The Rev. Matthew Dayton Welch
The Reverend Matthew Dayton-Welch is the 16th rector of the Church of the Epiphany in its 191-year history. He presides over a season of vitality for Epiphany as the church settles into its new and much larger home, with new outreach partnerships, new senior staff appointments and a new financial picture, and at a time when the Episcopal Diocese of New York welcomes a new bishop, the Right Reverend Matthew Heyd. In so doing, he also stewards a through line for a parish with a historic passion for community engagement, congregational care, and inviting worship.
Previously, Fr. Matthew served six years as rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, during which the congregation grew threefold. He also held positions at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and Christ Church in Short Hills, New Jersey. He is a graduate of the General Theological Seminary in New York City.
Originally from Oklahoma, Fr. Matthew has extensive experience in the Middle East, having received his calling to ordained ministry while serving as a diplomat at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem where he worked closely with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders and human rights advocates, and where he led near-weekly walking tours of Jerusalem and Bethlehem for visiting American congressional delegations.
Fr. Matthew is a trustee of the Spafford Children’s Center in the Old City of Jerusalem, a historic house of hope that provides trauma therapy and academic tutoring for disenfranchised children, and empowerment programs for women, and he leads its American fundraising campaign. He was admitted last year to the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem by His Majesty King Charles III.
Previously he served as the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania’s Canon for the Holy Land. He completed six years as trustee of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and was an inaugural member of the International Steering Committee for the Princess Basma Center in Jerusalem, an astonishing school and support center for children with disabilities and their families.
Fr. Matthew (Di-Ti-YO-Hi-Ha) is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He is married to Paul Dayton-Welch, and they live near the church with their two dogs, Barnabas and Juniper.
