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| Steve Lane |
The Connecticut Conference Board of Directors has announced that Steve Lane, a member of First Church of Christ in Mansfield Center and co-founder of Quiet Corner Refugee Resettlement (QCRR), will be the recipient of the 2019 Living Waters Award.
The award will be presented at the Connecticut Conference Special Meeting being held Saturday, May 18, at the First Church of Christ Congregational in West Hartford. Online registration for the meeting is open through Wednesday, May 15.
Persons honored by the Living Waters Award are those who work for justice, live ethically, build community, and promote the common good in their workplaces and in their communities. This award recognizes outstanding Christian ministry, life, and witness that is done outside the church setting as an expression of one’s faith.
Steve Lane grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut. After graduating from UCONN Steve worked as a job training coach for three years at the St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen in Norwich, Connecticut.
He then launched into the career that he continues to work in today. Steve has been a self-employed general contractor working in Residential Remodeling for over 35 years.
In 1987 he married the love of his life, Julie Menard, and together with their adult children, Jed and Emma, they have lived life’s great adventure. They have become constant travel companions, journeying across the U.S. as well as internationally.
In 1994 Steve and Julie joined the First Church of Christ in Mansfield Center. Both Steve and Julie have immersed themselves in the “business” of life among their UCC, Open and Affirming, Just Peace, and Green Congregation. Julie and Steve have lived their lives and raised their children with a service and social justice focus, following the mantra: “If you are able you are obligated”. First Church has been a wonderful place to raise children; a church community that has never defined itself based solely upon what happens within its four walls on Sunday mornings – following the motto, Where Faith Takes Action.
In 2016 after witnessing the humanitarian crisis of the mass exodus of Syrian refugees, Steve and Ann Plumley, First Church’s now retired minister, founded Quiet Corner Refugee Resettlement (QCRR). QCRR is a co-sponsorship group under the auspices of IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services) based in New Haven, Connecticut. QCRR is a group of community volunteers some with connections to one of 40 faith communities. The group consists of a core team, a robust group of active volunteers and dozens more willing to help at a moment’s notice.
To date, QCRR has been fortunate to receive three families, all originally from Syria, for resettlement in the Willimantic, CT area. For Steve, becoming acquainted with, as well as the work of supporting refugee families to integrate into life in the U.S., while preserving their cultural traditions, remains deeply enriching, and will hopefully continue for years to come.
Find a list of past Living Waters award recipients here
The award will be presented at the Connecticut Conference Special Meeting being held Saturday, May 18, at the First Church of Christ Congregational in West Hartford. Online registration for the meeting is open through Wednesday, May 15.
Persons honored by the Living Waters Award are those who work for justice, live ethically, build community, and promote the common good in their workplaces and in their communities. This award recognizes outstanding Christian ministry, life, and witness that is done outside the church setting as an expression of one’s faith.
Steve Lane grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut. After graduating from UCONN Steve worked as a job training coach for three years at the St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen in Norwich, Connecticut.
He then launched into the career that he continues to work in today. Steve has been a self-employed general contractor working in Residential Remodeling for over 35 years.
In 1987 he married the love of his life, Julie Menard, and together with their adult children, Jed and Emma, they have lived life’s great adventure. They have become constant travel companions, journeying across the U.S. as well as internationally.
In 1994 Steve and Julie joined the First Church of Christ in Mansfield Center. Both Steve and Julie have immersed themselves in the “business” of life among their UCC, Open and Affirming, Just Peace, and Green Congregation. Julie and Steve have lived their lives and raised their children with a service and social justice focus, following the mantra: “If you are able you are obligated”. First Church has been a wonderful place to raise children; a church community that has never defined itself based solely upon what happens within its four walls on Sunday mornings – following the motto, Where Faith Takes Action.
In 2016 after witnessing the humanitarian crisis of the mass exodus of Syrian refugees, Steve and Ann Plumley, First Church’s now retired minister, founded Quiet Corner Refugee Resettlement (QCRR). QCRR is a co-sponsorship group under the auspices of IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services) based in New Haven, Connecticut. QCRR is a group of community volunteers some with connections to one of 40 faith communities. The group consists of a core team, a robust group of active volunteers and dozens more willing to help at a moment’s notice.
To date, QCRR has been fortunate to receive three families, all originally from Syria, for resettlement in the Willimantic, CT area. For Steve, becoming acquainted with, as well as the work of supporting refugee families to integrate into life in the U.S., while preserving their cultural traditions, remains deeply enriching, and will hopefully continue for years to come.
Find a list of past Living Waters award recipients here