Frederick Clarkson returned to North Carolina with a specific goal in mind: bringing people together.

The Diocese of East Carolina appointed the Rev. Frederick Clarkson as its Spanish language ministry coordinator. The reverend recently joined the team at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington as its Spanish ministry coordinator to help establish the Spanish community within the church.

“Our work (in the Spanish ministry) is to build up the Spanish community to make it a multicultural church,” Clarkson said. “We do that really just by inviting people, through Bible study, through fellowship.”

Clarkson relocated to Washington from Texas, where he launched the Spanish language service at the St. Timothy Episcopal Church of Houston. Prior to his work in Houston, he spent four and a half years with the diocese of North Carolina, both in Salisbury and Winston-Salem.

Clarkson will work in the Spanish-speaking ministry of the church and will also work on some economic development projects for the diocese, all of which he hopes will help make the community a better place for all, he said.

“His goal in Eastern North Carolina will be to organize Hispanic ministry, and reinvigorate Episcopal Latino communities with economic development programs,” the Diocese of East Carolina stated in a press release.

Clarkson said he will lead the worship in Spanish every Sunday service. He said the Spanish ministry has been a longstanding congregation at St. Peter’s.

“We’re finding ways to do ministry and also bring people together and engage each other on their own terms,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson resides in Washington, but he will divide his time at St. Peter’s in Washington and the Diocese of East Carolina in Kinston. He said his experience at St. Peter’s so far has been nothing but wonderful, and he enjoys the church community he’s now a part of.

“I love the history and the outreach that they do. It’s a wonderful mix of the new and old,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson said he will not only bring his skillset in Hispanic and Latin culture to eastern North Carolina, but also his goal of working together to better the community and turn it into a place of growth for all.

“We can actually build one community that is diverse, a place that everyone can grow. …We can all do little things. If we all do those little things together, it makes a big difference,” Clarkson said.