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Mahoning Valley Association of Churches names new executive director
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
The Rev. Robbin Del Nagro brings enthusiasm, commitment, a fresh eye and appreciation of interfaith relationships and religious diversity to her new position as executive director of Mahoning Valley Association of Churches.
She also values the legacy and history of the organization that has had a presence in the Mahoning Valley since 1916.
Elsie Dursi, retired MVAC executive director, served for 23 years from September 1989 to 2012. After her retirement, the MVAC board initiated a search for a new director.
The Rev. Mrs. Del Nagro said she has had conversations with Dursi and intends to have others. “I have great respect for her. She put her whole heart into this work,” Mrs. Del Nagro said. “She had such a love for it, and I hope to learn from her.”
Mrs. Del Nagro is the pastoral associate at Poland Presbyterian Church, and her husband, the Rev. Peter Del Nagro, is pastor at Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church. She grew up in the Bible belt city of Joplin, Mo., graduated from Toledo University in Ohio and spent much of her career and adult life in the Washington, D.C., area.
She said a colleague, the Rev. Nick Mager, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, encouraged her to apply. Once she looked at the job description, Mrs. Del Nagro said, “I thought it was exciting and something I could get excited about.”
She said she had that response because MVAC has a “vision for expanding communication not only among Christ-centered churches and of reaching out to the wider interfaith community.”
Mrs. Del Nagro said she believes knowledge about different denominations helps build relationships. That’s her goal.
One idea for that, she shared, would be a spiritual series to learn about various faith traditions. “I think once you dispel fears and answer questions, you build relationships.”
She said a goal is to reach out to the Youngstown-area religious community to define “a clear concept of what MVAC stands for and the value of the organization.”
But, she noted, any new project is subject to board approval. She’ll be working on the CROP Walk in September, Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast in November and other MVAC events as they come up on the calendar.
Mrs. Del Nagro brings a wide-ranging background and solid education to the position. Among her degrees is a master of divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. In 2012, she was ordained a Presbyterian Church USA teaching elder in Eastminster Presbytery and has dual status in United Church of Christ, Eastern Ohio Association.
In 2008, she was ordained an interfaith minister. That came about through her work as a hospital chaplain in the Washington, D.C., area. “There was a wide scope of faith traditions, and I didn’t feel fully equipped,” she said. So, she enrolled in a course that broadened her knowledge of various faiths and led to her ordination as an interfaith minister.
Mrs. Del Nagro and her husband have lived in the Mahoning Valley for two years. “I’m impressed with the rootedness of the people and the diversity of the traditions that create a real community,” she said.
Her resume recounts pastoral care and various work in the Presbyterian, Episcopal and Unitarian Universalist churches. She admitted her calling “evolved over time.” It was after the funeral of a friend that she realized what she needed to do. “It was as if he was saying ... ‘do what God has called you to do ... answer the call,’” she said. And she did.
Tom Sauline, MVAC vice president, was chairman of the search committee for a new director. “We recognized her passion for ecumenism,” he said, adding that her being an interfaith minister was a huge plus. “We need to reach out to other churches,” he said, noting her experience will be valuable.
The Rev. Bob Bonnot, president of the MVAC board, said, “She has a broad experience in ministry and in various denomination settings.” He said her secular career in medical-product sales demonstrated her ability to work with people.