Companion Animal and Earth Ministry

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Bethany recognizes that as Christians, we are charged with responsible stewardship of our earth and ALL its inhabitants.  And because pets often play an integral role in our lives and wellbeing, we understand that by supporting our animal companions, we also support and comfort their caregivers.

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Bethany’s newest ministry, the Companion Animal and Earth Ministry (“CAEM”), was launched on October 7, 2018, with Bethany’s first annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony.  Our mission is “to support companion animals and their caregivers in our community who are in need, and to encourage environmentally responsible practices within Bethany UCC.”  

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Because this ministry is still in its formative stage, our focus continues to evolve and develop around our core activities listed below.  Our members are enthusiastic and dedicated, and we enjoy tremendous support from our leadership and our congregation. Won’t you join us as we grow into our mission?

Environmental Stewardship

We love our pets!

Core Activities

We offer support to members of the Bethany community who find themselves in need of temporary assistance with caring for their pets, including pet care and/or financial resources for food, medicines and veterinary care.

We supplement Bethany’s existing ministries to include pets, for example, providing pet food to recipients of our annual Christmas food baskets, and sending cards to members, friends and family who are grieving the loss of a pet.

We organize an annual Blessing of the Animals on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, which is free and open to the public.

We support the Humane Association of Warren County with periodic donations of pet food and supplies.

We organize an activity in honor of Earth Day, encourage environmentally-friendly practices and provide education about how we may be better environmental stewards, which have included providing cotton, reusable produce bags, distributing milkweed seeds for the benefit of monarch butterflies, native wildflower seed packets, and a hard-to-recycle plastics program.

And all this in just our first year!  More to come!