Associate Pastor Lori Bievenour

“Our spirit is the spirit of many, not the idea of just one.”

 –Lori Bievenour

Maybe not all 13-year-olds who are asked to serve on the new-pastor search committee become pastors themselves. But Lori Bievenour did.

 Born Lori Godich in suburban Milwaukee , WI , Lori has been affiliated with the United Church of Christ for her entire life. Lori’s uncle was a UCC minister in Illinois for decades, and her mother became a UCC pastor and chaplain after 30+ years of teaching.

 Besides serving on church committees, singing in the choir, and playing with the bell choir as a young girl, Lori shared the poem “Drop a Pebble in the Water” with her congregation on Stewardship Sunday and claims to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Around this time, her interim pastor, Ineke Mitchell, quietly planted the seed that young Lori might consider ministry. Years later, Ineke preached at Lori’s ordination service.

 Lori graduated from Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha , WI and Butler University in Indianapolis , IN with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and English with a Creative Writing concentration. Lori then continued her studies at Boston University School of Theology, graduating with a Master of Divinity in 2003.

 Lori first became involved with St. Peter’s United Church of Christ as a youth minister during the spring and summer of 2000. Lori’s special rapport with youth continues today with her twice-a-year service trips to Washington United Church of Christ in Cincinnati , OH with about 20-30 St. Peter’s middle- and high-school students and adults.

 In July 2003 Lori was hired full-time as Associate Pastor after her graduation from Boston University. She married Torrey Bievenour at St. Peter’s in 2005, having met Torrey through mutual friends while he was living in NY and she was in MA. Though it is a story for another day, Torrey has been a member of St. Peter’s since he was in the fourth grade, and both Lori & Torrey enjoy their intense connection to this congregation.

Lori’s favorite description of Jesus is that of a trickster, and her commitment to justice keeps her energized for parish ministry.

 Last but not least, Lori collects Silly Putty and hosts an annual Miss America party. (Is that where she learned to smile so big?)