01 Mar Reverend Nadine F. Lehr
Posted at 03:08h
in Uncategorized
by staff
NOTICE: POSTPONED SERVICE FRIDAY
Due to the inclement weather forecasted, the service on FRIDAY in ASHLEY, ND will be postponed to a later date.
Reverend Nadine F. Lehr, 63, of Bismarck, passed away January 6, 2023, at a Bismarck hospital surrounded by her family.
Rev. Nadine Lehr, who for nearly 40 years put her heart and soul into ministering to others and was widely known for her preaching skills, will be remembered at a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Bismarck.
There will be a time of remembrance at 7 p.m. March 8, 2023 at Lord of Life Lutheran Church.
Nadine was surrounded by her family when she died Jan. 6, 2023 at the age of 63 at a Bismarck hospital. She spent the last 17 years of her career as senior pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church.
The second of the four children of Marvin and Frances Lehr, she was born May 3, 1959 in Ashley, ND and was baptized May 31, 1959 at Zion Lutheran Church in Ashley. She graduated from Ashley High School in 1977, earned a bachelor’s degree in English and religion in 1982 at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and a master’s of divinity at Yale University in New Haven, CT in 1985.
During her 17 years at Lord of Life Nadine was known for deeply thoughtful sermons that inspired and comforted parishioners, taught them about the scriptures and the values demonstrated by Jesus Christ, and modelled care and compassion for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized people both at home and across the world.
After completing her ministry at Lord of Life she received countless cards and letters from parishioners who cited specific examples of sermons that moved them during difficult times in their lives. She was particularly dedicated to helping refugees who came to North Dakota to escape danger and persecution in the homelands, and did a lot of work over the years with Lutheran World Relief and Habitat for Humanity, two organizations that were especially important to her.
She dreamed of one day compiling her sermons into a book in hopes that her ministry would continue in perpetuity.
Nadine was also known for her cooking and baking skills, even contemplating about one day pursuing a second career as a chef. Her constant companions were Buttons, a Cavalier King Charles; Prancer, Mannie and Julie, all Shelties; Billy, a Whippet; and various other dogs, some of which she showed at competitions. She also was an accomplished swimmer and lifeguard, worked for several summers as a counselor at Camp of the Cross near Garrison, ND, and was fluent in German.
While at Yale, Nadine worked as a counselor at St. Raphael’s Center in New Haven, and later as a seminary intern at Trinity Lutheran in Owatonna, MN.
After completing her master’s, Nadine was ordained as a pastor on July 26, 1987 at Zion Lutheran in Ashley, and mostly served congregations affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. From 1987 to 1992 she was associate pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead, then accepted a call to be chaplain at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA. In 1996 she was called to be an associate pastor at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, SD, and on Dec. 14, 2003 she was called to be senior pastor at Lord of Life, where she remained until November of 2020.
Nadine is survived by her mother, Frances, of Ashley; brother, Russ (Mary) Lehr of Ashley and their children, Isaac (Ashley) Lehr and Ally (Tyler) Harriman; sister Amy Lehr (Russ Martin) of Minneapolis and their children Arielle Lehr Morrison and Caleb Lehr Morrison; and sister Lisa (Mark) Klipfel of Bismarck and their children Hannah Klipfel, Maria Klipfel and Carter Klipfel.
Her father, Marvin, died in 2017.
The family suggests memorials to your favorite animal shelter or soup kitchen.
