About Us

Mission Statement

Bethany Ministries is a spiritually diverse community of financially independent households who seek to live creatively in the tension between solitude and community. The stories of Jesus in relationship with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus of Bethany, as mirrored in the lives of Clare and Francis of Assisi, provide the inspiration for the existence and activities of Bethany Ministries.

Prayer, proclamation and hospitality are the three principle activities.

Spirituality

The spirituality of Bethany Ministries reflects that of Francis and Clare of Assisi, shaped by the  Gospels and reflected in the Rule for Hermitages composed by Francis. This spirituality is contemplative, relational and pilgrim.

Contemplative

Francis spent about a third of his time in solitary prayer. Clare founded a community of "Poor Ladies" whose primary activity was prayer. This contemplative solitude was not a means to an end, nor merely a source of strength for ministry, it was, in itself, a form of ministry for Francis as well as for Clare. The need for silence and solitude endures to our day.

The hunger for simplicity and receptivity continues to grow in people of every religious tradition and in those who have lost touch with any tradition. Francis and Clare met Jesus through their own faith experience in solitude.

Relational

Francis spent about a third of his time in ministry to the "little ones". Clare washed the feet of her sisters and made sure her convents were models of hospitality. They both modeled a contemplative relationship to all creation and to their human brothers and sisters. Francis and Clare met Jesus through the lepers and little ones of their day and through all of God's creation.

Pilgrim

Francis spent about a third of his time on the road. Clare continued her spiritual journey towards the privilege of poverty until the day she died. They modeled the need to be physically or spiritually itinerant, never bound by possessing or being possessed by anything or anyone, always growing in spirit and truth and love.

Travel can be an icon of conversion, the need for continued spiritual growth, the call to let go of the past, to discern the future, to pack lightly, to plan simply, and to respond to God, to other human beings and to creation itself without the armor of status or wealth. Clare and Francis met Jesus on the road.

Web of Relationships