Volunteering

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About 20 weeks out of the year, Nazareth Farm hosts high school, college, and adult volunteer groups for a week-long service-retreat experience. Volunteers arrive Sunday evening and are given a tour and orientation to the Farm. Monday morning we start bright and early with prayer, a tool-safety session, and breakfast followed by chores. After chores we have lunch and then discuss the history of the Farm and Catholic Social Teaching. In the afternoon we go on a hike to the highest point of our property, followed by dinner, prayer and free time. Tuesday through Friday volunteers will engage in morning prayer, chores, and breakfast before heading out to home repair worksites led by our staff. Those worksites are an opportunity for hands-on service, community building with fellow volunteers and community building with our homeowners. In the evenings we may have a bonfire, open our woodshop, open our store, or have a discussion about our experiences throughout the week (depending on the weeknight). Tuesday evenings we have "community night" where we pick up our community friends on our way home from the worksite so that we can share a meal and pray with them.

Beyond just our group weeks for high school and college students we also offer a few alternatives. In November we invite any adults to join us for our "adult week" - this begins on a Wednesday evening and concludes on Monday morning and is geared to be less structured to meet the needs of the participants. Families can register as a group for our "family week" in August - open to people of all ages and structured very similarly to our high school group weeks. Every year during "holy week" we have special celebrations leading up to Easter, including homeowner visits, a Seder Meal, foot washing on Holy Thursday, an all night chapel vigil Thursday night, a 10-mile hike on Good Friday, and a veneration of the cross prayer service Friday night. Anyone who has been to the farm at any point is welcome to join us for that week.

The experience is molded around our four cornerstones of prayer, service, community, and simplicity. All volunteers will have an opportunity to lead prayer, to use our bucket showers and outhouses, to let go of distractions and to grow in many other ways. Expect a miracle!

If you are interested in joining us for a group week or to bring a group to the farm, please check the appropriate links to the left, as well as those links in our "about us" and "resource" sections. It would also be beneficial to give our Volunteer Coordinator a call at 304-782-2742.

For questions regarding group weeks and volunteering at Nazareth Farm email our volunteer coordinator at nazarethfarm@gmail.com.