Submitted

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church has hired Caroline Stephenson to serve as Director of Children’s and Youth Ministry. Stephenson who is also an adjunct instructor at Catawba College, has been working at the church in an interim capacity since July.

Stephenson says she is, “excited to continue to help lead the many programs for children, youth, and families at St. Luke’s as they focus on their school-year-long theme of community.”

Programs offered include the newly titled “Episcopal Youth Community” which is open to 6th-12th graders. For younger children, the 3-4-5 Club is open to 3rd-5th graders, and Young Families is open to parents/caregivers and children 2nd grade and younger. Also offered are two choirs for children, The St. Dunstan’s Choir and St. Nicholas Choir, both led by Director of Music Ministry, Matthew Woods.

Community exploration projects this school year have included a wide variety of activities and learning sessions including a team-building trip to a ropes course, a discussion on healthy online communities led by Brian Whitson, an introduction to yoga and mindfulness led by Anne Cote Hoffman and Emily Ford, a performance and talk-back with Catawba student leaders Destiny Stone and Reshaud Brown, and caroling to local shut-ins. Already this year, St. Luke’s students have volunteered at Rowan Helping Ministries and toured the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro. Upcoming planned events include programs on conflict resolution, gardening/beautification projects in the community, and programs that tie in with the church-wide initiative in “Becoming Beloved Community”- a project aimed at racial reconciliation.

Stephenson is also looking ahead to the summer, with plans to re-start St. Luke’s VBS program, with a one week daytime offering for rising kindergarten-5th graders.

Interested families can learn more about Children’s and Youth programs at St. Luke’s by visiting www.sls.church and choosing the Children’s and Youth Ministry page or on Facebook at @slschildrenandyouth