Meet our new Moderator and Vice Moderator
At its May 13, 2025 meeting, Presbytery of the Miami Valley elected Minister of Word and Sacrament Lawrence Bartel as Moderator and Minister of Word and Sacrament Diane Ziegler as Vice Moderator for 2025-26.
The Rev. Lawrence Bartel, Moderator
Oxford Presbyterian Church
Lawrence is the pastor of Oxford Presbyterian Church (OPC). A Buckeye native, he returned to Ohio after graduating from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and serving churches in Chicago as well as upstate New York. Lawrence and his wife, Amy, round out their family with a son, Jens, and daughter, Lydia.
Passionate about life-long learning, Lawrence has been shaped by formal classroom settings as well as the transformative experience of journeys around the region, the nation and the world. In 2016 and 2018, he served as the co-leader for the PC(USA) Mosaic of Peace to Israel and Palestine. Through the ministry of OPC, Lawrence has participated in mission journeys to sister congregations in Colombia and Russia. In 2022, he coordinated a learning journey to Scotland followed by a civil rights learning journey to Georgia and Alabama.
The Rev. Diane Ziegler, Vice Moderator
Bellbrook Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Diane Ziegler was raised in the Oxford Presbyterian Church. She has served as Stated Supply pastor of The Bellbrook Presbyterian Church since 2016 and as Parish Associate of the Oxford Presbyterian Church since 2010.
Prior to serving the Bellbrook church, Diane served as Executive Director of Kirkmont Center, as transitional pastor for the Belle Center United Presbyterian Church, and as pastor of the Reily Presbyterian Church. Within the Presbytery Diane has served as a Commissioner to General Assembly, a Commissioner to the Synod of the Covenant, Chair of Staff Support, Chair of the Executive Presbyter Search Committee and the Stated Clerk Search Committee, Member of the Transition Visioning Team of the Presbytery, co-leader of the Small Church Transformation Project, and Missional Presbyteries Project Participant. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Theology.
Diane lives in Loveland with her husband and three cats. She has two adult sons.
