Conversation with Pastor Yehiel Curry

Don Johnson Executive Director of Lutheran Outdoor Ministries talks with Pastor Yehiel Curry.

Yehiel Curry received his B.A. in Psychology from Lewis University in Romeoville, IL in 1995. Immediately after college he provided mental health counseling and case management to youth and adults with a concentration on the impact of drugs, violence and poverty on communities.

His dedication to his church and obedience to the will of God led him to serve as lay Mission Developer /Pastor of Shekinah Chapel Lutheran Church in Riverdale, IL in 2007. Pastor Curry was ordained on April 26, 2009 after successful completion of the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries (TEEM), an alternative ordination program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), where ministry and education happen simultaneously. Pastor Curry enrolled in the Masters of Divinity program in 2009 at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. He is scheduled to graduate June 2013.

Pastor Curry serves as a board member and Camp Director for Safe In My Brothers Arms (S.I.M.B.A) Camp in New Era, Michigan for African American boys ages 8-17. Pastor Curry serves as the founder and advisor of Riverdale Organized for Change (ROC), a community organization that recently secured a 7.9 million dollar loan from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to replace Riverdale’s antiquated sewer system.

Pastor Yehiel Curry is married to Lashonda Curry, his wife of 17 years. They have 3 daughters, Shemiah, Ashirah, and Shekinah.