The Rev. Matt Stone is to take the helm as rector of Christ’s Church Rye in September, arriving, he said, with joy and the certainty that “faith can be fun.”
Stone, 44, comes to Rye from Bastrop, Texas, where he was rector of Calvary Episcopal Church Bastrop since 2019. There he developed a record of creating a community that fosters connections. He will be the 32nd rector of Christ’s Church, an Episcopal church with roots in Rye dating to 1706. He succeeds the Rev. Kate Malin, who has moved to the Church of Heavenly Rest in New York City.
The concept of serving others and enhancing community began early for Stone. But not at church.
At 20, while still in college at Mercer University, he was elected to the City Council in Warner Robins, Ga., his home state. He began “thinking about my gifts” and “feeling the spirit,” which led him to return to the Episcopal faith of his mother. He said he found sustenance in a tradition that had been celebrated for centuries and one that also included women as leaders as well as the LGBTQ community.
“All of us are called,” he said. “We need permission to find that calling.”
He did wonder whether a family from Georgia and Texas would be welcomed in Rye, but colleagues told him Rye would quickly feel like home.
And that, he said, has been his experience.
As he and his family prepare to move to the rectory at Christ’s Church, one of the anchors of Rye’s Church Row, his family already have been charmed by Rye. He and his wife, Heather, and six-year-old son, Henry — who is eager to see the Statue of Liberty — are looking forward to getting to know the community.
“We have fallen in love with Rye,” Stone said, adding that Rye has “grown in our spirit.” In visiting Rye, he said, he has been welcomed and his family embraced, and they are already imagining becoming part of the community and living near Purchase Street. He spoke of the “transformative ministry” of the church, including its role in the larger community, which he hopes to expand.
Understanding the community is key, he said, and he recounted how, post-COVID, he had planned a Mardi Gras festival that grew beyond the church to include the wider community and attracted thousands. Coming out of the pandemic, he said, people were hungry for connections, something he feels continues everywhere. He recalled the traditional pancake supper for Shrove Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) and how after COVID, the event took on greater meaning.
As the wardens and vestry of Christ’s Church Rye have said in announcing Stone’s appointment, Stone is known for expanding outreach, revitalizing pastoral care, strengthening engagement with the wider community, and social justice.
Stone graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2010 with a Master of Theology and received a diploma in Anglican studies at the Seminary of the Southwest. He was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 2018. 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, a national award given to “congregations and pastors who have a strong relationship with one another.”
Congregants will have the opportunity to meet Stone at Christ Church’s homecoming picnic on Sept. 7. He is scheduled to officially assume his new role on Sept. 30.
