Be Lovely residential house on South Grand Avenue in Springfield on Thursday June 2, 2022. Up to four women who are recovering from forms of addiction or who have experienced poverty or abuse are expected to live in the house. Murray came into the program six years ago.

Jessup said different programs will help fill residents' free time including those addressing work readiness and health mentoring, book clubs, and exercise classes.

The home, a former yoga studio, features an artistic touch from the women artists: hot pink walls, painted hearts on walls, leopard spots on the ceiling and polka dot curtains. It also includes brightly painted furniture, including benches, chairs, tables, and dressers throughout, that have become the program's calling card.

"We wanted an environment that was bright and cheerful and safe and fun and happy," said staff coordinator and lead designer Megan Murray, 35. "That surely will rub off on the women who live here. I think having a happy, healthy, safe home life can mean everything. It can make or break your recovery and sobriety. If we can be that for them, if we can be that happy place where they're safe, I think that's half the battle sometimes."

Murray would know. She battled a long drug addiction that included 10 different stints in rehab. She was three months clean when she found out about WIBL six years ago.

A brightly-painted bench sits in the Be Lovely House, a residential component of the Wooden It Be Lovely program started at Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church nine years ago. Up to four women who are recovering from forms of addiction or who have experienced poverty or abuse are expected to live in the house. The women work for Wooden It Be Lovely, which refurbishes furniture, among other activities.

"This house was just an uncolored drab house and we made it beautiful again and that's what we do with women," said Murray, who had wanted to be an interior designer or art teacher. "We take broken women and make them beautiful again. This house is giving women who've never had a nice, beautiful place to live, giving them a sanctuary, a place to heal and grow and live without worry and without fear, without the worry of toxic environments they might be used to."

Jessup said she modeled WIBL after Thistle Farms, a residential program in Nashville. Jessup was still a seminary student at Eden Theological Seminary when she mentored under the Rev. Julia Melgreen, the former pastor at Douglas Avenue UMC.

A colorful sign greets visitors at a weekend open house for the Be Lovely House, a residential component of the Wooden It Be Lovely program started at Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church nine years ago. Up to four women who are recovering from addiction or who have experienced poverty or abuse are expected to live in the house.
A colorful sign greets visitors at a weekend open house for the Be Lovely House, a residential component of the Wooden It Be Lovely program started at Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church nine years ago. Up to four women who are recovering from addiction or who have experienced poverty or abuse are expected to live in the house.

"At the very beginning, (Jessup) wanted to buy a house and do a residential treatment center because that's what Thistle Farms does," recalled Melgreen, now a pastor in Champaign who came back for the open house. "There was a house very close to the church that was for sale. She had an epiphany sitting on the stairs of the church looking at the furniture at the antique store (across from the church)."

While Thistle Farms started a housing program first, Jessup first started the work program which she said was "a bigger investment."

'Surrounded by love and care': : Wooden It Be Lovely marks 5 years with second graduation

"From day one, I knew there was a need for housing in Springfield, especially for women who don't have children, and it was my heart and soul to figure out a way to do it," Jessup added.

The Rev. Linda Harrod, the pastor at Island Grove UMC in New Berlin a longtime WIBL board member, said it was a fulfilling day for the vision Jessup had for the home.

The Rev. Margaret Ann Jessup, the founder of the Wooden It Be Lovely program started at Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church nine years ago, makes comments at the blessing of WIBL's new residential house on South Grand Avenue in Springfield on Thursday, June 2, 2022. Up to four women who are recovering from forms of addiction or who have experienced poverty or abuse are expected to live in the house.

"Home is your sanctuary," Harrod said. "It's a wonderful thing that (the women) now feel they have something that's theirs."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Wooden It Be Lovely in Springfield opens home for women in recovery