Bethany Congregations
Applications are open for Bethany Congregations Cohort #2!
We are a movement of people of faith seeking embodied resilience of spirit, ecology, systems, and community.
Bethany Congregations, a ministry of the Bethany Fellows, is offering opportunities for six to ten congregations to accompany one another in the Bethany Way. The two-year process will move congregations through Sabbath, Awareness of God, Discernment, and Action.
Next steps
● Prayerfully discern with your leadership teams if this may be a right next step for your congregation
● Plan to join us for Bethany Congregations Connections and Questions Zoom Call
April 25, 6pm ET. Register here https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrf-2hrzkvEtFC_SXoOmotXEr_o0ZqBs76
● Apply with this application and email to scott@bethanyfellows.org Target Date is April 29, 2024
● Potential participants (clergy and 2 lay leaders) schedule a conversation with Scott and Bethany Congregations Team
● Explore optional pre-work-book studies and resources will be suggested for the congregation as they enter into or continue this work.
● Thursday, August 22, 7pm ET Welcome Conversation with all participants across the ten congregations (3 people from each church) together.
● Nov. 15-18, 2024 - First virtual retreat with full Bethany Congregations Cohort # 2 Christmount Conference Center, Black Mountain, NC (Leaders arrive November 14).
Bethany Congregations Leadership Team
John Myers
Rev. Dr. John T. Myers serves as a Bethany Ecumenical group Mentor/leader and is Minister of
Church Affairs for the Eastern Virginia Association of the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ. John is active with the NAACP and the Virginia Council of Churches and is a 21-year veteran of the US Navy.
Dara Cobb Lewis
Rev. Dr. Dara Cobb Lewis is a Bethany Fellows alumna and serves as a Mentor/leader with the
Bethany Fellows Disciples group. Dara serves as Regional Minister of the South Carolina region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She has been a congregational pastor and is currently a pastoral counselor and spiritual director. Dara has done work in anti-racism/pro-reconciliation ministries in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Rev. Amy Grace Marie
Rev. Amy Grace Marie is a Bethany Fellows alumna living in Denver, Colorado. Amy has served as a New Church Pastor in Colorado, Lead Pastor in Oregon, Associate Pastor in Texas and Spiritual Director. She is a graduate of the Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation. She is mom to Zoe (15) and Mattias (20) and two Pomeranians, Milo & Emmitt. Amy loves to read, run, ski, sing and dance and has a passion for helping others discern and dream through contemplative practices and holy conversations.
Rev. Teresa Blythe
Rev. Teresa Blythe serves as a spiritual director for individuals and groups, as a discernment facilitator, leading workshops and keynoting conferences on various aspects of contemplative Christian spirituality.
Teresa graduated from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 2000 and founded the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Directon, housed at First United Church of CHrist in downtown Phoenix. She has served as spiritual director and facilitator with young adult mission volunteers for the Presbyterian CHurch (USA) nationally and for the Tucson Borderlands.
Teresa is the co-author of "Incline Your Ear: Cultivating Spiritual Awakening in Congregations", and author of "50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Times."
Bethany Congregations Project Director
Scott Hardin-Nieri
Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri is an alumn of the Bethany Fellowship and director of the Bethany Congregations Pilot Project. He is an ordained pastor with the Christian Church (DOC) He is now serving as Associate Minister for Green Chalice. He has joined the Green Chalice team to coordinate the partnership work with Blessed Tomorrow. Scott has served as a pastor with Heart of the Rockies Christian Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as DOC and Presbyterian congregations in Texas. Scott attended Texas A&M University (Whoop!) and holds a Master of Divinity and a Diploma in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco Theological Seminary.
Scott enjoys accompanying people during transformative experiences, whether in worship, spiritual direction, sharing stories, work trips, live music concerts, camps or retreats. He continues to be reminded of his name as “beloved child of God” most clearly in the forests, oceans and deserts and seeks to invite faith communities into conversations regarding creation. He is most alive when playing outside with his partner, Becca, and their two children, Olivia and Nicholas.
Bethany Fellows Co-Director/Pastor
Kim Gage Ryan
Building on 25 years of Disciples congregational experience in Texas, Indiana and Missouri, Kim has been involved with Bethany Fellows since 1999 first as a mentor/ leader and as a Director/Co-Pastor of the Bethany Fellows ministry since 2010.