Senior Minister
Rev. Dr. Steven Savides
Senior Minister
Rev. Dr. Steven Savides is a compelling preacher and teacher deeply committed to peace and social justice, faith formation across the lifespan, pastoral care and counseling, crafting life-giving worship, and building inclusive, resilient, and sustainable congregations. He brings talents for storytelling, peacebuilding, and spiritual discernment to his ministry.
Steven comes to us with a broad range of experiences as a pastor, theologian, educator, and former journalist. He has served UCC congregations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Ohio in senior, sole, and interim pastorates and has served the wider church on Committees on Ministry and Association councils and commissions.
As an educator, Steven taught in the Mass Communication and Sociology and Anthropology departments at Principia College in Elsah, IL, and as instructor of record in the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.
Steven earned a PhD in Peace Studies and Theology from the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame in 2022. He graduated with a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 2008 and a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School in 2006. He was ordained in 2006.
Born and raised in South Africa, he has spent 29 years in the United States. The first four were dedicated to undergraduate studies, while the past 25 have been the adventure of a lifetime with his wife, Rev. Nanette Pitt.