Alumni Feature: Penelope Morgan (’10)

This fall, we connected with a number of young alumni from The King’s College to hear how they’re spending their time. How do they reflect on their years at King’s, and what has it looked like in practice for them to pursue the mission of shaping institutions? Read more alumni stories here.

Name and Graduation Year
Penelope (Gelwicks) Morgan, B.A. Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, 2010

Current Occupation
Director of Hephzibah House NYC. Hephzibah House is a hospitality ministry located in a beautiful Victorian brownstone on the Upper West Side. We have 15 guest rooms for people in vocational ministry who are traveling to NYC. We also function as a Christian community center of sorts, opening our other beautiful spaces for NYC ministries and individuals to use for events, classes, and meetings of all kinds.

What does a typical day look like for you?
My family and I live in the House—I have a husband Andy and three kids who are 6, 4, and 2. My typical day is a mix of mom stuff and job stuff, sometimes switching back and forth minute-to-minute! We spend a lot of time climbing stairs as we go about our day! We’ve just reopened the guest house after being closed for COVID-19, so lately I’ve been focused on spreading the word and giving tours to local ministry leaders. I really love connecting with our guests. It’s amazing to get a glimpse into how God is at work all over the world through them. I manage a small staff of front desk attendants and housekeepers. I’m also developing a ministry resident program, which is an opportunity for young adults who have a ministry role in the city to live at Hephzibah House for a year. I try to practice a lot of personal hospitality, too, whether it’s playdates for the kids or hosting people for casual dinners. Andy and I also serve as the de facto facility managers for our very old building, doing things like snow removal, gardening in the backyard, or fixing roof leaks! No matter what, every day I feel so spoiled by God to get to live in and steward a brownstone for Jesus.

How did your experiences as a King’s student (either in class or outside of it) give you a deeper perspective that you now use in your day to day?
I came to King’s in part because I sensed as a teenager that God was leading me to live in NYC. During my time at King’s, I never could have guessed that this role was in the future, but King’s was the perfect preparation. Beyond the wonderful education, King’s gave me a headstart on building a large network of believers of all stripes in the city and a sense for how God is working here. That has helped me tremendously to figure out where Hephzibah House fits into the larger NYC gospel ecosystem.

In what ways do you see your current work contributing to God’s restoration of the world (or whatever larger purpose you see yourself as part of)?
Hephzibah House was founded in 1893, and while we’ve morphed over the years, our primary purpose is in our name: we are a House, a place. This summer, Andy and I did an extensive restoration of the House, doing everything either with volunteers or by ourselves. We repainted the guest rooms, updated the light fixtures, refinished the original floors, removed bars from windows, threw out or sold dated furniture, and so much more. As Christians, we know that places are powerful things for human beings (something I learned at King’s!), which made the huge effort worth the time and expense. In a worldly perspective, a fancy home is meant to show off the homeowner’s status and wealth. For the Christian, the purpose of keeping a beautiful home is to honor others and remind them of their status as God’s precious ones. “Hephzibah” is a Hebrew word meaning “God’s delight.” Our hospitality ministry is meant to give whoever passes through our doors a taste of God’s delight over them. Our guests are worthy of beauty, comfort, and true rest.