Rev. Robert Hoover will celebrate 50th anniversary

On the occasion of his 50th anniversary as an ordained Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Dr. Robert Philip Hoover, Pastor Emeritus of Poland Presbyterian Church will be honored during a reception in Fellowship Hall on June 22 following the 10:30 a.m. worship service.

Since ordained at his home church of First Presbyterian in York, Pa., on June 28, 1964, Hoover served as pastor of three Presbyterian churches in northeast Ohio, namely New Harrisburg Presbyterian in Carrollton from 1964-1970, Central Presbyterian in Massillon from 1970-1985, and Poland Presbyterian from 1987-2004.

He also served as interim pastor for Oak Hill Presbyterian in Akron from 1986-1987, First Presbyterian in Wichita, Kan., from 2004-2005, and Darnestown Presbyterian in metro Washington, D.C., from 2006-2008. Since 2008, he has served as a pulpit supply pastor with many Sundays at Liberty Presbyterian in Youngstown.

Hoover is a 1957 graduate of the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pa. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1961 from Franklin and Marshall College where he was secretary of his class and vice president of Pyramid, the senior honor society. He earned a Masters of Divinity in 1964 from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J., and in 1987 a Doctor of Ministry from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland.

His doctoral dissertation was “How to Listen to a Sermon.” One of his sermons, “Raising the Levels of Conscience” was published in the March/April 1981 issue of the international preaching journal, “Pulpit Digest.” Being committed to good Christian education ministries, Hoover remains the longest serving pastor in the history of the Pittsburgh-based International Logos Children’s Ministry with 41 consecutive years of service.

Hoover has been affiliated with high school football in Ohio. He served as president of The Touchdown Club in 1974 for the renowned Massillon Tigers. He appears in the film “Go Tigers” that won the Sundance in 2000. He was also the chaplain and motivational speaker for the Poland Seminary High School football team and its track and field team from 1987-2004. He was inducted into the Poland Seminary High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.

Hoover was the Massillon City Fire Department chaplain from 1970-1985, the Stark county chaplain for Vietnam veterans from 1978-1987, the manager of Camp Wakonda from 1966-1967 for Christ Presbyterian and president of Carrollton Rotary Club in 1967, Carrollton in 1968 and Massillon in 1975. Hoover was involved in Clergy Associations and the Board of Trustees of Eastminster Presbytery from 1998-2003. He was appointed in 1996 by Federal District Judge David D. Dowd, Jr. of Massillon to serve on a selection committee for the federal judges of the Ohio Northern District to appoint the first Federal Magistrate Judge to serve in Youngstown.

Hoover and his wife, Linda, reside in Poland. They were married in 1967 and have a son, a daughter and two grandchildren. Their son, David, and daughter Leah are 1989 and 1993 graduates, respectively, of Poland Seminary High School.

Hoover’s 50th Ordination Celebration Presbyterian Church tour includes Pleasant Ridge in Cincinnati on May 11, Liberty and Youngstown on June 1, Carrollton on June 8, Poland on June 22, Washington, D.C., on June 29 and York, Pa., on July 6.