Olena Withrow

Rev. Olena Withrow serves as Pastoral Resident, Ministry Assistant, and Communications Manager here at First on Fifth. Through the diversity of her work, Lena loves hearing the stories of our church family and creating space for those stories to be heard by others. Olena holds a BA from Friends University in Christian Formation and Ministry and an MDiv from Wake Forest University School of Divinity. She is certified in Mental Health First Aide and is a 200-hour certified yoga teacher. You can catch her teaching yoga classes around Winston-Salem, where she weaves together spirituality and movement, holding space for all looking to connect mind, body, and spirit in the midst of our often disconnected lives. On Sunday mornings, you can also find Lena in the choir as one of our choral scholars, carrying her love and experience in university choirs and musical theater to worship services alongside the Sanctuary Choir and our beloved community.

Olena is married to Devin, and they reside in Winston with their dog Howie. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting in the kitchen (and hosting friends around the table to be her taste-testers), reading books all genres, making and drinking coffee, and taking in the beauty of the natural world in whatever way she can.