On Aug. 15, we welcomed our new Cummins Ministerial Intern, Lóre Stevens, to First Universalist! Lóre will be with us and part of our ministry team through June of 2023.

About Lóre Stevens

Lóre (rhymes with ‘story’) Stevens is your new intern minister and a candidate for Unitarian Universalist ordination.

After spending her childhood in Tennessee and adolescence in Michigan, Lóre attended Eastern Michigan University for both her BA in Literature and her MA in Gender, Media, and Culture. In 2017, she worked at First UU Nashville as their Membership Coordinator, before choosing to resign and become an active lay leader: choir member, Sunday school teacher, and Worship Associate. She worked at the Nashville Public Library as a Public Technology Specialist, helping folks experiencing homelessness enjoy the library’s many services, from magazines to virtual reality. During that time and with the encouragement of her home congregation, Lóre discerned her path towards ordained ministry.

Lóre recently graduated with her Master’s of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School (HDS). She has served as a Board member for the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF), Harvard UU Ministry for Students (HUUMS), and the HDS Student Council. She was a finalist for the the HDS Billings Preaching Prize and the recipient of the Dana McClean Greeley Sermon Award as well as the UU History & Heritage Society’s Research Prize. She identifies as a queer Latina atheist mystic and loves sci-fi, illustrated journaling, and her black cat Tezzy.

What is an intern minister?

An intern minister is someone in the process of becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister who works alongside and under the supervision of an experienced minister for the equivalent of one year of full-time ministry. The internship may occur near the end of the candidate’s time in seminary or after graduation from seminary. Along with a Master’s in Divinity and other training, evaluation and paperwork, the internship is a requirement to become a minister with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).

What is a teaching congregation?

Teaching congregations make a commitment to serve our Unitarian Universalist movement by helping form new ministers. The congregation makes a financial commitment to provide compensation for the intern. The congregation also provides an internship committee to support and provide feedback to the intern. Staff works with and supports the intern, and a portion of the Senior Minister’s time and energy goes toward mentoring. The congregation gains the benefit of having a new voice in the pulpit, new energy, and the skills that come with each intern.

What is unique about First Universalist’s internship?

First Universalist has a strong history as a teaching congregation, and we are excited to begin again, honoring the legacy of The Reverend John Cummins by offering a ministerial internship specifically for ministerial candidates who identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a person of color. Impediments to a successful and life-giving career in ministry are many, and they are historically (and presently) much greater for ministers of color. We hope to offer an internship experience supported by a multicultural, multi-racial ministry team and a congregation eager to offer care, learning, and support. First Universalist offers internships that run from mid-August through June, and which include regular preaching opportunities and flexibility to engage in a wide variety of projects from leading lifespan faith formation experiences to engaging in social justice endeavors. The intern gains well rounded parish experience working in this vibrant large congregation.