St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, Woodstock, NY

03/20/2026

The 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, will be installed at Canterbury Cathedral on March 25 2026, the Feast of the Annunciation.Watch it live h...

03/09/2026

Our Garden team at St. Gregory’s is getting a head start on spring as witnessed by these young seeds that now reside in the sunny windows of our sanctuary.

We are calling it “Sowing Seeds of Peace” as our nation and world is in the midst of much conflict. These seeds were blessed on Sunday by Father Matthew and the congregation.

When peace is missing, we are far from the Kingdom of God. James 3:18 reminds us: “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

Let us all commit to peace.

03/08/2026

Another enchanting Sunday afternoon today at our Juilliard Young Artists' concert.

From Hamilton to Bernstein, Gabe Ponichter gave it his all and then some. Thank you Gabe and to Pianist Susan Dantoni.

03/08/2026

A sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent, exploring Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.

"We can see this moment recorded in the Gospel as an example of, and a model for, everything from interfaith dialogue to racial reconciliation to the healing of patriarchal gender wounds. Jesus and Photini belonged to two spiritual streams that were once connected but are now divided. They both had Abraham and Sarah as their common ancestors. The closest comparison today would be to see them as a Muslim and a Jew, a Jew and a Christian, an Israeli and a Palestinian, sitting here together around the well, asking these hard questions. What really matters? Are these divisions necessary? Is there something even more essential that unites us?"

The Readings: https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Lent/ALent3_RCL.html

03/06/2026

You won’t want to miss our first Juilliard Young Artists concert for the 2026 season on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm It will be a blend of classical and musical theater favorites featuring singer Gabe Ponichter.

What a magical way to get ready for Spring and move on from this long Winter.

03/04/2026

A sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent.

"...we often say that Abraham is the first model of the pilgrim way in our tradition. But an even better word than pilgrimage for Abraham’s journey is peregrination. And if you don’t know that word, it’s often associated with a number of the great Celtic saints like St. Brendan and St. Columba, and the difference between pilgrimage and peregrination is that one has a known destination and the other does not. Both are journeys that we set out on for the sake of God, but the pilgrim knows where they’re going—they’re on pilgrimage to the shrine of that saint or this cathedral. The peregrinati, they know that they have been called to set out, but they do not know where they are going, and they simply trust that God will lead the way."

The Readings: https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Lent/ALent2_RCL.html Image: "Jesus and Nicodemus" by artist William Brassey Hole (1846-1917)

03/02/2026

Fr. Matthew was invited to preach this weekend at the ordination of seven new deacons at our Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. Congratulations to the newly ordained!

"During the Examination... the bishop will say, 'You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.' That’s big. You are to interpret to the Church, the world. Not interpret the Church to the world—that’s a very different thing—but interpret the world to the Church. You are to be a voice for the whole messy, broken, beautiful, becoming, hurting, longing world. And in an age of ecological collapse, remember that the world is not only the human world. Interpret for the honey bees and the trees, the rivers and mycelial networks, and all of your fellow earth creatures who need your diaconal voice. As deacons, you are to place your ear against the breast of the world and listen for the heartbeat of God..."

"As deacons you are to place your ear against the rest of the world, listen to the heartbeat of God, and interpret the world to the church." The Reverend Mat...

03/01/2026

Our 2026 Young Artists Concert season, in partnership with the Juilliard School, opens Sunday, March 8 at St. Gregory’s in Woodstock. The opening performance begins at 3 pm on 3/8 and will feature 18-year-old singer, actor, dancer and pianist Gabe Ponichter accompanied by Dr. Susan Dantoni. Billed as “An Afternoon of Song,”
Gabe will perform works of Schubert, Bernstein, Handel, and Copland along with musical theater from “Hamilton” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
You won’t want to miss this compelling concert. Come out. Enjoy. Support the arts. Free to public. Donations are welcomed.

02/23/2026

A sermon for the First Sunday in Lent.

"This is the moment that is necessary to start the whole painful and beautiful journey of life—they have to eat the fruit, we have to separate from, individuate from, that original oneness we shared with our mother. We have to move into duality, twoness, separation. But that isn’t the end of the story. There’s then our journey of return, in which, little by little, we become aware of our oneness with God—but now it’s no longer the unconscious unity of the infant in the womb who knows nothing else, but the fully conscious unity of one who’s made the journey."

The Readings: https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Lent/ALent1_RCL.html

02/22/2026

Thanks Sparrow, Hawthorn and our choir. Go now in peace.

02/22/2026

02/22/2026

Our postlude this morning: thank you to Sparrow and Hawthorn on the marimba and to our choir. “Go now in peace, may the love of God surround you, everywhere you go.”