[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, announced May 13 it is selling its diocesan headquarters to a nonprofit founded partly by the diocese in the 1980s that in recent years has expanded its ministry of serving people experiencing poverty, hunger and homelessness.
The nonprofit, New Bethany, was founded through a partnership with the city of Bethlehem and Cathedral Church of the Nativity. Since 2022, the diocese has allowed New Bethany to use space at Diocesan House in Bethlehem for volunteer housing, meeting rooms and offices.
Bethlehem Bishop Kevin Nichols stands in front of the stained-glass windows at Diocesan House in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The property is being sold to the nonprofit New Bethany. Photo: Diocese of Bethlehem
“New Bethany ministries was a vision of a reimagined Wyandotte Street where the spiritual and outreach needs of Southside Bethlehem and beyond would be embraced with the love of Jesus,” Bethlehem Bishop Kevin Nichols said in a news release announcing the sale. “In so many ways, this dream has been realized.”
The two-story building includes more than 6,000 square feet of space. Transfer of the property’s deed to New Bethany is scheduled for late May, and diocesan staff will relocate to space in the adjacent Nativity Cathedral. Nichols declined for this story to specify the amount of the sale but told Episcopal News Service that New Bethany agreed to pay the appraised value of the property.
Nichols also emphasized the productive conversations between his diocesan staff and the staff of the cathedral for shared use of its space. “We have really kind of walked into a new moment of collaboration,” he said.
Taking ownership of the former diocesan headquarters “directly responds to New Bethany’s need for expanded facilities to carry out our mission and better serve our neighbors effectively,” New Bethany Executive Director J. Marc Rittle said in the diocese’s news release. “Although we have tripled our budget and doubled our staff to meet the increasing demand for our services, we are simply out of room to accommodate everyone. We are deeply grateful for the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem’s collaboration and vision in facilitating this acquisition.”
The property transfer is the latest development in a time of change in the Diocese of Bethlehem, which is in the process of merging with the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. The two dioceses voted to reunify in October 2024 at their diocesan conventions.
They are following a canonical process known as reunion because the two were once part of the same diocese. Under their current timeline, they expect to reunite on Jan. 1, 2026, as the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna, named after the river that runs through the center of Pennsylvania.
In February, the dioceses announced plans to experiment with a “sibling parish” program, connecting congregations from one diocese with counterparts from the other to help smooth the transition to one diocese by next year.
Nichols also told ENS that he and Central Pennsylvania Bishop Audrey Scanlan plan to begin conducting congregational visitations in each other’s dioceses this summer.
– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.