Academic Bio
The Rev. Dr. Denise Thorpe is a graduate of Duke University (Th.D. and J.D.), Yale University (M.Div.), and North Park University (B.A.). She is ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA), a member in good standing of the Colorado Bar, and previously served as an adjunct instructor at Pittsburgh Seminary. Thorpe is currently preparing her manuscript, “Memory on Fire: The Re-membering of the Lithuanian Body Politic,” for publication and also serving as the pre-publication editor for a multi-author volume on physician well-being. An independent scholar, theologian, writer, pastor, and facilitator, also trained as a lawyer and mediator, she is interested in how and where God is present in the complicated and “messy” spaces of life. In addition to her work in the D.Min. program at Pittsburgh Seminary, Thorpe is the project director of The Race, Church, and Theological Practices Collaborative Inquiry Team, funded by The Louisville Institute. With her colleagues, she is exploring how well-intentioned practices of the Christian church re-inscribe rather than disrupt racial regimes and how to respond.
Story Profile
Denise Thorpe is interested in how and where God is present in the complicated and messy spaces of life. An independent scholar, theologian, writer, pastor, and facilitator, she is also trained as a lawyer and mediator.
Over the past decade, Denise fell in love with the country of Lithuania and “ultimately developed the kind of complicated relationship that love always seems to demand.” Her doctoral dissertation, “Memory on Fire,” explores the fascinating and complex world of post-Soviet Lithuania through Lithuanians’ stories about what they do (or don’t do) when they travel to light candles and plant flowers in cemeteries on All Saints’ and All Souls’ days (Visų Šventųjų Diena and Vėlinų Diena). Currently, she continues to explore the wonders of Lithuania while also pondering the sensory experience of faith and belief here in her own environs in the United States—all with an eye to the purpose and calling of the Christian church.
Having previously taught as an adjunct lecturer at Pittsburgh Seminary, Denise is currently serving as interim director of our Doctor of Ministry Program. In addition to that role, she is the project director of The Race, Church, and Theological Practices Collaborative Inquiry Team, funded by The Louisville Institute. This group of scholars and clergy is exploring how well-intentioned practices of the Christian church re-inscribe rather than disrupt racial regimes and how to respond. She serves as the pre-publication editor for a multi-author volume on physician well-being and also as a consultant, facilitator, and retreat leader for Macedonian Ministry.
Denise is a graduate of North Park University (B.A.), Yale University (M.Div.), and Duke University (J.D. and Th.D.). She is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), a member in good standing of the Colorado Bar, and a member of the American Academy of Religion.
Selected Publications
“Lighting the way: Lithuanian Vėlinės visuality as participation, resistance, rupture, repair.” Journal of Material Culture 2017, Vol. 22(4) 419–436.
“4/6 January 2009: Epiphany Sunday.” Homily Service 42, No. 1 (2009), 76-86.
The Contracts Experience, associate ed., John C. Weistart, Girardeau Spann, H.
Jefferson Powell, authors (DVD Course Materials, 2002). Winner of Telly Award and Aegis Award.
“Field Trips and Liability: What the Supervisor Needs to Know and Share,” co-authored with Lundie Spence in Sourcebook for Science Supervisors, 4th edition, Gerry M. Madrazo Jr. and Lemoin L. Motz, eds. (Washington D.C.: National Science Teachers Association, 1993), 49-54.
