As the Lackawanna and Lehigh Presbyteries continue their process of merging into one mid council, there are many details that must be ironed out and finalized before they can officially be combined. Things like leadership and committee structures, by-laws and sharing staff are being finalized so the merger can move ahead.
And, of course, there’s the name. What will this new presbytery that includes 14 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania be called? Oh, and there’s one congregation currently in Lackawanna Presbytery that resides just over the PA border in Waverly, NY, that also needs to be considered when deciding on a new moniker.
In the spring, the four-person Merger Team agreed to invite members of the two presbyteries and anyone else who was willing to participate to submit suggestions for the new name. Stephen Emick, one of the members of the team who spearheaded the naming activity, didn’t expect much of a response to their idea.
“I was absolutely convinced we would get no response, given that these are the days where people are exhausted and have too much going on,” Stephen said. “I was absolutely, positively wrong with that. We were inundated with responses.
“The amount of energy that surfaced around choosing a name just blew me away.”
People were given six weeks to submit names, and 54 different suggestions were sent in.
“We didn’t call it a contest because there was no prize,” Stephen said. “We created a video that we promoted – the importance of picking a name when you have a baby, and here we are, we have a similar opportunity with a new presbytery.”
Once the Sept. 30 deadline passed for submissions, the Merger Team’s plan was to select its favorite three names and have those final choices approved by the combined leadership teams of Lackawanna and Lehigh Presbyteries. Once approved, a name would be selected from a vote at the November combined meeting of the two presbyteries.
As the Merger Team sorted through the submissions, several names were immediately discarded because they were not inclusive enough to include those in New York who are also part of the presbytery. Upon review of the remaining names, the Merger Team decided to narrow down the number of names for the final vote.
“When we looked at the responses, there were two hands down that the Merger Team absolutely loved,” Stephen said. “We couldn’t come up with a third one that we felt that strongly about, so we just sent two names to the two boards.”
The finalists were Mountain Laurel Presbytery and Dove Presbytery. The mountain laurel is the state flower of Pennsylvania, and it can also be found in southern New York. As for Dove Presbytery, the outline of the Lackawanna and Lehigh Presbyteries resembles the shape of a dove, which is also a symbol of peace and love.
“There were a whole bunch of suggestions related to Keystone or Northeast Pennsylvania or something connected to Pennsylvania, and we immediately ruled those out,” Stephen said. “As good as they were, that would not be fair to the one congregation up in New York.
“By far, the majority of the suggestions were around mountains, valleys, rivers and streams. Our feeling was, that while that is true for our geographical area, it’s not unique to us. You can almost pick half the United States that could claim that name.”
By a solid majority, Mountain Laurel Presbytery was selected as the name of the soon-to-be-merged mid council. Two people, one from each presbytery, submitted “mountain laurel” as a suggestion.
“Mountain laurel, being the state flower, being prevalent, particularly in both presbyteries’ areas, won out,” Stephen said. “We also discovered that the structure of the mountain laurel bloom is really fascinating. It has ribs in it and is tightly closed.
“Apparently, when the bee lands to pollinate and it’s ready, it pops open with a tremendous force. We’re thinking there’s going to be a lot of imagery there that we can tap into, thinking about the new presbytery merging, exploding, God’s spirit throwing us into the future. That was something else we thought we could work with.
“Dove, by far, was the most creative of all the names we got because somebody saw the symbolism,” Stephen continued. “They saw the geographical outline of the two presbyteries and said, ‘Hey, that looks like a dove.’ Our phrase was, ‘How many presbyteries could claim a name that represents God’s imprint of your geographical shape?’ We acknowledged upfront, on the surface, it would take a little explaining, but we thought once you explained it, it made a lot of sense. I think it was a little too abstract for a lot of people.”
With work still to be done until the merger is complete, the new combined presbytery won’t have its new name until the beginning of 2026. One of the final steps in the merger process will be the Synod of the Trinity voting in October of 2025 to approve the merger. The 227th General Assembly (2026) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will also put a rubber stamp on the merger as part of the process.
“It’s been 8-10 years of work, so to see it actually coming to fruition – and that it’s been this long process, it looks like this is a good, viable future for us – it’s really rewarding,” Stephen said. “It’s all in God’s good time. Patience is in following the Spirit, and God’s lead is proving to be the right way to go.”
A logo will eventually be created as well, but what that looks like is still to be determined. But just having a name to go with the currently 66 congregations within the bounds of the two presbyteries that will soon merge into one is a big step in the future of this region.
“The thing that stands out for me is the shock, the surprise of the energy that emerged around choosing a name and an identity,” Stephen said. “I just didn’t think there was going to be any interest. I think that that for me is a sign that God’s spirit is stirring in all of this. And while the legalese and most of what it takes to merge a presbytery is pretty Book of Order corporation-type stuff, the name was something that people could get their head around and bought into and wanted to have a hand in choosing what our name was.”
