Lori Bievenour
Lori Elizabeth (Godich) Bievenour is a native of Muskego,
Wisconsin and takes pride in being a Cheesehead and a Green Bay
Packers fan. She graduated from Butler University in 2000,
having completed majors in Religious Studies and English as well as
a Creative Writing minor. While at Butler, Lori participated
in the Butler Summer Institute and began research for her honors
thesis, "The Africanization of Christianity: Roman Catholic and
Presbyterian Worship in Krobo-Odumase, Ghana." Her research
was completed during a semester abroad in Ghana with the School for
International Training. The experience proved to be pivotal
in her life.
Upon her return from Ghana, and at the recommendation of Dr.
Paul Valliere, Lori applied to seminaries and graduate schools,
hoping to obtain a Master of Divinity, but stating quite
intentionally that she did not intend to become a pastor. She
also swore that she'd never return to Indiana. Both plans
failed. Following three years of study at Boston University
School of Theology, Lori answered her call to ordained ministry,
which had been inspired in Ghana and nurtured, sometimes
unknowingly, by countless people at Butler. While in Boston
Lori also realized that she truly missed Indianapolis… and that was
before a friend from Butler introduced Lori to her future husband
who lived in New York but was a Hoosier and had grown up in the
church that Lori would eventually serve. (A story for another
day.)
Since July 2003, Lori has served as the Associate Pastor of St.
Peter's United Church of Christ in Carmel. Committed to
outreach and justice, as well as encouraging curiosity and
exploration in one's personal journey, St. Peter's UCC is an unique
and growing congregation that Lori is honored to serve. Lori
lives in the Nora area with her husband, Torrey, an electrical
engineer. They are dedicated to home improvement projects,
scuba diving, travel, theatre, and cooking experiments.