TALK Greenville Magazine, October 2024

Lizzie Bebber is passionate about people. Her faith, active and purposeful, is evident in her work as president of United Ministries.

“Born and raise din Clinton, Mississippi, my life’s work centers around the complexities of race and justice, faith and tradition, and community and relationship,” she says. “For me, this work of social change — namely, supporting individuals and families at United Ministries who are working to improve their economic and psychological mobility — is grounded in my faith tradition and prioritizes the importance of relationships alongside any type of systems change.”

Bebber previously worked as executive director of Christ House in Washington, D.C., a medical respite organization that provides dignifying healthcare to sick and homeless persons.

“While there, my husband and two children and I had the incredible privilege of living in an intentional community alongside a group of formerly homeless men,” she says. “Life there truly shape my call to work diligently for racial equality and reconciliation. Additionally, it illuminates for me the guiding truth that no one is ever beyond the reach of healing and transformation.”

Bebber’s idea of a perfect day includes a hike with her husband, a good meal with friends and family and maybe a Taylor Swift concert with her daughter, so it is no surprise that connection with others is at the core of what ignites her spirit.

“I’m most alive when people come together to find common purpose, share together around life’s joys and sorrows and find spaces of connection which remind us that we’re never meant to live this life alone,” she says.

As for the future? A quote from Father Richard Rohr sums up Bebber’s focus.

“I want to love myself and others well and continue to grow and evolve as a person,” Bebber says. “To that, one of my favorite quotes is “What empowers change, what makes you desirous of change is the experience of love. It is inherent experience of love that becomes the engine of change.”