choir stalls of the century-old chapel that visitors see when they arrive for a retreat or Evening Eucharist, we have consistently created for all who come to us beautiful programs rich with poems, reflections and artwork. When COVID forced us online, we continued to emphasize nourishing contemplative art digitally, during our Evening Contemplative Practice, Evening Eucharist and Contemplative Prayer programs.

Many at Bethany House – Colleagues, members of the Board, Sisters — are makers of art. We understand art as a sacred practice, whether we write poems, paint, take photographs, dance or make collages. Art-making requires the attentiveness,

receptivity, and practice that dwell at the heart of all holy work. When we open

ourselves to the tender lessons of ordinary life– spiders, fallow winter fields, a folk song, the words of others, and of course, Scripture — we grow beyond our smaller selves into beings with depth and range, able to engage creatively and constructively with the life around us.

Mary Oliver, as always, expresses this outflow of love and longing in a stanza of her

poem, “On Thy Wondrous Works I Will Meditate:”

Every morning I want to kneel down on the golden

cloth of the sand and say

some kind of musical thanks for

the world that is happening again – another day –

from the shawl of wind coming out of the

west to the firm green

flesh of the melon lately sliced open and

eaten, its chill and ample body

flavored with mercy. I want

to be worthy of – what? Glory? Yes, unimaginable glory.

O Lord of melons, of mercy, though I am

not ready, nor worthy, I am climbing toward you.

THIRST

As we anticipate an exciting new chapter in our life with the appointment of a new Executive Director, we hope to expand our creative programs to include art festivals, journal writing groups and creative workshops.