About KariAnn
kalessner@christchurchcathedral.org
KariAnn Lessner believes some of the best conversations about God happen while reading picture books, making art, asking big questions, laughing until your sides hurt, or gathering around a table with good food and good people.
Since joining Christ Church Cathedral in 2015, KariAnn has served as Minister for Children & Families. For nearly three decades, she has been helping children and families grow in faith in Episcopal churches across the Diocese of Texas. She delights in helping children—and the grown-ups who love them—discover that they are deeply loved by God, belong to one another, and have an important place in God’s story. Inspired by Sally Lloyd-Jones’ The Jesus Storybook Bible, she hopes every child comes to know God’s “never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.”
A storyteller at heart, KariAnn loves helping families weave faith into the ordinary rhythms of everyday life. Whether she’s sharing a favorite children’s book, directing a week of summer camp at Camp Allen, or making room for life’s big questions, she believes curiosity is one of God’s greatest gifts. She is also a Safeguarding God’s People Master Trainer and is passionate about helping churches create places where children and families are safe, known, and deeply valued.
At home, KariAnn and her husband, Ron, are embracing a new chapter as their daughters, Keatyn and Karsyn, chase their own adventures at college. The Lessners are discovering that family doesn’t get smaller; it simply stretches across a few more miles of highway—miles that never seem quite so long with a good playlist and your favorite people waiting at the other end.
KariAnn is convinced that God often shows up in ordinary moments: a favorite picture book, mixing just the right watercolor to match a sunset, a shared meal, a well-loved hymn, or a question from a child that no adult has thought to ask.
P.S. KariAnn firmly believes glitter is both a craft supply and a spiritual discipline.