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.
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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.