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My Story

Lidia Ribet Noffke was born in Siena (Italy) and her father was a pastor in the Waldensian and Methodist church. Being a pastor, Lidia’s father moved to different churches, but he served in the Milan Waldensian Church for 14 years and there she was able to start and finish all her studies and she specialized as an interpreter. In Pisa, Lidia met her husband while he was serving in the US armed forces. At the end of his military duties they went to the United States where he taught mathematics. Returning to Italy, in Rome, her husband decided to study theology at the Faculty of theology in Rome and be a pastor. During these early years they had four children and a fifth came later. In Italy all the family was involved in church life, especially the pastor’s wife, which Lidia liked very much since she already had the example of her mother. In fact, soon after confirmation, Lidia started teaching in the Sunday School. Later she also served as a member of the National Committee for the Sunday School organization. She has been working with women’s groups, both locally and on the national level and she has been a member of various national ecclesiastical organizations in Italy: the Federation of Protestant Churches, the Federation of Protestant Women and the Waldensian and Methodist Federation for which Lidia served as president for three terms.