• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Building Faith

Building Faith

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Who We Are
    • Our Writers
    • Author Guidelines
    • FAQs
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
  • ARTICLES
    • Articles by Topic
    • Most Recent Articles
  • EN ESPAÑOL
  • RESOURCES
    • Curriculum Center
    • Intergenerational Resources
    • Vacation Bible School
    • Webinars
    • Episcopal Teacher
  • SUPPORT US
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home/Episcopal Teacher/Profile: Caroline Black

Profile: Caroline Black

Caroline Black entered Christian formation, like many lay leaders, at the church she attended with her family. After making pointed suggestions about the quality of Sunday school to her rector, he asked if she would help. Soon she was working part-time for the church. Looking back, Black said, “I didn’t know anything about Christian education, but I knew how to teach.” 

A discovery she made early on was that the emphasis on content that she had experienced in secular education was no different in the church. Real formation, she said, means going deeper than basic information or even Bible stories with the right questions to help people explore their relationship with God.

In her next job at a large church in Dallas, Black had time to work on formation issues at the national level and learn from leaders such as Verna Dozier (see p. 10) and Joseph Russell, of Ohio. Black discovered that their lives were inseparable from their stories, which prefaced most of their teaching. Russell believed that: 

“Our task is to celebrate and dramatize the story, to respond to it with music, visual form, word and dance. We need to share the story for the sake of the story rather than using it to nail down a theological or moral truth.”[1]

After moving to Pittsburg, Black worked with Robyn Szoke of the Episcopal Office of Children’s Ministries and others in developing the “Children’s Charter for the Church.” Several years later in 2009, she played a role in gaining approval for the Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation by the General Convention. Looking back, Black says the collaborative work with people like Janie Stevens of the Diocese of Texas and Szoke on the two charters brought her the greatest joy in her years of ministry.

In Province III, where she worked in churches in Pennsylvania and Maryland, parish education leaders remember Black for the energy she brought to provincial gatherings around Christian formation. The CMT benefited from her energy, providing space and speakers for these events. Black still believes the provincial structure of The Episcopal Church is the best avenue for broad training and education around Christian formation.

Recently retired from her position with the Diocese of Southern Virginia, Black continues to touch the lives of many through her knowledge, wisdom, and sense of humor. Like her mentors, her life has become inseparable from her story.

This article first appeared in Episcopal Teacher: Winter 2019 Special Issue, page 19



About the Author

  • Dorothy Linthicum

    Author and speaker Dorothy Linthicum is a catechist for the Virginia Theological Seminary Baptized for Life initiative. As an adjunct instructor at VTS, she has studied and taught courses and workshops about older adult spirituality and ministry throughout the country. She co-authored Redeeming Dementia: Spirituality, Theology, and Science, with Janice Hicks, for caregivers and people facing dementia.

    View all posts
Print PDF

January 12, 2019 By Dorothy Linthicum

Filed Under: Episcopal Teacher Tagged With: 2019, Caroline black

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS

Subscribe to Building Faith

You’ll get new articles, plus free weekly updates in your inbox.

We respect your privacy. View our privacy policy here.

Search Our Site

New Articles

"Visually Safe Disability Pride Flag" with red, yellow, white, light blue, and green diagonal stripes from upper left to lower right on a dark gray background

New and Recent Resources for Disability Pride Month

July is Disability Pride Month in the U.S. As Lizzie Cox explains in her article "Disability Pride …

Continue Reading about New and Recent Resources for Disability Pride Month

Two hands of a person with dark skin tone shaping bronze-colored clay on a pottery wheel in front of a blurred blue background with brown spots

“Nobody’s Perfect”: A Resource for Talking to Youth about Sin

Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault and racial violence. In November of 2018, …

Continue Reading about “Nobody’s Perfect”: A Resource for Talking to Youth about Sin

Circular dots of various colors aligned in rows and columns on a gold surface

Intergenerational Insights: What Is Intergenerational Ministry?

This article is part of a series on Intergenerational Formation Insights written after a literature …

Continue Reading about Intergenerational Insights: What Is Intergenerational Ministry?

Footer

Keep in Touch

  • Email
  • Facebook

Building Faith

Lifelong Learning, Virginia Theological Seminary
3737 Seminary Rd.
Alexandria, VA 22304

Copyright © 2025 · Building Faith · A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Design by Blue+Pine Creative, Inc.

Subscribe to Building Faith

Get articles and resources by email

Privacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.
If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.