Pastoral position filled at Muncy Presbyterian Church

The Reverend Robert Dunkelberger (center) of the Muncy Presbyterian Church is surrounded by the pastor's nominating committee (l-r): Carol Snell, Karen Martin, Mark Glossner and Bill Foresman.
MUNCY- The Reverend Robert Dunkelberger accepted the position as pastor at the Muncy Presbyterian Church beginning last August.
The Sunbury area native grew up on a farm, and as a youth attended a local Bible Church at the invitation of a friend. “A missionary told us of the plight of religion in England and I shared with him my interest,” he said. At that time Dunkelberger was without a college education and was advised to seek one. The Shikellamy High School graduate first entered Pinebrook Junior College looking to a possible future career in public education. At the end of the two year stint, he was again encouraged to continue, the next stop being Messiah College at Grantham, PA. “An early indication of my career was being elected dormitory chaplain,” he said.
Later he earned his Master of Divinity degree at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and served churches at Tyrone, Mercer, Coalport/Irvona, Portersville, and Sunbury. He served an internship in Frostburg, Maryland and in Hazard, Kentucky was a mission volunteer teacher with the Mennonite Central Committee.
His observation on Muncy is, “It’s beautiful, well kept and well taken care of. With many old historical buildings, it reminds me of a place Norman Rockwell would have created.” Concerning plans for the church, the pastor said, ” I’m taking the first year as an observational one. We have many creative people who have ideas and plans.”
As time permits, Dunkelberger’s personal interests include running and weight lifting. “I’m a marginal cartoonist, very rusty at this point. You know how you sometimes imagine another career, I think it would have been fun to be a political cartoonist,” he said.
“I’ve always loved to read and recently went to Otto’s bookstore. As I’m from Sunbury, I have a good general knowledge of this area,” he said. While living in the Altoona area, Dunkelberger was a member of the Allegheny Story Tellers of Pennsylvania. The group was mentored by Jan Kinney, a well known professional who later was artist in residence at several schools. Members of the group told stories to library groups and ghost stories for adults at the Baker Mansion in Blair County.
In the future, Dunkleberger hopes to introduce “Faith and Films” to the congregation and community. There has already been a showing on a large flat screen at the parsonage where several people were hosted. Look for Pastor Dunkelberger this Saturday as he tells a Christmas story at the Muncy Historical Society.
Members of the Pastors Nominating Committee included chairperson Mark Glossner, Carol Snell, Karen Martin, Bill Forseman and Howard Fraley.