Rev. Dr. Valerie Loner
Senior Pastor
Dr. Loner has enjoyed seeing Rome grow and change over the last 30 years and loves being a part of our community. She moved to Rome for the first time in the last 1980s to attend Berry College, where she graduated with a degree in communications.
She worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in North Georgia and Alabama for almost a decade, including three years at the Rome News-Tribune. Upon returning to Atlanta, she joined a medical education company and spent the next eight years as an editor and director of continuing education.
During this time, she discerned a call to ministry and later earned her Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 2010. She later completed her doctorate in church leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Pastor Valerie previously served as senior pastor of Jonesboro First UMC; pastor of Rush Chapel UMC in Shannon; and as minister of nurture at Hillside UMC in Woodstock. She is passionate about sharing her faith and helping others explore and share their faith journeys. She is committed to an inclusive church that welcomes everyone and enthusiastically shares God’s love for all people.
In her free time, you can often find Pastor Valerie attending community events, especially those involving the arts. She also loves traveling and is always planning her next adventure.