From time to time, Good News will be carrying a feature about the remarkable people who warm the pews at St. Raymond Church every weekend. They are the folks whose steadfast faith and devotion give our parish its welcoming spirit and joyful feeling that we are more than a place of worship: we are a family. Here is the story of Sister Bethany Welch.
When Bethany Welch was a little girl, she wanted to grow up to be a missionary.
“I suppose I’ve always been radical,” said the 46-year-old woman, who was homeschooled and raised, along with her two brothers, in a Protestant denomination -- the Free Methodist Church -- that historically supports women in ministry, racial equality, and care for the poor.
This coming Sunday, Sister Bethany J. Welch, PhD, SSJ, will profess her second vows as a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, in a public setting during the 10 o’clock Mass at St. Raymond because she wants others to know that God continues to call His people to serve Him at every age.
The upcoming renewal of her initial vows, professed in the congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill a year ago, marks the second step (or the apostolic segment) of her novitiate, which followed two years of living independently as a candidate. “All told, the process takes about 10 years,” she explained.
Before writing her second letter asking to renew the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty, Sister Bethany engaged in a discernment process to determine how well she has been living those vows, in community with four other Sisters of St. Joseph in the convent at St. Luke the Evangelist in Glenside.
“We speak of the ‘pinch’ of the vows,” she explained, ruefully mentioning her fondness for extravagant lattes as one of the little things she now forswears.
In her first year of living in community, Sr. Bethany has learned much about being “contemplative in action.” In addition to personal prayer, she engages in daily communal prayer and sharing with the Sisters. “We take turns with chores in the house, and our interdependence brings us to a level of trust and openness to the ways God is working in our lives."
After years of teaching and running non-profit organizations, Sr. Bethany earned a PhD in Urban Studies and Public Policy. In 2013, she became the founder and director of the St. Thomas Aquinas Center. The Center is affiliated with St. Thomas Aquinas parish, a multi-cultural, historically black community. Its mission includes immigration services, housing, ESL, community gardening and mural painting.
Sister Bethany is now an associate director with DePaul USA, managing a transitional housing program for college students experiencing homelessness. She was recently awarded a research fellowship by Villanova University to conduct a study on this program model which uses surplus church property to respond to the U.S. housing crisis. In her present ministry, Sr. Bethany says, “I can bring people I work with to church with me and know they will feel welcome in the pews at St. Raymond.”
At the Mass on Sunday, Sr. Eileen Marnien, congregational president of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, will receive Sister Bethany’s vows, both sacred and practical. She will be surrounded by family and many spiritual associates, including Sr. Mary Theresa Nguyen, AOI, her sponsor during her RCIA initiation to Catholicism back in 2005.
Sr. Bethany’s spiritual journey of growing up in a family committed to faith and justice shines in her eyes. Reflecting on living in community, she said “Formation needs flexibility. In this time of uncertainty in our social history, I am certain of my call to prophetic witness.”
A reception for Sister Bethany will be held in the Sister Rosemary Room, immediately following the Mass.
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