Caroline Episcopal Church

Caroline Episcopal Church’s Food Pantry is a non-for-profit, volunteer based organization that provides shelf-stable food items and paper products to those in need in the Three Village Area.  

DONATIONS are always needed!

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Serving Schedule:

Wednesdays, weekly
11:00am-12:00pm
6:00pm-7:00pm

Location:

Marco C. Smith Building at Caroline Episcopal Church

1 Dyke Road, Setauket, NY 11733

MAP: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XcUxU3A9BdWrH4Vt9

How to Participate in Sunday School:

Sunday School is held each Sunday from 9:30 am – 10:30 am in the Marco Smith Building located adjacent to Caroline Church.   Upon entry, children are welcomed into common worship with their little brothers and sisters, where songs are sung and a brief children’s message is delivered.  After the 10-15 min youth centered service participants are ushered to their respective classrooms to join their age/grade appropriate class.  

Classroom activities follow a planned curriculum and are most often project centered, where stories are told, activities are distributed, and children are encouraged to creatively engage with their teacher(s) and one another.  In spring and summer months children take guided tours of our expansive church campus and participate in a myriad of activities involving growth in the knowledge of God, the cultivation of friendships and healthy/safe physical activity.

After Sunday School parents and congregants alike join the children in the Marco Smith building where refreshments are served and fellowship ensues.  Average Sunday School attendance is roughly 30-35+ students each week.  Importantly, all teachers have undergone safe church training and are certified by the Episcopal Church in support of their role as teachers, and nursery care providers.

Nursery care is provided each week from 9:20-10:30, following our regular morning worship schedule.

Contact the office at 631-941-4245 to register your child.

Caroline Church has supported a caregiver support group as part of its community outreach efforts for almost 10 years. The group is open to all community caregivers. It is non-disease specific, non-sectarian, confidential, open, and ongoing. A person is welcome to participate once or regularly. The support group meets the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 9:30-11:00 am and is facilitated by a licensed social worker. While the group previously met on site at the Church, it went virtual during the Covid crisis and continues to meet on the Zoom platform. For some caregivers, a virtual support group is easier to attend than one in person as it can often be difficult for caregivers to leave their loved one. Caregiving is a difficult journey that no one ever asked to go on. Communication with others in similar situations can lead to the sharing of valuable information that can make a positive difference in the lives of caregivers and their loved ones.

Caroline Church’s Grief Support Group has been meeting once a month, generally the third Thursday, for the past fifteen years. One need not be a parishioner of the church to attend the group. All are welcome. Let us help you through this most difficult life changing experience. 

Attending the group is an opportunity to be listened to, understood, nurtured, and loved. We are not a “therapy group,” but we understand the grief, loneliness, and questioning of a bereaved person because we have suffered the same loss. We are most ready to share our stories of pain and grief in an effort to provide a means for understanding and where healing can take place. 

We are a group that has no right or wrong answers. Each grief is as unique and personal as a fingerprint, and yet we all have questions. The answers lie in how people, who have experienced the questions, have handled them. When you ask; “How long is it going to take for me to feel better?” You won’t receive a pat answer in our support group setting. What you will receive is the lived experience of a Gail, Kathy, Bruce, or Sharon or others.

Is a support group the only avenue the bereaved should take? No, it is just one way to aid in moving through grief. But it is a way that can provide the means by which those who have suffered the loss of a loved one through sharing life experiences, can be nurtured by being part of a caring community.

We meet in an informal setting, usually with snacks and drinks, often listen to a reading followed by discussion. Our meetings are held in strict confidence. If you feel the need to have others walk beside you on your grief journey, we are here to help and we invite you to join us. For additional information, please call the church office at 631-941-4245.

The senior choir has a long history of providing leadership in worship by hearty singing of the congregational hymns, the liturgical responses and anthems appropriate to the season and lectionary.  Blessed by skilled artists such as our current organist/choir director, Nadine E. Goodrich, the choir rehearses on Thursday evenings for the 9:30 Sunday morning services.  We are worshipers like everyone else in the pews at Caroline Church.  As is true of most other church choirs, we are also volunteers and “amateurs” in the best sense of that word: We love to sing, especially as an ensemble and as St. Paul urged the Ephesian believers, joining with “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19).

We anticipate eagerly the opportunity as choristers to be joyful musical witnesses to the glory and praise of God.  We will also welcome new members of the choir.

Caroline Cares is a program that sends care packages to our Church youth who are attending college or high school away from home.  Our purpose is to keep connected with the young people of our Church.  We want them to know that we care about them, are praying for them, and support them in their studies.  We hope this will encourage them to remain connected with the Church throughout their school years and beyond.

Each Fall and Spring Semester, we mail out approximately 25 care packages. We create a poster board sized wish list that includes each snack item and amount needed written on a Post-It note. Parishioners can take a Post-It and return their donation to a well-marked Rubbermaid bin in front of the church or in the Marco C. Smith Building. It takes about 4 weeks to collect all the items needed. Boxes are packed by Sunday school students on a Sunday after church. They are blessed the following Sunday during church and then mailed by volunteer parishioners the next day.

Sonshine Ministry provides meals to parishioners who may be experiencing a significant life event: a medical emergency, a time of loss and bereavement, or just difficult circumstances. This ministry is available to all Caroline Church parishioners.

The Sonshine Ministry is here for you! Let us make your life easier as you or a loved one recuperates. Many fellow parishioners are on hand to bring a hot meal to your home.  All that’s required is for you to ASK! If you are in need of this ministry just call Lyndsay or Susan and we will start our meal train so you don’t get duplicate meals.

If you feel called to assist with meals when a need becomes apparent, we encourage you to sign up for our email blast via this link:  https://forms.gle/anpB8s73o4fShkZe8.  You can also email Susan Orange (sueuprising3@aol.com) or Lyndsay Johnson (masonteller2007@gmail.com).

Susan Orange & Lyndsay Johnson, Coordinators

Pray for one another, so that you may be healed.  ~James 5:16

Stay connected!  Receive detailed prayer requests from the Caroline Church community, right to your inbox.  To join, contact Barbara Tyler Via the form to the right or email directly at barbwtyler@aol.com or 631-371-9218.  All Caroline Church parishioners are welcome to submit prayer requests, just contact Barbara.

Barbara Tyler, Coordinator