Caroline Berninger

Pastor with 35+ years experience;

ordained in NY Annual Conference by Bishop C. Dale White (Deacon, 1987; Elder, 1989)

NYAC involvement beyond the local church includes Catskill Hudson District Committee on Ordained Ministry (2005-2024), NYAC Nominating Committee, NYAC Board of Ordained Ministry (1996-2004), VIM post-Katrina team #61 to Biloxi, Jan. 2008.

Aug. 2024-July 2025: ¼ time Pastor, Pine Plains & Elizaville UMCs

2012-2024: Pastor, Rondout Valley UMC, Stone Ridge NY, ¾ time

Engaged with other local churches and synagogue for multi-church events such as VBS, Lenten programs; or interfaith events such as Thanksgiving and Baccalaureate

Started website (rvumc.org) in 2014; developed pre-recorded online worship during pandemic

1992-2011: Pastor, Rondout Valley & Kripplebush UMCs, Stone Ridge

1990-1991: Clinical Pastoral Education Residency (4 units CPE), North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Winston-Salem, NC

1987-1990: Associate Pastor, Simsbury CT UMC (Douglas Verdin, Sr. Pastor; Mel Kawakami, Youth Pastor)

Sept. 1985-May 1987: student intern (part-time), United Parish in Brookline (MA)—a UMC/UCC/American Baptist congregation

Summer 1985: Basic Unit of CPE, Overlook Hospital, Summit, NJ; The Rev. W. Joel Warner, supervisor

Other employment:

1991-92: Gravely Lawn Mowers, Clemmons NC—Marketing Dept., clerical work

1982-84: Potomac School, McLean, VA; Teacher of Latin and English, 7th & 8th grades

…also one college summer selling Fuller Brush door-to-door while studying ancient Greek.

Education:

M.Div, 1987, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge MA.

B.A. in Classics, magna cum laude, 1982, Amherst College, Amherst MA. Honors thesis on Roman satire.

Community involvement:

Director emerita, Rondout Valley Education Foundation (2006-2024)

Director, UlsterCorps (a nonprofit supporting countywide volunteering and collaboration) Co-chair, Braver Angels (braverangels.org) Hudson River Valley Alliance (a national nonprofit organization working to “depolarize” America and “bridge the partisan divide”)

Member, Mid-Hudson Women’s Chorus (2nd Soprano)