Rev'd Lora Jean Gowan
Associate Pastor
901.754.8587 ext, 8143
lgowan@covenantumc.org
Lora Jean Gowan, was appointed to Covenant as our Associate Minister in June, 2009.
Lora Jean was born in Selmer, Tennessee, the daughter of Local Pastor, Robert Beck and his wife, Jean. She lived there until attending Lambuth University in the Fall of 1976. She has one brother, David, living in Boston and working as an attorney for Boston Medical Center.
From Lambuth University, Lora Jean transferred to the University of Memphis where she graduated with a B.S. degree from the University College. At that time, she worked as both teacher and Director of University Churches Preschool located in Prescott Memorial Baptist Church and supported by a cluster of churches in the U of M area, including St. Luke’s UMC.
In 1997, Lora Jean began work as Youth Director at St. Paul UMC on Davies Plantation Rd. While there, she answered the call to Ordained ministry and began the process of Certified Candidate, entering Memphis Theological Seminary and going to work as Age Level Associate for the Memphis Conference of the United Methodist Church.
In 2003, Bartlett United Methodist Church called her to work as Education Director, later moving to St. John’s United Methodist where she was named Associate Minister of Education and Spiritual Formation. After graduating from Memphis Theological Seminary and being Commissioned as a probationary Elder, Lora Jean served as Wesley Foundation Director in Murray, Kentucky for one year and moved to Covenant in 2009.
When she is not serving within the local church, Lora Jean can often be found at Lakeshore Methodist Assembly where she leads Jr. High Camps in the summers and has many fond memories of leading Youth Winter Retreats and serves currently on the Programming Committee of the Lakeshore Advisory Board.
Most notably, however, Lora Jean is mother to four children, Christopher, Ian, Jonathan, and Lauren and grandmother to Leila, age 3. Indeed, her most memorable moments have been spent watching them grow into unique and loving adults…following their soccer, baseball, basketball, and football games…their music, their church camp experiences, and their own work with children in Sunday School and camping ministries.