Lorrin Arthur Kreider was born on January 1, 1930 in Istambul, Turkey. He was the second of four children (Maynard, Lorrin, Loretta, and Irma) born to Herman and Hettie Kreider.
Turkey
Herman volunteered to serve in Turkey and Syria with the Menonite Relief Commission in 1921, just after WWI and the Ottoman-Armenian conflicts. By 1927, Hettie and Herman were living in Istambul where he was Bursar and Business Manager for Robert College on the banks of the Bosphorus River. Growing-up on the college grounds and playing on the river's banks were days remembered fondly by the Kreider children; however, violence from WWII encroached on their peace as the decade closed.
In February of 1941 it was decided that Hettie, 43 yrs old at this time, would take the four children, ages 5 – 13, to Beirut and find passage back to the United States. On February 27, 1943, Hettie and the kids left Bombay, India aboard the SS Mariposa, a Matson Line luxury ocean liner commissioned as a troop carrier in December of 1941, and arrive safely in New York harbor on April 10, 1943. The Odyssey is a transcript of the family's rememberances of this journey during a reunion in 1976.
Wooster, OH
Hettie and the children settled in Wooster, Ohio, where Lorrin attended Wooster High School and Wooster College and was active in debate club and football. Lorrin met Nancy Grace Barnes, daughter of K. Logan Barnes and Alice Otto Barnes, at Wooster. They married during the summer prior to their senior year and honeymooned in western New York and Naigara Falls. (return to top of page)
Chicago, IL
Perhaps Nancy's father, a Presbyterian Minister, and Wooster's affiliation with the Presbyterian church, influenced Lorrin to pursue ministry as a Prebyterian rather than a Mennonite. After graduating from Wooster in 1952, Lorrin and Nancy moved to Chicago, Illinois where Lorrin attended McCormick Theological Seminary. Lorrin served at the Willow Springs Presbyterian church while in graduate school and developed friendships with eight classmates that lasted his entire life. This group of 'Sinister Ministers' kept in communication with each other, vacationed together and 'talked each other through' the challenges of their ministorial careers. The group still meets today, grayer and wiser after all these years. (return to top of page)
Decatur, IL
After receiving a Master of Divinity degree and being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1954, Lorrin's first churches were in the central Illinois community of Decatur. He pastored the North Fork Presbyterian church from 1955 to 1957 and nearby Mount Zion Presbyterian Church from 1957 to 1964. Their first son, David, was born in 1953 in Chicago, and Philip (1955), Laura (1957) and Mark (1958) in Decatur. (return to top of page)
DeKalb, IL
A young, earnest, congregation of about 30 to 40 people in DeKalb, IL called Lorrin to be the first pastor of their new church in 1964. Located about 60 miles west of Chicago, DeKalb is home to Northern Illinois University and the new church had bought land and built a manse in the heart of the university area. After meeting in the local Masonic Temple for their first 4 years, in 1968 they opened the door of their new church building in 1968.
This was the first of many university towns that Lorrin served. While in DeKalb, Lorrin began his Doctorial studies at San Francisco Theological Seminary. His thesis presented a model of (return to top of page)
Athens, OH
After receiving a Master of Divinity degree and being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1954, Lorrin's first churches were in the central Illinois community of Decatur. He pastored the North Fork Presbyterian church from 1955 to 1957 and nearby Mount Zion Presbyterian Church from 1957 to 1964. Their first son, David, was born in 1953 in Chicago, and Philip (1955), Laura (1957) and Mark (1958) in Decatur. (return to top of page)
Worthington, OH
After receiving a Master of Divinity degree and being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1954, Lorrin's first churches were in the central Illinois community of Decatur. He pastored the North Fork Presbyterian church from 1955 to 1957 and nearby Mount Zion Presbyterian Church from 1957 to 1964. Their first son, David, was born in 1953 in Chicago, and Philip (1955), Laura (1957) and Mark (1958) in Decatur. (return to top of page)
Interim Pastoring
After receiving a Master of Divinity degree and being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1954, Lorrin's first churches were in the central Illinois community of Decatur. He pastored the North Fork Presbyterian church from 1955 to 1957 and nearby Mount Zion Presbyterian Church from 1957 to 1964. Their first son, David, was born in 1953 in Chicago, and Philip (1955), Laura (1957) and Mark (1958) in Decatur. (return to top of page)
Retirement
After receiving a Master of Divinity degree and being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1954, Lorrin's first churches were in the central Illinois community of Decatur. He pastored the North Fork Presbyterian church from 1955 to 1957 and nearby Mount Zion Presbyterian Church from 1957 to 1964. Their first son, David, was born in 1953 in Chicago, and Philip (1955), Laura (1957) and Mark (1958) in Decatur. (return to top of page)