Deaconess Lori Trinche was installed and commissioned as a deaconess serving the Northern Illinois District on November 16, 2020.
Deaconess Trinche will serve as Stewardship, Administration and Human Care Liaison, using her varied skills to perform acts of mercy and care, and equipping others to do the same.
In some ways, I wish I could tell you that I am the daughter or sister of a founding or important family in the LCMS carrying on a family tradition of church work. I cannot. I did not grow up in the church –most of where I met God was in the deep valleys of life through the kindness of Christians who were the mask of God in community and who began to teach me about God– those reaching out during times of crisis to love and serve as the Lord had loved and served them. I had never experienced that kind of love before – I wanted to know what was different about “those people.” What I did not know at the time was that I was seeing and experiencing the fruits of the Spirit.
I came to the Lutheran church through God’s gift of a phone call from Pastor Bill Reinhardt, who invited me to a Griefshare program at Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge, Illinois, where he was serving as interim pastor when my husband died. That phone call both saved and changed my life as that was a particularly dark time for me when I even seriously considered taking my own life. The Lord surrounded me with love, a church home and faithful lay leaders, and a wonderful pastor, Bob Geaschel, who instructed me in the faith, brought me healing and restoration in God’s gift of forgiveness, and taught me the value of serving others as a reflection of Christ’s love. I am thankful to him and many friends in my other church family at Trinity Lisle where I have long served in music ministry joyfully playing the trombone.
When God closed the door of my long-time work in finance, IT business management, and accounting in the business world, He opened a door to serve in the church through Lutherans for Life as their National Mission and Ministry Coordinator back in 2013. My service to LFL is where I first came to serve and get to know the wonderful pastors and school leaders in the Northern Illinois District where I spent much time equipping them to be Gospel-motivated voices for life. My heart passion for the sanctity and dignity of human life from womb to tomb guides everything I do as I serve, no matter how particularly I am serving. Each person made in the image of God and deeply loved by God is to be served with dignity, excellence, and respect.
The Deaconess Studies program at Concordia University Chicago has helped equip me in theological education and in learning practical human care through emphasis on field work with women, children, those with disabilities, those struggling with homelessness and hunger, and helping the sick and elderly. During my time of internship, I have had the privilege of bringing the Gospel message in Word and deed through acts of mercy out into the secular world by serving through a crisis pregnancy center and an assisted living center under the mentorship of Pastor Rick Heller, who serves with faithfulness and joy.
These practical serving opportunities have helped me to understand the needs of the people our congregations and RSOs serve and to learn to respond in faith to meet those challenges. If I had to describe myself, I’d say I’m a connector who loves to learn new things, loves music, the beauty of nature and the outdoors, and serving in ways that make a difference in the lives of others. I look forward to continuing to serve the church in the Northern Illinois District as a deaconess in this expanded role as Stewardship, Administration and Human Care Liaison.
God’s blessings to you as you minister to Christ’s Church in the Northern Illinois District, Deaconess Trinche!