Duanesburg Reformed Presbyterian Church

Who We Are

Duanesburg RPC is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. We are committed to being faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed faith and obedient to the great commission.

We Invite You to Join Us

For Sunday Worship at 10 am . . .

... at our new Facility at 6512 Western Turnpike.

We are still busy making adjustments and working out the bugs -see the photo gallery for current photo's. Stay tuned for announcements about our official Open House and activies for our community.

Latest News

We are entering very exciting times as we welcome our new Pastor, the Rev. Ken McHeard and look forward to his equipping us for ministering to the people in the Duanesburg area, the Becker Street community, the Capitol District and beyond.

What To Expect

When you join us for worship, expect to be greeted warmly. We are a community of faith changed by the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Because of that, it is our desire that you join us as we worship the one true God. Our worship service is a blend of contemporary and traditional hymns. We place a high value on the Word of God, prayer and discipleship.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.

- Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV.

Gazette Article

The Daily Gazette

January 11, 2010

Church ready for new pastor, home

Author: JESSICA HARDING, Gazette Reporter

As the members of the Duanesburg Reformed Presbyterian Church prepare to move to a new site, they are comforted to know they will have a permanent leader. The Rev. Kenneth McHeard presided over his first official worship service Sunday, and congregation members said they couldn't be happier to have him.

"I like him, he's a great preacher," said Jen Sell, 25, of Knox, who has been attending services at Duanesburg Reformed Presbyterian since she was a child and now plays the keyboard for the church's Praise Team, which is similar to the choir. More than 150 people attended Sunday's worship service, crammed into a small space inside the Schoharie Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites, which the congregation has been calling home for the past two years.

The congregation typically meets in the hotel's basement function room, unless there is another function scheduled, which means the members cram into a smaller room upstairs. Sunday congregation members were spilling into the hallway of the hotel, barely able to hear McHeard's words of comfort and religious wisdom.

As pleased as the congregation members were, McHeard said he was just as joyful to be joining them. "I promised my family I wouldn't do anything embarrassing," he said, "but on the inside I'm jumping."

The Duanesburg Reformed Presbyterian Church was founded in 1795 in a small stone church. The congregation outgrew the small space and sold it two years ago to finance a new one. Since that time they have been raising money and building a new site, which they plan to move into Feb. 7. There is still a lot left to do in the interior however. To that end, church elder Ward Humphrey said the congregation has a goal of raising $50,000; $20,000 has been raised in the last month.

McHeard said Sunday that the congregation members needed to trust that God would provide what they needed. "We are ordinary people, but wait until we see the extraordinary hand of God," he said.

Sell said she agreed with his sermon Sunday, saying that she did often feel like the challenge of creating a new home for the church was too large. However, she said it does feel like God's work that the church was able to raise $20,000 in a month toward their goal of $50,000. "It is amazing," she said. "I mean, this money is from people who have already given so much. "There is still a lot of stuff we need," she continued, "but trust in the Lord and he will provide for us."

Before McHeard took on Duanesburg Reformed Presbyterian full time, he was the assistant pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Schenectady. He would come to preside over the services in Schoharie about once a month. The congregation had been looking for a permanent pastor since they moved into the Holiday Inn. Not having a permanent pastor had been difficult for the church members, especially as they prepared to move into the new space. "It's been difficult" Humphrey said. "We've been trying to find a pastor and raise money for our new facility."

Peg Mulyca travels from Schenectady to Schoharie to attend services with her church at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites. Mulyca said she is glad to have McHeard as her permanent pastor, especially because so many of the members already know him. "We've already had him here, so we know what he's like. He preaches from the Word [of God] and we like that," she said.