REV. ELANA KEPPEL LEVY
I am a co-pastor with my delightful spouse Rev. Lucus Levy Keppel at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bixby, Oklahoma. (Given my dreadful technology curse and general computational ineptitude, this website literally could not exist without the snake charming tech skills of Lucus. Thanks, sweetie!)
I see God’s work inscribed throughout the world. Growing up with a Jewish father and Presbyterian mother, religious conversations were all playful and interfaith. Engaging and appreciating difference meant that exact agreement was not required to cultivate a beautiful life that pleases God.
From a very young age, I have been drawn to the study of the Holocaust, particularly those who acted with such cruelty. I learned German in school, and received undergraduate degrees in German language and psychology. I spent ten years working as a freelance translator focusing on documents about concentration camp guards (thanks to the ongoing projects and vital work of Dr. Susan Eischeid). I have spent most of my life pursuing questions: How could humans commit such evil acts? Who are we when we stray from our creaturely calling? What can Christians do to cultivate justice? These unanswerable questions prompt me to see people as people first and to try to reach out even when hope seems lost.
After college, I earned a Masters of Social Work with a special focus on older adults, the bereaved, and those traumatized by sexual assault. God’s presence is most strongly felt when we are present, attentive, and loving to one another. Feeling strongly called to the ministry, I completed my Masters of Divinity and received a call as a Pastoral Care Associate in Roswell, NM (where I ministered to all comers, even aliens!).
I love movies (and quoting them!); games and puzzles; deep conversations that come out of nowhere; prayer from the heart; and moments of genuine human kindness.
Read my call story here.