Family Week

Family Week No Date (1)

Have you been wishing that you could go on family vacation and make a difference at the same time? Have you ever wished that your kids could see a living example of a Catholic community? Do you like to eat good food, get your hands dirty, and spend time with other families? Bethlehem Farm’s “Family Week” might just be what you are looking for!

What is Family Week like? Your family and several others will arrive on Sunday evening around 6:30 to tour the Farm and get oriented for the week. Generally, the group will be around 30 kids, adults, and older adults. Each day starts and ends with communal prayer. Monday is spent on the Farm with a “Tool & Safety” lesson, farm chores between breakfast and lunch, an introduction to the history and mission of Bethlehem Farm, a hike around the property with a conversation about Catholic Social Teachings, some free time, dinner, dishes, and Eucharist.

For the rest of the week, families are grouped into different “work crews” for the community service worksites. We will solicit your preferences on keeping your family together or spreading you out in multiple work crews. The crews visit a different work site each day. Most crews will also spend a day at the Farm on Home Crew doing meal preparation, garden produce processing, housekeeping, and other aspects in the ministry of hospitality. Each group is given a chance to plan group prayer with the help of a Caretaker. Some crews may also spend a day on Farm Crew, working in the garden or around the farm. On the Saturday of departure, we have our closing prayer together, pack our vans, eat breakfast, clean the house and depart around 10am. 

Family Week is an opportunity to spend a week praying, serving, and having fun with other faithful families. While you will have to pack bags and get here, once you’re here, we take care of the logistics. Meals are planned, the food is here, the worksites are set up, and the prayers are scheduled. You just bring your family, your open hearts, your enthusiasm, and your talents, and the experience will be a powerful one– of faith, service, hard work, community, laughter, and fun. 

What do other families say about their experience at Bethlehem Farm? 

“Our family had a powerful experience of faith there. Everything was so well run, and Catholic Social Teaching was interwoven throughout the program in a way that our kids and all the other families experienced a natural progression from the day’s activities into our faith. They recruit some of the best young adults I have ever met to help with the program.  They really have done amazing work and gave my kids a vision of what the Church can be like at its best.” from a 2018 Family Week Dad

“Excellent integration of Church Teaching. My family saw first hand the real life application of our social teachings & discussed how to apply them in our lives.” from a 2018 Family Week parent

“The most difficult thing about the week was not having fun. Here, it’s impossible to not have fun!” from a 2018 Family Week kid

How Do We Register?

To reserve your place on family week, please send in a registration form with a $50/person deposit.

Priority is given to families that register by February 1st, after which all spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please read the 2023 Registration Packet in order to know and abide by the policies you are agreeing to when you sign the registration form.

Thanks again for your desire to join us here at Bethlehem Farm. If you have any questions please contact Steve, at volunteer@bethlehemfarm.net or (304)445-7143.

2023 Registration Forms:

2023 Registration Packet

2023 Family Week Registration Form

Participation Forms

Forms to be submitted to BF at least 30 days before your arrival:

For each family member:
Volunteer Contract (everyone)
Hold Harmless Agreement (everyone)
Health Insurance Form (Under 18 years old)
OR
Health Insurance (18 years old and up)

Parent Forms:
Parent Pre-Trip Insight Form (online)
-One parent please complete this short online form telling us about your family
Parent/Leader Expectations
-The parents who will be coming to the Farm must sign and return this form

Helpful information as you prepare for your trip: