We are rooted in history and just getting started

Our Story

As you may have noticed, one of the ways we describe ourselves is to say that we are rooted in history and just getting started.  By “rooted in history” we mean both the specific history of our church––The Church of the Gunks, and the broader historical moorings of both our denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), and the larger Reformed tradition as a whole.  

Before we were the Church of the Gunks, we were a branch of Goodwill EPC––a multisite church in the Hudson Valley.  It was decided in the fall of 2023 that Goodwill Church would plant us as our own church this year.  Our process will take some time, which means that we are currently a gathering of believers who are in transition; on our way to becoming a fully recognized church in our denomination.  We would love to welcome you to be a part of this gathering… this community within a community.  We hope to become a fully recognized church in our denomination by the start of 2025.  

With regard to our larger Reformed tradition, we encourage you to visit our denominational website [EPC] and search under the “About Us” tab to learn more.  

As to us “just getting started,” it is simply a way of saying that we not only value our history, but also our future.  That future includes our appreciation for history, but it also includes our anticipation that a big part of our future will be shaped by you.  Everyone has a story: some joyful and some painful, and we hope to be a place where people can come together to share their stories and learn more and more about how their stories are woven in to God’s larger story.  

To this end, we want to be a place where everyone is seen and heard––where there is no “other”.   We want to be true to the Bible and one thing that is very clear is that Jesus saw and heard everyone.  He didn’t change his convictions because of them, but he was filled with compassion for them.  We aspire to do the same.  We look forward to seeing and hearing you.