They Care for The Cross, Not its Message.

Review the source documents

Read the Hocking College investigation, Ohio hearing transcript and community letter. The public PDFs preserve all 52 pages and their original numbering, with identifying personal information redacted.

Read the certified February 2026 Board resolution · All sources

First Presbyterian and the Nelsonville Cross

First Presbyterian Church of Nelsonville lists Kevin J. Lowry, CRE, as pastor. A 2024 Presbytery of Scioto Valley meeting packet also identifies his pastoral role. Church listing · Presbytery record.

First Presbyterian has long been associated with the Nelsonville Cross, a recognizable local landmark. A historical account attributed to the Rev. John L. Evans describes the church's stewardship in cooperation with other local Christian congregations. The Athens County Independent also reported on that role in February 2026. Historical account · Local reporting.

This community-facing leadership provides the local context for the professional record described in this article.

Public leadership roles and community affiliations

Lowry’s local roles include church leadership, a community foundation committee, an Elks office, and former work at Hocking College and the fire department. The dates below distinguish current public listings from past service and self-reported membership. An affiliation alone does not show that an organization knew about or endorsed his conduct.

Chronology

1. Summer–November 2021
   Later sworn testimony

   Wooster school matter

   At the September 2025 administrative hearing, Wooster City Schools Superintendent Gabriel Tudor described Lowry’s work at the high school through Anazao Community Partners. Tudor testified that the district learned on November 16, 2021 of a summer sexual encounter between Lowry and a student. He described the encounter as consensual and said the student was 18. He testified that Lowry had not disclosed the situation to administrators and was removed from the school after it came to their attention.

   Tudor said police investigated and no charges were brought. He described his understanding of that decision; the cited records do not include a police or prosecutor disposition. His comments about possible additional grooming were speculation, not findings.

   ODE Hearing.pdf, pp. 9–20, especially 14–18. This is testimony recounting earlier events, not a contemporaneous court judgment.

2. November 7, 2022
   College employment record

   Hocking College employment begins

   The college investigation identifies Lowry as Director of Housing and Student Relations beginning November 7, 2022, in a role involving direct contact with students.

   KL HC.pdf, PDF p. 6.

3. April 5–11, 2023
   Complaint Supervisor’s note

   Complaint and counseling about boundaries

   An April 5 email from a former student employee reported sexually inappropriate comments and inquiries about a student. These were the complainant’s allegations. Handwritten notes dated April 11 record a supervisor discussing the complaint with Lowry, recording his explanation for an inquiry, and directing him to avoid sexual conversations or actions involving students.

   KL HC.pdf, PDF pp. 1–5. The public copy redacts identifying details.

4. December 2023
   College finding Sexual relationship disputed

   Investigation, resignation, and recommendation

   The report records December interviews, Lowry’s submission of message screenshots, and his resignation effective immediately on December 14. Its results section concludes that his communications violated Policy 58.002, Workplace Harassment and Civility, and that sexual references and hugging of students violated Policy 64.002, Faculty/Staff Relations with and Sexual Harassment of Students. It recommends accepting his resignation and making him ineligible for rehire.

   The report explicitly classifies an alleged sexual relationship with a student as disputed. It records that the student named by others denied a relationship outside ordinary housing-office interactions. It also states that not everyone interviewed experienced discomfort or received inappropriate messages. The report includes firsthand accounts, secondhand statements, and rumors alongside its institutional findings.

   KL HC.pdf, PDF pp. 6–14; resignation p. 11; disputed facts and results pp. 13–14. The report recommends a rehire restriction; a separate personnel decision adopting it is not included in the archive.

5. February 27, 2024
   Community advocacy

   Letter asks church leadership to act

   A community member’s letter to the church’s Clerk of Session criticizes Lowry’s conduct as described in college records and asks church leadership to condemn it and remove him from leadership. The letter is advocacy. It does not document delivery, a church response, or action on the request.

   Letter to P.pdf, p. 1. The writer’s identity and personal contact details are withheld.

6. August 20, 2024
   Denominational record

   Presbytery packet documents pastoral role

   A summer biography in the meeting packet describes Lowry serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Nelsonville. It does not address the college findings or state proceedings.

   Presbytery meeting packet, printed p. 16.

7. September 13, 2024
   Notice of intended action

   State educator-permit process

   The later certified Board resolution identifies this as the date of notice concerning possible action against Lowry’s 2021 educational aide permit, based on the 2021 student matter. A notice initiates a process; it is not itself a final revocation.

   Certified resolution, p. 1.

8. September 30, 2025
   Administrative hearing

   Case No. 2021OPC16885

   The transcript records testimony by Tudor and Office of Professional Conduct attorney Matthew Shunkwiler. Exhibits 1–6 were admitted, with Exhibit 2B, the confidential student key, sealed. In closing, the state’s attorney requested revocation and permanent ineligibility to reapply. That request was advocacy. The hearing officer closed the record; the transcript does not contain a final Board order.

   ODE Hearing.pdf, pp. 1–3, 21–36; exhibits pp. 32–33; requested sanction p. 36. The certified resolution later records that Lowry was absent and unrepresented.

9. February 9, 2026
   Final Board action documented

   Permit revoked; future Board credentials barred

   Resolution 15 revokes Lowry’s one-year educational aide permit issued in 2021 and makes him permanently ineligible to apply for any license, permit, or certificate issued by the State Board of Education. The copy is certified February 10 as action taken February 9. The resolution is an administrative licensure decision. It does not constitute a criminal conviction or determine church office.

   Certified resolution, pp. 1–2.

How the records fit together

Hocking College's investigation concluded that Lowry violated policies involving communications and interactions with students. The college report treated an allegation of a sexual relationship with a college student as disputed.

The state educator-permit hearing concerned an earlier encounter at Wooster, described in testimony as consensual with an 18-year-old student. The February 2026 Board resolution documents the subsequent licensing action.

College report · Hearing transcript · Certified Board resolution

Request for comment and reported responses

Facebook request for comment

Nelsonville Public Record sought comment from Lowry through Facebook, provided the documents underlying this article, and informed him that the records would be made public. No response had been received as of November 2, 2026.

Source: the publisher’s account of its Facebook outreach.

Denominational official responds to an inquiry about Lowry

A screenshot supplied to Nelsonville Public Record shows a response signed by the Rev. Dr. Fran Lane-Lawrence, identifying herself as Stated Clerk of the Synod of the Covenant of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The source who provided the screenshot states that the message responded to an anonymous inquiry about Kevin J. Lowry. The original inquiry is not shown, and the visible screenshot does not establish the response’s date or precisely what information the sender supplied.

In her reply, Lane-Lawrence said she ordinarily did not read or respond to anonymous communications, described such communications as contrary to her understanding of Scripture and Presbyterian polity, and stated that she had copied the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Scioto Valley. The visible reply focuses on the correspondent’s anonymity and asks for open communication; it does not substantively answer questions about Lowry.

The screenshot documents the words attributed to this official, not whether the underlying concerns were separately reviewed or what the presbytery did afterward. It also does not demonstrate that the reply came before or after the February 2026 state licensing action.

Source: partial email screenshot supplied to Nelsonville Public Record, with the subject of the underlying inquiry identified by the person providing it. Full message headers, the original inquiry, and subsequent correspondence were not provided. Personal telephone, address, and email details from the signature are omitted here. Source note.

Previously reported statements

The Independent reports Lowry’s statement through counsel that the allegations were noncriminal, involved no minors, and were disclosed to the church. Counsel distinguished administrative processes from court proceedings. It attributes to Executive Presbyter Kathleen Nice a March 2024 assessment that he had remediated his behavior. These are responses, not findings. The underlying correspondence is not included in the archive. Read the reporting and fuller responses.

These earlier statements are drawn from the Independent’s reporting and are separate from Nelsonville Public Record’s Facebook request for comment. The college findings and the Board’s later action are documented separately.

Sources

Read the three archived documents above or follow the additional sources below. Original filenames and page references connect each citation to the underlying record. Public copies contain the disclosed privacy redactions.

1. KL HC.pdf — 14 PDF pages. Open the 14-page public review PDF. College complaint, screenshots, supervisor notes, and investigation report. Findings and disputed facts appear on PDF pp. 13–14. The report has no stated completion date. Return to chronology.
2. ODE Hearing.pdf — 37 pages. September 30, 2025 proceedings before the Ohio State Board of Education, Case No. 2021OPC16885. Open the 37-page public review transcript. Original page numbering is retained; identifying student context is redacted. No sealed student key is published. Official conduct-record search (search name: Kevin Lowry; case number: 2021OPC16885). Use the linked official search to check for additional case records.
3. Letter to P.pdf — 1 page. February 27, 2024 letter to the church’s Clerk of Session. Community advocacy; personal identifiers are redacted. Open the one-page public review letter. Return to chronology.
4. Denominational correspondence screenshot. A partial reply attributed to the Rev. Dr. Fran Lane-Lawrence, Stated Clerk of the Synod of the Covenant, about an anonymous inquiry concerning Kevin J. Lowry, as identified by its source. Date and original incoming inquiry are not shown; screenshot is described but not republished because the visible signature includes unnecessary personal contact information. Read the account.
5. Church website. First Presbyterian Church of Nelsonville, reviewed November 2, 2026. Public pastor listing.
6. Denominational record. August 20, 2024 Presbytery of Scioto Valley packet, printed p. 16, summer biography. Contains Lowry’s description of his pastoral role and Rotary membership.
7. Historical account. The Nelsonville Cross, article attributed to Rev. John L. Evans, transcribed from the 1973 Lions Club Parade of the Hills pamphlet. Describes historical trusteeship and lighting arrangements.
8. Certified Board action. Resolution 15, certified February 10, 2026, pp. 1–2, hosted by DocumentCloud. Includes certification of the February 9 action. Board explanation of hearings, final resolutions, and appeals.
9. Public-role directory sources. Nelsonville Community Foundation committee roster; its 2023 and 2025 annual reports, p. 2 in each; Ohio Elks Association’s 2025–2026 Lodge #543 officers; and the Rocky Brands RCIF page. The committee and lodge rosters name Lowry. The RCIF page describes the fund but does not list him. Accessed November 2, 2026.
10. Secondary reporting and attributed responses. Keri Johnson, Athens County Independent, February 25, 2026 (updated). Reports on church stewardship, former fire chaplain service, and responses from Lowry and church leadership. College records, hearing testimony, and the certified Board resolution are linked above.