At its November meeting, presbytery elected and installed Minister of the Word and Sacrament Lynette H. (Lynn) Bova as Stated Clerk of Presbytery of the Miami Valley.

As the Search Committee told presbytery, “The Rev. Lynn Bova has a great understanding of the mission and vision of this presbytery. The committee knows she will bring her many gifts and talents to the job. Having started out as an elementary teacher and then moving into Christian education, Lynn is very excited about the teaching and equipping component of the job description for the Stated Clerk. In addition, she is known as a “polity geek,” is a certified conflict mediator trained through the Lombard Training Program, and has strong communication, collaboration, adaptability, and organizational skills.

“The Rev. Bova currently serves as Interim Pastor at the Belle Center United Presbyterian Church and is a member of the Committee on Ministry, a position from which she will resign when elected Stated Clerk. Her extensive experience includes serving in Maumee Valley Presbytery as Interim Presbyter, Presbytery Moderator, Moderator of the Committee on Ministry, and member of an Administrative Commission, as well as many other positions at the congregational and mid-council level. The Rev. Bova’s references provided stellar recommendations of her character and job performance.”

A story about Kirkmont Center’s remarkable journey from a presbytery owned camp and conference center to an independent non-profit was published nationally in December by the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

“So many people- staff, volunteers, churches, church groups, presbyteries, and stories have been involved in making the Kirkmont experience available to all people in all seasons,” said Sara Metzler, Kirkmont Interim Executive.

Registration is now open for the NEXT Church 2021 National Gathering to be held March 5-7. This is a FREE Live-Streamed Gathering for all Church Leaders. This year’s theme is “Breaking, Blessing, Building: A Call for The Common Good.”

The NEXT Church National Gathering is filled with church leaders (pastors and lay people) sharing stories of their experiences of ministry, new ideas they are trying, and honest conversations about ministry today. Creative worship centers participants around God's presence, and multiple opportunities to engage in workshops and conversation about particular aspects of ministry foster new and deeper connections.

NEXT Church is a network of leaders - church members, ruling elders, youth leaders, educators, pastors, seminarians and professors - across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who believe the church of the future will be more relational, more diverse, more collaborative, more hopeful and more agile. NEXT Church provides hopeful space for robust conversations about the theology, culture, and the practice of ministry, supports strong, faithful leadership in a time of adaptive change, and encourages collaboration and creativity across congregations and geographies.