The Rev. Deacon Lou Thibodaux Named Recipient of AARP Alabama’s 2024 Andrus Award for Community Service
The Rev. Deacon Lou Thibodaux, of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Birmingham, has been named the recipient of the AARP Alabama’s 2024 Andrus Award for Community Service.
Named after Ethel Percy Andrus, AARP’s founder and a renowned catalyst for change, this award honors individuals who use their experience, talent, and skills to enrich their communities in alignment with AARP’s purpose, vision, and commitment to volunteer service. As the most prestigious state volunteer award, it aims to inspire others to give back through service.
Lou has been a driving force in numerous organizations throughout the Birmingham area. Ordained to the diaconate in November 2002, she served as the first archdeacon for the Diocese of Alabama. At St. Thomas Church, she has mentored participants in the Education for Ministry program and led a healing prayer service for more than two decades.
She has also mobilized volunteers for ministries such as Episcopal Place, Greater Birmingham Ministries, Lift Up the Vulnerable, and other agencies that serve “the least of these.” In the 1970s, Lou was instrumental in establishing the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. She also played a foundational role in organizing the Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership (ALIRP) and serves on the Advisory Board of The Blackburn Institute at The University of Alabama, which aims to create multigenerational change agents for the common good.
Lou’s life and ministry are rooted in her deep calling to answer Christ’s call: “Follow me.” Reflecting on her calling, she describes her work as operating “behind the scenes,” helping to shape and establish a vision before passing it on to others.
“What makes me happiest about this award is that it so clearly recognizes the role of the deacon in calling others to service,” Lou shared. “I was really surprised to receive the award letter—it just came out of the blue. I wish I had known Ethel Andrus. She was a real shaker and mover. So much can change when one person steps into a leadership role and inspires others to follow.”
Lou’s nomination was submitted by the Rev. Josiah Rengers, rector of St. Thomas Church, who shared:
“I nominated Lou in part because of her incredible work as a deacon and archdeacon for the Diocese of Alabama. For over 30 years, she has led countless community service projects and outreach ministries. Lou has accomplished all this without any stipend, dedicating her life to service. She and her husband, Paul Thibodaux, were instrumental in planting St. Thomas Church, and she was ordained in the first class of deacons over three decades ago.”
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans aged 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. Its Andrus Award for Community Service is AARP’s highest volunteer honor, celebrating individuals who have made remarkable contributions to their communities. To be eligible, nominees must be 50 or older, and their achievements must have been performed entirely on a volunteer basis.
The writer is the Director of Communications. She can be reached at nana@dioala.org