Find Strength at the Table
Grow in Sisterhood & Nourish Your Calling...
Who We Are
We are the wives and widows of priests and deacons serving in the Orthodox Church in America. We said yes to our husbands’ calling to ministry. We love our husbands, and we love the Church. We are not naturally strong, but have become strong through God’s love. We know that in our weakness, Christ’s strength sustains us. As sisters, we strive to always make space for one another, as the Mother of God has done for us.
What We Do: Inform, Support, Encourage
- Provide opportunities for connection & fellowship
- Foster solidarity through shared reading, online forums & guided conversations
- Offer in-person retreats & meet-ups
Share resources for stronger financial, spiritual, and mental health - Pray for clergy wives, widows & the people they hold in their hearts
- Generate dialogue with our bishops for the building up of the Church
Get Involved
Your generosity helps sustain the work of the Clergy Wives Ministry. Through donations, we are able to offer retreats, gatherings, resources, and meaningful support for clergy wives and widows across the Church. Every gift helps strengthen this ministry of fellowship, encouragement, and care.
Mission
The mission of the Clergy Wives Ministry is to gather, nurture, and care for the wives and widows of the clergy throughout North America, that each woman—who so often pours herself out in service to others—may herself be known, strengthened, and upheld in her own vocation. Rooted in the life of the Church and sustained by prayer, we seek to walk alongside one another in love, bearing one another’s burdens and rejoicing in one another’s joys. We desire to strengthen our bonds with Christ, His Church, and one another beneath the veil knowing that to the extent our lives have been planted together in likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection (Rom 6:5).
Clergy Wives Retreat
We are the wives and widows of priests and deacons serving in the Orthodox Church in America. In saying yes to our husbands’ calling, we have also embraced a life of service, love, and faithfulness to the Church. We are not strong on our own, but through God’s love, we are strengthened and sustained. As sisters, we seek to make space for one another with compassion, encouragement, and prayer, following the example of the Mother of God.
One Book. One Sisterhood.
One Book. One Sisterhood. is a ministry of connection, formation, and fellowship for clergy wives and widows. Through shared reading, guided conversation, retreats, and gatherings, it strengthens bonds of sisterhood, encourages prayerful support, and helps build up the life of the Church.
Meet the Director
For over 20 years, I have walked as a clergy wife—making space for my husband to minister, raising our four sons, and underwriting much of his work through my own income. In that time, I have known both the deep joy and the real exhaustion that come with this calling. When I was just four years into ministry, I found myself facing the need for open-heart surgery. If I had not already been connected to other clergy wives, I do not know how we would have weathered that storm.
When my husband and I were leaving seminary, a group of about eight friends—sisters whose husbands were also students at St. Vladimir’s—decided we would stay connected. Eventually, we began gathering in person. It was so life-giving to walk side by side in our journeys that we continue to this day. During the ten days leading up to my surgery, these sisters called me, connected me with physician friends, and even set up a GoFundMe so that the unexpected cost would not become a burden. One dear friend came and stayed with my family for over a week, caring for my children while my husband helped me recover. Without them, I do not believe I would have survived one of the hardest trials of my life. That sisterhood, that lifeline, is what I desire for all clergy wives.
Along with my lived experience, the Lord has prepared me for this role through my professional background. Years in design, disability care, client relations, and event planning have equipped me to design programs, galvanize connections, and create inclusive spaces where clergy wives and widows feel welcomed and nurtured. After recovering from burnout, I am more passionate than ever to help other sisters find balance and lasting strength. My vision is a place where every sister not only survives but thrives—offering her gifts so we build a Church sustained by God’s grace, beauty, and love.
I invite you to explore this website, and I hope you will find it informative, encouraging, and nourishing. Come back often as we add more courses to this table in the wilderness—a place where, like Christ and His disciples, we gather, are fed, and grow in strength, knowing that together we sustain one another for the work of the Kingdom.
Mka. Carrie Foley
Support, Connection, & Care
Explore the ways this ministry helps foster connection, invite participation, and offer prayerful support to clergy wives and widows.
Contact
Do you have a question, need support, or are looking for the right resource? We are here to help. Reach out and we will connect you with the appropriate person, offer guidance where we can, and help point you toward the next step that best fits your need.
Future Volunteer Roles
Has God been calling you to serve the clergy wives in His Church with the gifts He’s placed in you? We are seeking dedicated volunteers for a two-year commitment in the Clergy Wives Ministry. Whether you have a heart for event planning, communications, or other vital roles—like writing, praying, photography, choir directing, small group facilitation, and more—we need you. Click the form below to see all the opportunities and find out how you can become part of the work we are doing.
Prayer Request
Do you have a prayer request you would like to share with us in confidence? We would be honored to pray with you and for you. Whether you are carrying a personal burden, seeking peace, or asking prayers for a loved one, we welcome the opportunity to hold your needs with care and compassion.
Clergy Wives Outreach
Learn how clergy wives are offering support and meaningful connection to clergy widows through this ministry of remembrance, presence, and care. Through simple acts of encouragement, prayer, and ongoing fellowship, this outreach seeks to gently remind clergy widows that they are seen, remembered, and not alone.
Support This Work
Your gift helps sustain programs, resources, and care for clergy wives, widows, and families across the Church.