Saint George’s Church Welcomes New Priest

NEWBURGH – On Sunday, October 10, the congregation of St. George’s Episcopal Church welcomed the Rev. Dr. Mary Barber as their new priest after facing the entire pandemic period and inaugurating a massive restoration campaign without a regular priest.

The Rev. Dr. Barber is a trained psychiatrist and former director of the Rockland Psychiatric Center. She courageously gave up her first career and answered the call to become a priest when she was a member of St. George’s and then graduated from Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological. She was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC on September 18, 2021.

The Rt. Rev. Andrew Dietsche, Bishop of the Diocese of NY, approved her return to St. George’s as a priest (an exception to diocesan rules) because her strong commitment to Newburgh community involvement made her “a perfect match.”