Meet the 32nd Rector of Christ’s Church Rye,
the Rev. Matt Stone

A native of Georgia, Fr. Matt served as Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Bastrop, TX, from 2019 to 2025, where his ministry has touched the lives of so many people. He revitalized pastoral care, expanded outreach and youth programming, and strengthened engagement with the wider community, including by turning church events into town-wide celebrations and establishing an annual concert series. As chair of the board of trustees of Calvary Episcopal School, he also oversaw a successful $8.5 million capital campaign to design a new school campus.

In its recommendation to the Vestry, the Search Committee said that Fr. Matt’s profound spirituality had shone through at many moments during the search process. He approaches ministry with a warmth, joy and vibrant energy that our parishioners are craving, and has extensive experience in so many of the areas highlighted in our parish profile and survey responses, including pastoral care, outreach, community-building, music programming, children and youth ministries, and religious formation. A passionate preacher and strong advocate for social justice, he also has a proven track record of strong leadership and financial stewardship.

Fr. Matt graduated from Mercer University in 2004 with a BA in political science (with a minor in Christianity) and from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2010 with a Master of Theology. After working in local government in Georgia and as a hospital chaplain in Colorado for several years, he studied for a diploma in Anglican Studies at the Seminary of the Southwest and was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 2018. He served as Curate of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Bryan, TX, before being called to Calvary Episcopal Church in Bastrop. He was appointed to the board of the Episcopal Foundation of Texas in 2023, and was a 2024 recipient of the Lilly Foundation Clergy and Congregational Renewal Grant.

Fr. Matt joins us with his wife Heather, six-year-old son Henry, and Murphy the dog.

A Note from Fr. Matt

I came to Christ's Church in September 2025, and I've spent most of these first months doing something I believe in deeply: listening.

I've listened to people who have worshipped here for fifty years and people who wandered in on a whim. I've listened in hospital rooms and over coffee and at gravesides. I've listened to people who love the Episcopal Church with their whole hearts and people who aren't sure what they believe but know they're looking for something.

What I've heard, again and again, is a community that is genuinely good, curious and caring, rooted and open, willing to hold grief and joy in the same breath. A community that shows up. That's not something you manufacture. It's something you inherit and tend.

I was a hospice chaplain before I was a priest, and that formation never leaves you. It taught me that the most sacred moments in human life happen at thresholds when we are most vulnerable, most honest, and most in need of one another. The church, at its best, is built for those moments. It is a place where you don't have to pretend, where questions are more welcome than easy answers, and where the ancient words of scripture and prayer meet the raw texture of actual life.

I believe Christ's Church is that kind of place. I'm still getting to know it, and it's still getting to know me. But I'm deeply grateful to be here - grateful for this special community, this amazing town, and the possibility of what we might build together.

If you're new, or returning after a long time away, or just curious: I would love to meet you. Come find me after a service, or send me an email. There's no agenda - just listening and love.

— The Rev. Matt Stone, Rector mstone@ccrye.org