Sundays at 8 and 10 a.m. · Details

  1670 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724  ·   (516) 692-6368  ·   Give

St. John's Episcopal Church
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​A New Garden for St. John’s In memory of Irene Gubrud Finch

When Irene passed away suddenly last fall, her husband Steven, Music Director Emeritus, suggested that a fitting memorial would be a garden. Because of their love of nature and devotion to St. John’s, and because Irene taught meditation at the church, he proposed to help fund a meditation garden. Through their years together they had visited gardens around the country, discovering the renewal they offered. When consulting with Gideon, Mary Beth, several parishioners and environmental landscape architects, they found the area adjacent to the pond, continuing up the hill from the bluestone patio, to be a beautiful setting for a sanctuary, a place to find peace and comfort. It transitions into the Nature Conservancy property and will also serve to help mitigate rainwater runoff that is eroding the pond bank.

This type of garden is beautifully consistent with Christian Spiritual practice, as time in nature has long been spiritually revealing in the Christian tradition. Additionally, this meditation garden will beautifully complement our Grow to Give Garden directly across the pond, which has been a source of physical nourishment for the food insecure for many years.

In our conversations with designers and a committee from the church, three principle and necessary features emerged: that much of it be handicap accessible, that it have a small pavilion overlooking the pond, and that there be moving water. Beyond these, the St. John’s team, in conjunction with landscape ecologist Rusty Schmidt of Nelson, Pope, Voorhis, have developed a garden plan that begins with a formal entrance (with arbor), follows a path to a small pavilion overlooking the pond, then winds up the hill, becoming less formal until it transitions into the undeveloped woods. Current invasive species will be removed and be replaced with appropriate plants. In conjunction with the church’s blue-green theology initiative, native plantings will be incorporated, as well as consideration for wildlife habitats. For small group use, a grassy gathering circle will be located near the entrance to the garden

We hope that the garden will be completed by next spring, but we expect to dedicate and bless the space on Sunday, November 7, 2021, following the 10:00 service – the same day we will remember the one-year anniversary of Irene’s death. When complete, St. John’s will have a garden of beauty; a garden that is quiet, intimate, and serene; an outdoor sanctuary for the soul.

The garden project is being funded from donations made in Irene’s memory and noted for this purpose. Any parishioners who wish to donate for this project are invited to do so by sending contributions directly to St. John’s. Donations are being matched by a generous benefactor to meet the garden’s projected budget.


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Sermons

  • May 8 | The Very Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach
    Good Shepherd Sunday
  • Mar 13 | The Very Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach
    Foxes, Chickens, and Jesus
  • Mar 6 | The Very Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach
    Possessions, Power, Prestige, Putin
  • Feb 27 | The Very Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach
    Transfiguration, not transformation
  • Feb 13 | The Very Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach
    Justice, Peace and Blessed Absalom

© St. John's Episcopal Church
1670 Route 25A, Post Office Box 266
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
(516) 692-6368

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Service Times

SUNDAY SERVICES

  • 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
  • 10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist or Morning Prayer

We are also live streaming our worship here.


Location

St. John's Episcopal Church
1670 Route 25A
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724

Contact Us
(516) 692-6368

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Welcome to St. John's Episcopal Church! We invite all to join us at any of our worship services, and it is our hope that you will find a spiritual home here.

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News

St. John's Episcopal Church was the first religious institution to be established in Cold Spring Harbor. The first Episcopalian services were held in the little 18th century school house just above the site of the present church. The very first Vestry minutes, written in fine script on September 4, 1831, lists the founders who pledged $2,000 to build a new church.

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As we all begin to emerge from the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, many find ourselves asking the same question: "How then shall we live?" In times like these we all need to rely on our faith in God for guidance, support and refreshment and recognize that God is faithful to us in all ways.

With God’s help we will live and thrive together. Support us as we continue our mission with confidence.


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