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Saint Gregory's Church |
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 Farewell, Father Charlie His letter to parish parishioners came with a suddenness that took one's breathe away. Father Charlie leaving St. Gregory's? How could that be? 
It seems like only yesterday that he and his partner Matthew Cole
arrived from North Carolina. But his explanation was clear. Father Charles T. Dupree had been called by a vastly bigger church in Bloomington, Indiana. It is a church with over 200 parishioners, and it was seeking a new priest who, along with many other gifts, had great talent in music and could also reach out to the gay and lesbian community. It was a church that had just completed a two million dollar building campaign. It was a call that Father Charlie could not ignore.  The
entire community of Woodstock will miss Charlie and Matthew’s presence.
Matthew Cole, for instance, stepped in and quietly took over the
supervision of Woodstock’s Food Pantry for people in need. He secured
government grant aid and supervised a complex delivery of needed food
supplies to make sure that the Food Pantry was fully stocked and able to
provide help at all times. Father Charlie, on the other hand, was boosting the spirits of St. Gregory parishioners with a steady stream of creative projects. Both churchgoers and local volunteers began interior decoration projects for seasonal celebrations. A colorful origami, star-filled heaven was soon hanging from the ceiling of the church during the Christmas season. A powerful, contemporary portrayal of the Stations of the Cross drew spectators and admirers at Lent. Season by season the walls, ceilings and altar of St Gregory's came alive with color and movement. For the first time in recent memory, Charlie assembled and directed a new choir group for regular Sunday services and a wide array of holiday performances. Guest singers and musicians began making volunteer appearances with the choir to add depth and brilliance. Joint productions with other regional church choirs were added to the chorale agenda. “Sing To The Lord a New Jubilant Song” became a church reality. The sound of classical music was the next new offering from St. Gregory’s. Under Charlie’s leadership, The Young Artist Concert Series, a Sunday afternoon program, burst onto the scene. By nurturing a connection with the world-famous Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan, a monthly series of dazzling young musicians were soon giving free concerts that were open to a responsive and appreciative public. Whether children’s theater or one-act adult entertainments, whether operatic singers, string quartets, string quartets or solo harpists, St. Gregory’s offered a venue of the new and the old. Not so old, but with a solid base of achievement, was The Woodstock Cycle. Annual fundraising drives enabled the church to commission local musicians to create new interpretations of biblical themes. October became the Woodstock Cycle month for new music and dance. For four good years, Father Charlie’s creative vision and his relaxed, fun-loving hand were evident at every turn. We will miss him. St. Gregory’s parishioners will all give thanks for the wonderful times that we had with him and Matthew. Everyone here will see him off with our great love and best wishes at his new parish. At his departure, we will all breathe deeply, shed a tear of remembrance, and then turn and look anew at our own responsibilities. Help will come up from the New York diocese in the form of skilled priests, canons and administrators to give us direction and advice. However, it will be up to each one of us to take the hand of the worshipper next to us, and with all of our hands and hearts and faith joined in a common bond, begin the search for a new priest. It will be a time to cling to old goals that have stood the test of time, and it will be our charge to lay the groundwork for new ones. As Father Charlie turns to his new and challenging duties in Indiana, everyone in the parish will focus upon our own bright and ongoing future at St. Gregory’s. |
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