As a SouthSide resident, Maryann Sturges has been a supporter of New Bethany since she first moved to the Lehigh Valley. A few months after starting her current role at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity and moving to Bethlehem, Maryann Sturges attended our signature annual event: Souper Day. Although she was aware we existed, she had no idea how extensive our work in supporting our neighbors was. From that day forward, she decided to become a regular donor to New Bethany and support the important work we do in the community by joining the Board.
Before becoming a priest, Maryann worked as a union organizer, barista, and community organizer. She’s lived in cities across the U.S. and has traveled to France, Switzerland, Peru and Ecuador, learning how to speak French and Spanish fluently along the way.
After earning a master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, she came to the Cathedral and quickly learned of its long history of supporting New Bethany. She believes the Cathedral’s values closely align with New Bethany’s: caring for their neighbors, feeding the hungry, and housing the homeless. She is proud that we can collaborate to make Bethlehem and the entire Lehigh Valley a better place for all.
To Maryann, New Bethany not only provides affordable housing for people to live, work, and enjoy their lives, but also offers opportunities to improve their lives.
As a member of our Board of Directors, Maryann is excited to strengthen the partnership between New Bethany and the Cathedral. While we already have our Back to School Carnival every fall, she’d like to expand our partnership to create more opportunities for her members to get involved in New Bethany’s work. She hopes that through her role on the bylaws committee, she can help the board as a whole flourish, leaving it in an even better position than when she joined.
In her spare time, Maryann loves to cook, brew lattes, read murder mysteries and watch telenovelas. She also loves to travel and has a trip to Mexico planned for a Spanish Immersion program with her church. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and her family is excited to be welcoming a new baby boy into our family in late Summer 2026.
We are grateful to have Maryann join our Board and look forward to all she will do to advance our mission at New Bethany. For more information about our Board, visit our website at newbethany.org/our-board.
