Lisa Grabarek

Louise "Lisa" Norris Grabarek is an American educator and Baptist preacher. She taught at St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Virginia and at St. Mary's School in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, Grabarek was the fourth woman to be ordained as a preacher with the approval of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Lisa Grabarek
Born	Louise Norris Grabarek Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Other names	Lisa Grabarek Matthews
Alma mater	Vassar College Yale University
Occupation(s)	educator, preacher
Spouse	Bill Matthews
Parent	Wense Grabarek

Early life and education

Grabarek is the daughter of Marion Pritchard Norris Grabarek,^[1] a member of the Junior League of Durham, and Wense Grabarek, a politician and civil rights activist who served as Mayor of Durham from 1963 to 1971.^[2][3]

She graduated from Calvert Method School, a predecessor to Durham Academy, in 1967.

Grabarek was presented to society as a debutante at the Durham Debutante Cotillion and Christmas Ball at the Durham Armory in the 1960s.^[2] She was vehemently opposed to being a debutante due to the exclusive nature of the tradition, but ultimately decided to be presented to appease her parents.^[4][5]

She studied at Vassar College.^[6] She obtained a masters degree in divinity from Yale Divinity School, graduating magna cum laude.^[6][7]

Career

She was ordained as a Baptist preacher, as the fourth woman to be ordained by the convention, at Watts Street Baptist Church in 1974.^[6] Grabarek's ordination was approved by a council composed of clergy from both the Southern Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Association.^[6]

She worked as a humanities teacher at Saint Mary's School, an Episcopal boarding school for girls in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[7] She previously taught at St. Catherine's School, an all-girls Episcopal school in Richmond, Virginia.^[6]

Personal life

She married Rev. Bill Matthews, a lawyer and former pastor at the United Church of Christ in Milford, Connecticut.^[6]

Grabarek attends Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh.^[8]