We are especially interested in filling our House Manager and Project Manager positions. Room and board, living stipend, and AmeriCorps Education awards available. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Unable to come to the Farm yourself? Help us out by spreading the word to others who may be interested: tell friends and family about the Farm, share our posts on social media, represent BF at a local career/service fair, or print flyers to share at your school or church. Contacthiring@bethlehemfarm.net if you’re interested in lending a hand with recruitment.
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Group Week Openings!
Interested in joining us for a week-long service retreat experience? We still have group week openings, especially during the spring college weeks. Check availability here: https://bethlehemfarm.net/calendar and contact Steve at volunteer@bethlehemfarm.net for more information.
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We Need Tools!
Bethlehem Farm clients, worksite leaders, and volunteers are grateful for any assistance you can provide in getting us the tools we need to serve the local community!
This is a link to our registry that has our entire tool wish list:
Winter at the Farm is delightful, a time to relax, reflect, and enjoy some classic rural comforts. I’m thinking of sledding, hot cocoa, and curling up by the woodstove. We are fortunate to have wood-burning stoves as our primary heat source in both houses - it’s far more sustainable than burning natural gas (especially since much of our firewood is found, not harvested), creates a space for community gathering as we keep warm, and reminds us of our dependence on the natural world - many service week participants have fond (or not so fond) memories of splitting and stacking firewood as a morning chore. But in addition to keeping us cozy, the woodstove can teach us something about who God is.
Fire appears as a metaphor all throughout the Bible - think of the Burning Bush, the children in King Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace, or Christ’s baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire. Fire represents destruction but also purification, power, and God’s mysterious presence. St John of the Cross (1542-1591) understood this truth. While imprisoned by his fellow Carmelites for speaking up against corruption and laxity within the order, he wrote some of his greatest works, including The Dark Night and The Living Flame of Love and used logs catching fire to summarize the traditional stages (purgative, illuminative, unitive) of the spiritual journey.
One commentator summarizes his lesson as follows:
When a new log is thrown into a fire, a log still green and fresh, at first it begins to pop and sizzle and steam. It is not yet ready to become inflamed, but rather all the latent moisture must first be drawn to the surface and evaporated. This moisture is like the imperfections of the human spirit, our sins and vices, our anxieties and our fears, all that is not in conformity with God. But as the moisture from the log is evaporated, eventually the log finally begins to catch fire itself. Still the log is transformed in the fire. St. John writes, "Although the fire has penetrated the wood, transformed it, and united it with itself, yet as this fire grows hotter and continues to burn, so the wood becomes much more incandescent and inflamed, even to the point of flaring up and shooting out flames from itself." Here the lines between fire and wood have become blurred, and the wood in fact becomes a source of fire itself. This is divinization, this is how we in fact become "partakers of the divine nature." The wood never ceases to be wood, and yet it participates and partakes of the nature of fire, such that it begins to shoot out flames from itself.”
A spiritual journey can be uncomfortable at first, but the early cracks and sizzles are necessary for us to catch fire. We begin to bear Christ within ourselves, the line between our nature and His starts to blur, and we thus spread the flame of His love to the whole world. So the next time you gather around a fire, recall that just as wood is transformed by flame, our hearts too can be transformed by the love of God.
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Butternut Squash Dumplings with Rosemary Ricotta Sauce
Adapted from Justine Doiron Serves six people
Squash, as always, brings to mind abundance in these winter months; walking into our storage room and seeing the floor filled with beautiful orange pumpkins and squash reminds me to be grateful! This time of year, we have squash almost daily, and I’m looking for creative ways to serve it. Recently, two winter helpers and I kneaded out a squash-based dough and made these delicious butternut squash dumplings!
Butternut Squash Dumplings:
1/2 large butternut squash
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme (stems removed)
Rosemary Ricotta Sauce:
2 sprigs chopped fresh rosemary (stems removed)
1 cup ricotta
1 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving
1 lemon for zesting
Olive oil, salt, and black pepper (as needed)
For the Butternut Squash Dumplings:
Cut squash in half lengthwise and roast cut-side down on a tray at 425 degrees for half an hour, or until a fork can be easily inserted. Let the squash cool, remove the skin, and mash well or puree in blender.
Move the mashed squash to a bowl, and mix in the egg.
Add the flour in increments, mixing as you go. Add in the salt, pepper and thyme. Mix until a soft dough forms, adding more flour if needed.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 1-3 minutes. Dough should be soft.
Bring a pot of water to boil (add salt). Pinch off sections of dough and form into balls. Drop the balls into the boiling water. The dumplings will sink to the bottom of the pot. Once the bottom of the pot is covered, stop adding dough and wait until the dumplings rise to the top of the water. This means they’re cooked, and you can carefully scoop them out with a slotted spoon into a bowl. Continue this process until all dumplings are cooked. Keep the dumpling water.
For the Ricotta Sauce
Put the rosemary and a drizzle of olive oil in a sauce pan on low heat. Let cook for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan, and lemon zest. Add this mixture to the pan of cooked rosemary and stir well.
Slowly add dumpling water to the pan until the desired consistency of the sauce is reached. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Pour sauce over dumplings and enjoy!
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Farm Funny
By Clare, Community Member
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Monthly Giving: Spread the love out all year long
Monthly giving is an easy way to support the Farm each month, without having to plan for a large annual donation. If you are interested in joining the Monthly Giving Circle at Bethlehem Farm, then
Some monthly donors set up an auto-monthly bill pay to Bethlehem Farm in their online checking (we can share our bank acct info to set up an electronic transfer OR send it tocaretakers@bethlehemfarm.netor to “Bethlehem Farm, PO BOX 415, TALCOTT, WV24981.”)
OR
Write a check monthly and mail it in to the above address
Monthly donors give between $5 and $1,000 each month. In FY2025, the monthly giving circle contributed over $60,900, an important portion of overall giving!
We are in critical need of monthly donors at this time, since we lost seven monthly donors in 2025, while the need for low-income home repair in our area and material prices remain high.
I’ll give one example of a family who needs your help:
Stephanie is a widowed African American homeowner in nearby Talcott, WV. Due to a leaking roof, she was forced to leave her family home to stay with relatives. Stephanie is a woman of great faith and was relieved when Bethlehem Farm answered the call. She was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Stephanie was highly concerned about her project and the financial cost of both her health care and her roof repairs. Bethlehem Farm’s Projects Team has assured her that there was no need for fear. Completing her project is a high priority for B-Farm and we will make sure to get her the help she needs.
Can you step up? We have a goal of adding ten monthly donors this month.Make a monthly pledge.
Why would you choose to be a monthly donor?
Some reasons that our donors choose to give monthly:
We decided that we needed to prioritize our faith, not only in our time and actions, but also in our budget.
Each time we visit Bethlehem Farm and see the life-changing work that is going on there, we are inspired to give a donation.
This way our gift is an expense that is already factored into our spending, and prioritized above those extra dinners, cups of coffee and other luxuries.
We can't be at Bethlehem Farm participating in the mission daily, but we can live out our vocation in our own lives while still supporting and being a part of the work of Bethlehem Farm through our consistent giving
Because we feel that Bethlehem Farm is an authentic way to propagate the gospel and because we have seen just how far they can stretch resources towards living the gospel. $100 at Bethlehem Farm seems to go SO much further than we'd be able to stretch it ourselves.
Because of the speech Eric gives at the end of each group week about the importance of tithing and how he and Colleen started this practice as newly-wed grad students making next to nothing. And the Farm touched me so deeply in so many ways, and was such a huge part of my life discernment, that I want to make sure I am doing my part to help it continue to exist.
Because I believe in the mission. As a volunteer, I fell in love with the community and as a Summer Servant, I was challenged in my faith. The decisions I make today - as a Catholic and as a teacher - are influenced by the Gospel cornerstones I learned to live at Bethlehem Farm.
It’s a monthly checkup of sorts for us to see how we are living the cornerstones where we live. Additionally we feel its very important for the Caretakers to know they are not alone in their work, that they have partners in their mission that they can count on every month to help support them, even in a small way.
Your monthly commitment assures us that we will have the resources we need to hire staff, make promises to low-income families, and undertake sustainable upgrades around the Farm and out in the community. We’ll keep you posted each month on recent happenings and we can share prayer intentions with each other.
Special thanks to the 78 members of our Monthly Giving Circle:
Anonymous (2), Charlotte Ahern, Carrie & Andrew Archual, Jim & Chris Artmayer, Audrey Bishop, Theresa Bottei, Claire & Pat Brady, Sarah Brightfield, Laura Buck & Nicki Brooks, Jay Carney, Aaron & Catie Costello, Claire Crafts, Raine Cramm, Doug Demeo, Peter & Mary Denio, Liz Drapa, Brent & Amanda Fernandez, Alice Foreman, Lara & Tom Gamache, Mary Gault, Bob Gill, Andy Goyer, Al and Hallie Guiseppe, Hayley & Andrew Harmon, Zach & Carley Haselhorst, Luke & Jillian Hoefer, In Memory of Gary Karasinski, Grace Kenney, Jarusha & Dustin Kimble, Michael & Rachel Kraus, Katelyn Kudla, Lauren LaCoy, Tricia Lally, Pat Lampton, Alex Lazzara, Bruce & Ann Lemna, Mariana Lo, Phil & Carol Anne Mahoney, Christina Mayhew, Mary Clare Mazzocchi, Patrick & Marie McKenna, Scott & Kera McNelis, Bryan & Christina Melcher, Sean & Katherine Mitchell, Caitlin & Aaron Morneau, Jennie & Mike Motto Mesterharm, Shannon Myers, Seeds of Peace Fund, Beth Siegel Nelson, Regina O’Connor, Lisa Patterson, Emma Qualy-Pearson, Andy Rebollar & Andi Grandy, Bob & Pat Rebollar, Jane Richter, Liz Riedel, Sarah & Tom Rooney, Dan & Ann Ruggaber, Sharyl & Joe Rust, Margaret & Mike Ruzycki, Mary Beth Berkley & David Salinas, Tim & Alyssa Shovlin, Rosanne & Tim Shovlin, Rachelle & Ariell Simon, Marc Slain, Gemma Stanton, Peter Steiner, Marcelene Sutter, Rachel Tat, Jake & Alicen Teitgen, Kara Timmons, Joe & Julie Tracy-Prieboy, Oscar & Patrice Valenzuela, Nick Vergatos, Katherine Warth, Mary Williams, Benote Wimp, and Anna Wright-Ebbers
Director’s Corner:
Benediction & State of the Farm
By Eric, Director
We’d like to share the Benediction and State of the Farm address that Eric gave at our Benefit, adapted for this e-news:
BENEDICTION
The Advent season calls us to “wake up” to the presence of God with us, Emmanuel. The Bethlehem Farm mission is to ensure that we have the tools to respond to that call. The readings for the Second Sunday of Advent show us what “waking up” looks like. John the Baptist appears preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”, heralding the one who is coming. And what does this kingdom of heaven that the Baptist heralds look like? Notice that the prophet Isaiah cannot help but use eco-imagery, comparing this coming, this awakening, to a shoot springing forth from a stump and a bud blossoming:
Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. Justice shall be the band around his waist…
The Psalmist echoes this imagery, as he proclaims:
Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever. For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save.
And St. Paul writes to the Romans about the harmony and inclusion that Emmanuel brings, saying:
Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God.
What a beautiful vision to be called to as the Christian community. We pray for the effectiveness of the Bethlehem Farm mission, we pray for the resources needed to flourish in our ministry, and we pray for generous hearts to give alms and to render service. We pray that the mission and work of Bethlehem Farm prepares hands, hearts and minds for welcoming God with us, Emmanuel, so that we may bring about the kingdom of heaven.
State of the Farm
The idea for Bethlehem Farm became a reality with the donation of the Catholic Worker Farm Property from the Kirwan family on December 8th, 2004, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mission. Theme. Past Year. I’d like to share with you the mission of Bethlehem Farm, explore our theme, and shout out some successes from the past year. Mission. Bethlehem Farm is a Catholic community in Appalachia that transforms lives through serving with the local community and teaching sustainable practices. We invite volunteers to join us in living the Gospel cornerstones of prayer, community, simplicity, and service.
Our mission has a threefold nature: transforming lives, serving with the local community, and teaching sustainable practices. To some, Bethlehem Farm is a place to learn and grow in faith and love and to be transformed. Others see Bethlehem Farm as a place they turn to when they have no other means of repairing a leaky roof, insulating their home, or building a wheelchair ramp. Still others look to Bethlehem Farm to learn how to walk more gently on God’s good Earth – to partner on a solar panel installation, work on an organic farm, or take a bucket shower.
Whether the need is emotional, physical, or spiritual, people come to Bethlehem Farm seeking renewal through Christian community. Each of us then seeds this Gospel lifestyle to the world. Theme. We chose 20 Years of Holy Ground as our theme to close our celebration of our 20th anniversary year, as we recall together those people and places where we have experienced holy ground. In the midst of desecration: growing hopelessness over climate change, political division, and an atmosphere of hostility toward the “other” and the stranger, experiences of holy ground remind us of the sacred: what the kingdom of heaven looks like--When we wake up and acknowledge the sacred places and people we are surrounded by each day. The incarnation we prepare for through Advent and celebrate throughout the Christmas season is not only acknowledging that “one time, way back when” that our God came among us as a baby, a poor person, a stranger, and a servant—it is much more than that. The incarnation reminds us that all of creation is imbued with divine presence. We hear Jesus say, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”.
Our 20th Anniversary Year. When I look back on our 20th anniversary year, there are so many experiences of holy ground that flood into my mind and fill me with hope: • The board has been working diligently as volunteers on their evenings and weekends to nurture the Bethlehem Farm mission. • The Caretaker Community has, as ever, been the heartbeat of the Bethlehem Farm mission. This past year, Jack and Helena moved on, Ryan joined us, and Casey departed at the end of December. I’m thankful for their gifts, their selfless sharing, their creativity, and their love. • Our other staff members, Marcus, our Construction Manager; Tiffany our Homeschool Teacher and Garden Team member; and Katherine, our Remote Office Manager, have each put their hearts into the Bethlehem Farm mission as well, with Tiffany leading many of our Farm crews over the summer. • 19 Summer Servants served a total of 94 weeks this past summer, enriching our mission and life in as many ways. We never take for granted the holy ground we walk on when someone gifts 2 or 3 or 12 weeks of their summer. • 289 week-long service-retreat participants joined us on 13 service-retreat weeks, these service-retreat weeks have become an important place for teens and adults to step back from technology and social media, and work with their hands, serve with people on the margins, talk face-to-face, play hard and pray hard, reveling in the holy ground of the Farm and experiencing Christ in one another.
• We contributed ~$875,000 of donated materials and labor (including over 12,000 volunteer hours) this year to ensure safe, warm, and dry homes for vulnerable people in our service area. But the numbers only scratch the surface. Our Repairing Homes, Renewing Communities program is another clear expression of holy ground. There’s a distinct vulnerability in asking for help; in welcoming strangers, often teenagers from the city, who have no carpentry experience; into the most disheveled and dysfunctional parts of your home. And time and again, this is where the most meaningful relationships are formed and the most stubborn stereotypes fall away.
I will share one story from this year in more detail:
Nick has been taking care of his dad, Ralph, after Ralph had a severe stroke and lost the use of both legs and one arm. Nick’s house was already full, with Nick & his wife, two kids, two dogs, and their nephew; and the home was not wheelchair accessible. They had to call an ambulance to take Ralph to his doctor’s appointments, creating significant financial and logistical stress on the family. By the time Nick heard about Bethlehem Farm, Ralph hadn’t left the house in six weeks, except for two trips in the ambulance to his doctor.
Nick jumped in and dug holes alongside the volunteers, cheerfully engaging in conversation as we worked. Elderly Ralph spent almost the entire project on the porch, regaling volunteers with stories about how he grew up on a farm in the mountains back in the day.
On the day the ramp was finished, with the railing not quite complete, Ralph couldn’t wait another minute to ride down it in his wheelchair—so there he went, smiling from ear to ear, and talking about all the places he could go with his family that coming weekend.
This is just one example of the holy ground you provide when supporting the Bethlehem Farm mission.
As we concluded our celebration of 20 Years of Holy Ground, our goal was to raise $75,000 of individual gifts through our fall newsletter appeal, Giving Tuesday, benefit proceeds, and year-end giving toward the goals of the 20th anniversary campaign: strengthening our Rebuild My Church service-retreat program, investing in our Repairing Homes, Renewing Communities low-income home repair program, and doubling our solar production as part of our Tomorrow’s Sustainable Leaders and Green Neighbors programs. Good news! We raised $90,000 through these combined efforts (including $25,000 in benefit income), so we are off to a good start in 2026 toward meeting our $750,000 annual budget through donations, grants, participation fees, and interest income.
Thank you for entering this holy ground, as we conclude our celebration of 20 Years of Holy Ground.
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My Experiences at Bethlehem Farm
By Julius, Summer Servant
When I enrolled for my PhD at the University of Basel in Switzerland, never in a million years did I think that it would lead me to West Virginia four years in a row. Yet, by a series of remarkable coincidences, Bethlehem Farm made it to the top of my research list. And the rest – they say – is history.
When I rocked up in Alderson in 2022, I had never been to the US before. There I was, a multi-cultural Englishman, faced with the beauty and uncertainty of Southern West Virginia. I encountered a bewildering mix of the familiar and the strange: having spent years in Switzerland, mountainous terrain was nothing new.Yet the eroded charm of the Appalachian peaks radiated with unexpected mystery. Having attended church for years, the Christian fabric of the Upland South was all-too-recognizable. Yet it was brimming with a creative openness to the spirit that I had rarely encountered. Bethlehem Farm’s ability to channel this creative spirituality also struck me intensely. It shattered some of the inaccurate stereotypes I once held about Catholicism as a Protestant growing up in middle England.
Indeed, wrestling with my own situated perspective initially occupied much of my mind during my first visit to Bethlehem Farm. How would community members view me? As an extractivist researcher? As a clueless foreigner? In the end my worries came to naught, as I was met with a genuine enthusiasm for who I am and what I do.
The invitation to just be myself, and bring to the table only what I was able, was deeply reassuring. It provided me with space to focus on my research goals: finding out what motivated Bethlehem Farm, and what enabled their sustainable operation. But more than that, it allowed me to open up to others and learn the art of relationship building. Indeed, thanks to Bethlehem Farm, I have made lifelong friends, and experienced the immense joy of living in community. Bethlehem Farm has also taught me so many useful life skills – from growing my own vegetables to cooking gluten free, and communicating tasks efficiently. Moreover, working on home repair has led me to be more confident with a power drill and to no longer recoil at the thought of DIY!
Spending time in the community has also shown me that religion is not just something to be believed but lived: every action has an impact on others and the environment that must be carefully considered. Finally, Bethlehem Farm has opened my eyes to a range of traditions I knew little about - Catholic social teachings, Benedictine monastic rites and the Cosmic Christ.
Indeed, thanks to Bethlehem Farm, I have not only been able to conduct an endlessly interesting research project, but have also been enriched personally, spiritually, and socially, at a time in my life when I needed it most. I will always be grateful to the community for letting me collaborate and learn with them in such an intimate and unique way.
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Epiphanies, Pilgrimage, and Practical Mysticism Create the Artist
By Anna, Caretaker
This past Advent we waved good-bye to Casey as she left to continue her journey of following the Spirit into becoming an artist-minister-theologian. The very first thing that you learn about Casey upon meeting her is that she is an artist; not simply in just the practice of creativity, but also in the way that it shapes her life, how she sees this beautiful world (especially amidst the ordinary and broken things), and her view of the spiritual life.
In her Caretaker tenure, Casey fused together her creative practices with the everyday aspects of Farm life. At every work meeting you would find Casey doodling in her sketchbook while listening attentively. Her artwork has graced the Farm in several locations, not only adding beauty, but often accompanied by works of writing or resources to help explain her creative process that invite the viewer to look differently.
Her artistic skills translated to how she approached Farm work as well. Putting in a window wasn’t simply a task to make a home warmer, Casey approached it as an art project. Drywall mudding wasn’t simply mudding, she would play with making patterns on the drywall and marvel at the shapes they would make. As a house manager, she would find joy in the creative process of making a meal, or admire the way vegetables were chopped up. Over the last three years she has been a steady presence across a vast number of roles that encompassed every realm of the Farm, and she would bring her full artistic self into all of them. Whether she was planning morning prayer with collage and themes of watershed discipleship, meticulously executing a worksite, or calmly persisting in bringing order to an ever-chaotic kitchen.
There is a depth to Casey that isn’t found easily in this world; she truly approaches everyone she meets as if she is meeting the true piece of God-within-them. She has helped many Caretakers, volunteers, Summer Servants, and homeowners with her deep listening and mentorship, thoughtful questions, and openness to “showing up” and meeting the other person where they are on their journey. She is always ready to engage with the deeper topics of life and spirit, with some of her favorite themes centering on Pilgrimage! Epiphany! Practical Mysticism!
Casey’s quiet introspection is matched by her strength of character, especially when she needs to call attention to an injustice. The marginalized of the world, including humans and other aspects of Creation, are continually at the forefront of her mind, as well as how they may be better served.
Casey will be spending time with her family while applying for Boston College’s theology graduate program, where she hopes to attend this fall in order to continue the interdisciplinary work of art, theology, and ministry. In the meantime, she plans on competing in a triathlon, spending time reading, making art, swimming, biking, and hiking in her hometown of Roanoke.
If you’d like to explore Casey’s artwork, here is the link to her website: www.caseymurano.com
