Saint Gregory's Church
The Episcopal parish in Woodstock, NY, the Colony of the Arts

The Diocese of New York recognized the innovativeness of the building in a 1957 letter: .  "This was not an easy church to build. It was designed to employ unusual structures and new materials.   The structural skeleton of glued laminated timbers is of a type never before built and required a high order of precision in its erection. When the last wooden beam was put into place over 50 feet in the air it fitted perfectly.  Then the large windows had to be built and installed exactly as planned.  You are to be commended for the fine building you produced."  He added that the Diocese liked to cite St. Gregory's "as a shining example of the ability of a small group of worshipers to erect an outstanding church in the service of God and community."

History

St. Gregory's has been the Episcopal parish for Woodstock, the Catskills, and beyond since the early 1950s. In 1951, the first services were conducted in private homes. But the numbers grew, and soon the parish met for the first time as a mission in its own building, a converted corn crib which still stands near the present church. Many local artists contributed their work to furnish that tiny chapel. But the corn crib seated only 35 people, and was soon outgrown. After the donation of a beautiful 5-acre site and with a loan from the New York Diocese and a vigorous fundraising campaign, work was begun in 1956 on the innovative church that stands today. St. Gregory's has always valued the work of local artists, and you can find their work  in our church, notably Eduardo Chavez, whose abstract cross hangs above the alter and whose Angel with Horn perches on our roof, heralding all people to visit.

The New York Diocese and the Mid-Hudson Regional Council
The diocese of New York is a big one. For this reason, it is subdivided into three regions. We are in the Mid-Hudson Region.  It has its own advisory council, of which Father Charlie is currently the chair (October 2007). 

Chronology:
Gathered by church administrator, Allan Duane

The Winter of 1950:  George Hard, the son of Sherwood and Fanny Hard, asks the Reverend Herald C. Swezy, rector of the Church of the Ascension in West Park, to administer communion at home to his sick mother in Woodstock. Led by Margaret Reeve Kenyon and Mary Van Kleeck, residents in and near Woodstock are soon participating in these early services.
March, 1951:  As many as forty-five people gather at the home of Cornelius and Fanny Seward for the first Easter service conducted by the Reverend Swezy.
Summer, Fall, 1951:  The American Legion Hall offers worshipers the use of its hall.
Summer, 1952:  Fredrica Milne provides her guest house, a converted corn crib on Route 212, for use as a chapel in memory of her son Caleb, a World War II casualty.
November 22, 1954: A formal application is submitted to the Diocese of New York for full status as a mission.   A building fund is begun.
Spring of 1955:  The Mission application is approved, and a four-acre site across the road from the corn crib on Route 212 is donated for a new church by Alice Wardwell in memory of Mrs. Milne.
September, 1955:  Ground breaking ceremonies are conducted.  Construction of St. Gregory’s Church gets underway.
October 14, 1956:  Father Swezy conducts the first service in the new church.  Corn crib furnishings are carried across the road to be used until new ones can be purchased.  Cost of church construction: $40,000.00
January, 1960:  Father Lloyd H. Uyeki becomes the first full-time priest.
May, 1961:  Construction begins on Parish Hall, kitchen, office and bathrooms.
November, 1966: Father Edward W. Schmidt takes over as the second full-time priest of St.Gregory’s, but resigns in 1968 to enter the Benedictine Order.
November, 1968: Father David Arnold is appointed to lead St. Gregory’s.  He will serve twenty-five years until his retirement in 1993.
June, 1994:  Father Tom Miller is welcomed as the new Priest-In-Charge of St. Gregory’s.   In January, 2003, he will leave to take a new position at St. John the Divine in New York City.
September, 2003:  Site cleared, stonework is laid, flowers and shrubs are planted as work begins on St. Gregory’s Memorial Garden.
June, 2004:  Father Charles T. Dupree arrived from North Carolina to become Priest-in-Charge of St. Gregory’s.  Father Charlie quickly won the hearts and the praise of his Yankee parishioners.
July, 2008:  Father Charlie answered the call to become the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington, IN.
August, 2008: Search process begins for a replacement for Fr Charlie.