Rev. Francine Thirus
Rev. Thirus is a retired pastor in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. She is a native Chicagoan who began her professional career as an educator for the Chicago Public Schools.
She later graduated from Creighton University Law School and became a Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney. Rev. Thirus then experienced the call on her life for full-time ministry and she later attended Garrett Evangelical Seminary where she earned a Master of Divinity Degree.
As clergy, she has worked for the General Board of Discipleship Ministries as the Director of Congregational Revitalization in Nashville before returning to Chicago where she served as a senior pastor for congregations in the Northern Illinois Conference before retiring. Rev. Thirus returned to St. Mark where she has been a member for decades as she embraces retirement.