Leadership

Staff Teams

Program Team

Belinda Quaye

Director of Christian Education

Read Bio

Belinda Quaye (Director of Christian Education) began leading the religious education program at Westminster in 2013 after teaching Sunday school for many years here in the U.S. and in her home country of Ghana. Originally trained as a school librarian, Belinda loves to share God’s word with children in a way that makes them feel included and valued. She is skilled in a number of teaching methods including of the Montessori-based program Godly Play. Belinda serves the wider church as part of the Leadership Council of the Association of Partners in Christian Education. Belinda also serves as the Volunteer Coordinator at the FOCUS Churches of Albany and is an active member of the Westminster African Mission Committee. She is married to Ben and mother to Maxine and Robert.

Rev. Heather Kirk-Davidoff

Minister

Read Bio

Rev. Heather Kirk-Davidoff (Minister) began serving as Westminster’s minister in May, 2020, while the church building was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She and her husband Dan Kirk-Davidoff moved to Albany from Columbia, Maryland in 1998 and bought a house on Dove Street, just a half a block away from Westminster. They are active members of the Center Square Neighborhood Association and love living in the city of Albany.

Heather was born in Schenectady, New York and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. A graduate of Yale University (B.A. 1989) and Harvard Divinity School (M.Div. 1994), she was ordained by the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ in 1994. Prior to coming to Westminster, Heather served as the Interim Protestant Campus Minister at Union College in Schenectady, NY. She has served as minister of the Kittamaqundi Community Church in Columbia, Maryland and the First Congregational Church of Somerville, MA and directed the Interfaith Families Project of Greater Washington, D.C. Rev. Kirk-Davidoff is the co-author of two books, Talking Faith (Chalice Press, 2004) and Dare to Dive In: Strategies and Resources for Involving Your Whole Church in Worship (Abingdon, 2006) as well as several book chapters and numerous magazine articles. Pastor Heather is also an “Inaugural Fellow” of the US@250 initiative of New America. She and Dan are parents of three adult children and an adult foster daughter.

Christopher Price

Director of Music

Read Bio

Christopher Price has directed several other church choirs over the past eight years. He moved to New York in 2018 after teaching at Navarro College as Associate Professor of Choral Music. After moving to New York, Chris worked as the Fine Arts Coordinator for Troy Prep Uncommon Schools and is currently the high school choral director at Tamarac High School in Brunswick Central School District. Outside of school, he worked with children of all ages while serving as a music director for The Young Actors Guild in the Capital District. He also sings with Albany Pro Musica as a baritone soloist.

Emma Mrowka

Organist

Read Bio

Emma Mrowka joined Westminster as Organist in January 2024. She previously served as the organist for the First Presbyterian Church of Baldwinsville, NY, from 2012 through 2014. Since that tenure, she has relocated around New York State several times due to her work as an environmental scientist. Emma currently works for an engineering consulting firm and resides in the Hudson Valley.

Administration and Finance Team
Lorraine Charboneau

Church Administrator

Read Bio

Lorraine Charboneau came to Westminster in July 2021 and brings to the job significant experience in non-profit and financial management, most recently at the Fiscal Policy Institute. Before beginning her work in the nonprofit sector, Lorraine spent a number of years with two financial institutions serving our low/moderate-income communities and populations in New York State through her work as their Community Reinvestment Officer. Her work includes overseeing our expanding use of the building to increase our community impact. She often brings her dog Sawyer to help with greeting each person who comes into our building.

Forrest Holroyd

Treasurer

Read Bio

Forrest Holroyd has served as Treasurer of Westminster since 2015. He comes to the work with a background in Math and Physics, including serving as IT Manager at a local company before retirement. He is also an active member of the Westminster choir, a member of our IT team, and past President of our Board of Trustees. He is married to Nancy and father to Andrea, Sheila, and Colleen. They have been members of Westminster since 2004.

Communications
Kim Deal

Communications Manager

Read Bio

Kim Deal has served as Communications Manager since 2016.

Building Team
Joy Tallmadge

Associate Sexton

Read Bio

Joy Tallmadge (Associate Sexton) grew up in Westminster and has been a member of the church for over 50 years. She helps oversee our building, opening and closing on Sunday mornings and assists as we host weddings, funerals and other special events. Joy has one son, two granddaughters, one dog and three cats to keep her company.

Who Does What at Westminster

(and How Can I Join In)?
The Book of Order specifies that all churches in the PC(USA) are governed by a Session, elected by the membership of the church annually. The Westminster Session is composed of 9 members, each of whom serve for 3 year terms. Our Pastor, Rev. Heather Kirk-Davidoff, is the Moderator of the Session and Leah Threatte currently serves as the Clerk of Session. The Session is responsible for establishing the policies of the church and discerning a vision for its program and mission. The Session adopts the annual budget of the church, hires staff, receives members, and provides oversight for the church’s work as a whole.

Several on-going teams implement the church’s mission and vision. These teams report to our Session but anyone in the church with an interest can participate in guiding and leading the church’s program by serving on one of these teams. The teams that are currently active are:

Reopening Committee
Reopening Committee was appointed by Session in March 2020 to guide our congregation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christian Life and Learning (CL&L)
Christian Life and Learning (CL&L) works with our Minister to oversee and envision the church’s worship (Sunday morning and special services) and coordinate the educational programs of the church with the goal of creating a coherent program for spiritual growth.
Adult Spiritual Development Team
Adult Spiritual Development Team is a subcommittee of the CL&L team that works with our Minister to envision and implement programs for adults.
Children, Youth and Families Team
Children, Youth and Families Team is a subcommittee of the CL&L team that works with the Director of Religious Education to envision and implement programs for children, youth and families
Music Committee

Music Committee is a subcommittee of the CL&L team that works with the Director of Music to envision and implement the church’s music program.

Communications & Outreach
Communications & Outreach works with our Communications Manager and is responsible for Westminster’s online communications, including such work as website planning and management; news emails; social media; and support for special events, projects, liturgical seasons, and worship services of the church.
Hospitality
Hospitality (sometimes known as “The Committee to Have More Fun”) finds ways to help our congregation connect and enjoy our life together. This team helps out when we want to offer a reception after a funeral or other important event.
Mission
Mission is a committee that provides oversight for our financial donations to groups (insider and outside of the church) that are aligned with our mission.
Justice
There are a number of teams in the church that implement projects in response to our call to serve and to advocate for justice.

African Missions Team

Earth Care Team

Good Neighbor Team

Racial Justice Vigil Team

Deacons and Trustees

Westminster also has two additional elected boards:
The Deacons
The Deacons work with our minister to offer the church’s care and support for individuals in need, in our congregation and in the wider community.

They assist with communion, make home and hospital visits, and help members celebrate special milestones. The Deacons maintain an active prayer chain. They also oversee three benevolence funds which they can distribute to people in need in our congregation and in the wider community.

The Trustees
The Trustees oversee our finances and our physical plant. They manage (at times via direct hands-on work, other times in supervising third parties) the maintenance of the building and its grounds including repairs, updates, and the rental of office space and parking lot spaces.

The Trustees have formed a number of committees that focus on specific areas of work. Each of these teams are open to others volunteers from the church community who have an interest–you do not need to be a Trustee to serve in this way:

The Investment Committee oversees the church’s invested funds.

The Stewardship & Budget Committee establishes a budget for the church each year and leads our Stewardship Campaign, inviting all members and friends of the congregation to give financial gifts to our church.

The IT Committee looks after the church’s technology.

The congregation also votes on a Nominating Committee each year with representatives from the Session, the Deacons and the Trustees. The purpose of this committee is to nominate people to serve on each of these boards. Their nominations are voted on by the congregation at a meeting at the end of each year.