Associate Pastor, Lynne Frech
About Lynne
Born in Atlanta, GA in 1975, Lynne was predominantly raised outside of Charleston, SC. She was born in the Presbyterian Church as her father is an ordained PC (USA) minister. Her mother was a teacher, and Lynne was the younger of two children. Lynne was a focused student who was very involved in her church. She was a student of the arts, including dancing, singing and drama and enjoyed several solo parts as well as the lead in the school play.
Lynne graduated from high school in 1993 and entered the University of Georgia that fall. Her time at UGA included joining the sorority Gamma Sigma Sigma, whose primary focus is service in the community. It was through this organization she developed a love of serving others, and her leadership and organizational skills blossomed. Lynne studied in the school of Journalism with a concentration in advertising. She spent her first two summers of college working at Montreat Conference Center where she first began to connect her love of God with the love of the mountains of Western North Carolina. Lynne graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and moved to Atlanta to begin her advertising career at WestWayne. There Lynne had the opportunity to work with some notable clients including SunTrust Bank, Russell Athletics, and Bassett Furniture.
Later that same year, Lynne married her college sweetheart who was finishing a graduate program at UGA, and at that same time began to discern that something was missing from her life. She longed for opportunities for service to the community through her church, but long work hours prevented her from getting involved in a meaningful way. As she and her husband looked to start a family, Lynne decided to utilize her marketing skills in the non-profit sector and accepted a position in the National Home Office of the American Cancer Society. The next year in 2002, she and her husband welcomed their daughter, Gabrielle, into their family.
As Lynne settled into motherhood she continued to have a longing to serve God’s people. She became deeply involved in adult education and the Stephen Ministry program in her home church, Roswell Presbyterian. It was in these moments of service when Lynne began to tangibly recognize and appreciate God’s call to the ministry. It was particularly in the Stephen Ministry program that Lynne developed her passion for Pastoral care. She spoke with a number of church members and her senior pastor, Dr. Lane Alderman, about her call to ministry, and began to research seminaries.
In July 2004, Lynne began her first class at Columbia Theological Seminary. She felt her passion for learning and reading come alive in a way not previously experienced. She completed a summer internship at First Presbyterian Church of North Palm Beach, FL where she had opportunities for preaching, teaching, worship leadership and pastoral care. The following summer, Lynne completed her first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Central Presbyterian Outreach Center working with the homeless of Atlanta.
In May 2007, Lynne graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity degree. In that same year she and her husband of 10 years sadly parted ways. Since then, Lynne has been working on a year long CPE residency at Crossroads Hospice where she cares for patients in their final days of life, and their families. She was also selected to participate in a nationwide Lilly Endowment program called “The Company of New Pastors.” This program places new pastors in regional mentoring groups who meet twice a year to reflect theologically on their work in ministry.
Lynne enjoys spending time with her daughter, reading, hiking and singing. After going on mission trips to the Dominican Republic and Mexico, she has also developed a new passion for traveling and doing mission work.
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