Church Staff and Deacon

The Reverend Dr. Matthew Waterstone

Senior Minister

Pastor Matt began his ministry at The Reformed Church in October 2018. Previously, he served for 10 years as Senior Minister of the First Reformed Church in South Holland, IL, a suburb of Chicago. During his time there, he also served as chaplain to the South Holland Fire Department and an adjunct faculty member at Trinity Christian College in neighboring Palos Heights, IL. He is the author of the book “Dear Church: Letters to My First Church,” as well as many articles, blogs and podcasts. Ordained in the RCA and a native of Holland, MI, Matt graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hope College, and holds Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry degrees from Western Theological Seminary. On a denominational level, he was a member of the Commission on Race & Ethnicity and served on the search committee for the RCA’s current General Secretary, Eddy Alemán. Dr. Waterstone is also an accomplished athlete, having qualified for the Boston Marathon and completed three Ironman races. He has been married to his wife Sarah for 14 years, and they have two sons, Willem and Bram.

mwaterstone@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 131

Caitlin Dowling

Director of Music and Liturgy

Emily Caitlin Dowling completed her Master of Music degree in Organ Performance at Mercer University as a student of Dr. Jack Mitchener in 2015 and a Bachelor in Piano Performance from Mercer in 2013, as a student of Elizabeth Pridgen. In 2013 and 2015 she won the Macon AGO Quimby Regional Young Organists Competition. Caitlin served as Assistant Organist/Assistant Music Director from 2013-2015 at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. She moved to Atlanta in 2017 to be the Principal Organist/Music Associate at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta, GA. She is an active performer and appeared in recital in Nashville AGO’s “3 Under 30 Concert,” the Cherry Blossom Recital Series in Macon, GA, The Cathedral of St Philip, West End United Methodist Church and in Germany, Czech Republic and Austria with the Vanderbilt Community Chorus. Caitlin and her wife Hannah were married in October 2019. They live on the Upper East Side and love to cook, run, and explore NYC.

cdowling@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 126

Cameron Wentz

Associate Director of Music and Organist

Cameron comes to us from Baltimore, Maryland where he has just completed his PhD in Music Composition. He has studied organ at Westminster Choir College and Peabody Conservatory of Music and has served at churches in the US and UK, most recently as Director of Music of the historic Christ Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Cameron lives with his husband Jorge; they were married in November of 2021.

cwentz@reformedchurch.org

Christian Verwys

Director of Children and Youth Ministry

Christian joined the team at RCB in August 2020, entering his 16th year in student ministries. Christian graduated from Kuyper College in 2010 with bachelor’s degrees in Youth Ministry and Bible. During his ministry in Grand Rapids, MI, Christian guided over 50 full immersion trips and retreats both nationally and internationally, including prayer retreats in northern Michigan, whitewater rafting and backpacking in the Rocky Mountains, service relief trips to New Orleans, Austin, and Orlando, and outreach programs in Philadelphia and Trinidad & Tobago. Christian will be leading programming for our Middle School (6th-8th) and High School (9th-12th) families, Confirmation, and 4th- & 5th-grade events. He loves to hike, cook, is interested in anything related to the NBA, and is a ‘retired’ DJ. Christian married his wife Rachel in July 2020 on Lake Michigan, they have a dog named Clyde.

cverwys@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 124

Judith McCandless

Director of Member Engagement

 Judi came on staff in 2015 and has been an active church member since 1993. As Director of Member Engagement, Judi finds joy in developing ways for church members to deepen their sense of connection as a faith community. In doing so, she seeks to create such opportunities in various church programs and ministries, particularly those related to fellowship, hospitality, congregational care, and the church’s new member process. She also enjoys leading a weekly women’s Bible and book study, and other programs related to spiritual formation. Over the course of her membership she has served as Deacon, Elder, Chair of the Congregational Care Council, Consistory Nominating Committee Chair, confirmand mentor, adult education speaker, and prison ministry volunteer. She has also worked with previous minister search committees, a strategic planning sub-committee and the accessibility committee, which advocated for the construction of the church elevator. Judi graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Psychology. She lives in Eastchester with her husband, Tom, and their daughter, Kathleen. Their adult son, Brad, lives in Chicago.

jmccandless@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 120

Mary Mackintosh

Director of Missional Engagement

Mary has been working for many years as a lawyer and licensed clinical social worker in the not-for-profit field, most recently as the Clinical Supervisor and therapist in a New Rochelle mental health and substance use clinic and the Yonkers Probation office, both part of The Guidance Center of Westchester. Mary and her family joined RCB in 1989 and she has been Co-Chair of the Sunday School, a Sunday School teacher has worked on mission programs with RCB for many years, including Coming Home, Community Restorative Justice and serving with Crossing Thresholds as a board member and volunteer in Kibera, Kenya. She also serves as a trustee of an after-school and Charter School network in East Harlem and is on the Advisory Council of the Maxwell Institute. Mary stepped down as an Elder and Clerk of Consistory in June 2020 before joining the staff. She seeks to share her love of faith through service with congregants of all ages.

mmackintosh@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 114

Kate Milliken Vaughey

Director of Communications

Kate began her journey with RCB as a congregant, then a Deacon.  She is an experienced reporter and producer who creates content, community and conversation in her work. Her projects include mini documentaries for private, corporate and non-profit clients, work for the View and VH-1, on-camera correspondent work in alternative sports (such as snowboarding, mountain biking and monster trucks).  More recently, she has commandeered projects in the healthcare space, ranging from larger issues such as artificial intelligence and patient experience, to more specific content in the MS space (as Kate was diagnosed in 2006).  Kate lives with her husband Tyler and two children, Tanner and Maddox, who can be found participating enthusiastically in youth and mission programs on a regular basis.

kate@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 112

Margaret Murtagh

Director, Reformed Church Nursery School and Early Childhood Assistant

Margaret has been the Director of the Reformed Church Nursery School since 2003 and brings over 25 years of experience as an early childhood educator. Margaret received her B.A. in philosophy from Fordham University and her Juris Doctor degree from the Fordham University School of Law. As Director, she has expanded programming while building on the school’s seven-decade reputation of excellence in early childhood education. This year RCNS has instituted Teachers College Reading and Writing Program and has created a new kindergarten program beginning in September 2020. In her spare time, Margaret is finishing her certificate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education and taking courses at Western Theological Seminary and Boston College School of theology.  Margaret and her husband John have two grown children: John a captain in the USMC reserve and is an alumni engagement manager at Fordham Prep and Jim, who co-teaches music at RCNS.

margaret@reformedchurch.org
914-337-6776, ext. 143