Our Lady of Hope

Parish Identity & Mission

Our Lady of Hope's stated mission is to give witness to the love of Jesus in its families, its parish community, and the wider world. The parish sees itself as the heir of a long local Catholic tradition fashioned over more than 150 years by the people of St. Bridget's, St. John Vianney, Sacred Heart, Holy Cross, and now Our Lady of Hope itself. Members describe the community as one with 'a wonderful spirit' in which many, both past and present, have asked 'What if…?' and 'Why not…?' in faith.

History of the Parish

The parish's story begins with the Irish famine-era immigrants who came to Copake Falls to work at Lemuel Pomeroy's Copake Iron Works from the 1840s onward. In 1867 that community built a Gothic-style Catholic church dedicated to St. Bridget of Kildare. St. Bridget's served the hamlet for nearly a century before being closed, demolished, and replaced in 1959 by the present modern church on Route 22. The contemporary Parish of Our Lady of Hope was created in 2009 through a diocesan merger of St. Bridget's (Copake Falls) with St. John Vianney (Churchtown). St. John Vianney itself had been formed in 2005 by uniting parishes in Churchtown, Taghkanic, and Philmont.

• 1867: Irish immigrants build Gothic St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Copake Falls
• 1959: Old St. Bridget's closed, demolished; replaced by modern church on Route 22
• 2005: St. John Vianney (Churchtown), Holy Cross (Taghkanic) and Sacred Heart (Philmont) merge
• 2009: St. Bridget's + St. John Vianney become Our Lady of Hope Parish
• 2009–2018: Rev. George Brennan serves as first pastor
• 2019: Interim leadership team appointed after Brennan's retirement

Clergy & Staff

Our Lady of Hope is currently canonically pastored by Father Joseph S. Cebula, who also serves as episcopal vicar for the Hudson Valley for the Diocese of Albany. Day-to-day sacramental and pastoral coverage is provided by the parish's appointed sacramental minister. Deacon Warren Dorsch assists with ministry, and the parish is supported by Office Manager Steve Gubler and Music Coordinator Steve Wildermuth.

• Rev. Joseph S. Cebula — canonical pastor / episcopal vicar, Hudson Valley
• Rev. Joseph Falletta — interim sacramental minister (appointed 2019)
• Deacon Alfred Manzella — interim parish administrator (appointed 2019)
• Deacon Warren Dorsch
• Steve Gubler — Parish Office Manager
• Steve Wildermuth — Music Coordinator

Pastoral Succession

Father George Brennan, a priest of the Diocese of Albany who also holds a Doctor of Ministry from Andover-Newton Theological School, was the founding pastor from 2009 to 2018 and retired in 2019. He is remembered for his ecumenical bridge-building: he was the first Catholic executive director of the Capital Area Council of Churches and introduced the practice of inviting 'baptism witnesses' from other Christian communities. After his departure the diocese installed an interim team rather than an immediate successor, and canonical pastorship has since been exercised through the episcopal vicar for the Hudson Valley.

• Rev. George Brennan — pastor 2009–2018 (also CACC executive director 2009–2011)
• Interim team — Rev. Joseph Falletta + Deacon Alfred Manzella, appointed January 2019

The Universal Prayer Garden

Tucked behind the church at 8074 Route 22, the Universal Prayer Garden is an outdoor prayer sanctuary conceived by a small group of parishioners and brought to life by landscape artist Robbie Haldane, whose design is copyrighted. The Garden's location was first dedicated on the Feast of the Assumption in 2003, and the completed Garden was consecrated and blessed as a prayer-sanctuary on the Feast of the Assumption in 2008.

• Irish-style dry-laid wall in a circle, with openings to the four directions
• Hawthorn hedge topping the wall, with eight oak and eight crab-apple trees (three species sacred in Ireland)
• Standing stones donated, blessed, and sent by elders of the Skatioke Indian Tribe
• Cobblestone 7-circuit labyrinth at the center
• World Labyrinth Day for Peace — annual guided walk with a trained facilitator and music

Music & Liturgy

Liturgical music at Our Lady of Hope is coordinated by Music Coordinator Steve Wildermuth. The parish also extends its liturgy beyond the building by broadcasting Sunday Mass on local cable: Mid-Hudson Cable Channel 901 at 9:30 a.m. (with St. Patrick's, Ravena) and through BCN-TV, a service that has long been a way of reaching shut-ins and Catholics across the Hudson Valley.

• Music Coordinator: Steve Wildermuth
• Local broadcast Sunday Mass — Mid-Hudson Cable Ch. 901, 9:30 a.m.
• Additional broadcast coverage via BCN-TV

Sacraments & Devotions

In addition to weekend and weekday Mass, the parish offers Saturday Confession (4:15 PM) and Thursday Eucharistic Adoration (5:00–6:00 PM). Funeral Masses and Marriages are coordinated through the parish office. Seasonal liturgies include the customary Ash Wednesday services with both a morning Liturgy of the Word with Ashes (10:00 AM) and an evening Liturgy of the Word and Mass with Ashes (6:30 PM).

• Baptism, Marriage, and Funeral Masses by arrangement through the parish office
• Confession — Saturday 4:15 PM
• Adoration — Thursday 5:00 PM
• Anointing of the Sick — through the sacramental minister

Community Life & Outreach

Our Lady of Hope is part of a wider ecumenical network through the Capital Area Council of Churches, an affiliation that grew out of founding pastor Father George Brennan's tenure as the council's first Catholic executive director. The parish continues to mark its community life with gatherings such as pot-luck dinners honoring long-standing members (for example, the parish's annual pot-luck honoring parishioner Ernie Santoro). Its Prayer Garden labyrinth walk each year on World Labyrinth Day for Peace is both an interior and outreach event.

• Capital Area Council of Churches affiliation (interfaith ministry, prison and homeless outreach, CROP Walks)
• 'Baptism witnesses' — ecumenical Christian witnesses at parish baptisms
• Annual parish pot-luck gatherings
• World Labyrinth Day for Peace — guided labyrinth walk with music

Location, Setting & Visiting

The parish is rooted in one of the most picturesque corners of New York's Hudson Valley. Copake Falls sits in the Taconic Hills near Taconic State Park, close to the Massachusetts border, with the church and Prayer Garden situated on NY Route 22 between the villages of Millerton and Hillsdale. The hamlet was built on the industrial heritage of the Copake Iron Works, and the parish's Irish Catholic roots run alongside the area's broader history of immigration, labor, and faith that produced three wooden Gothic Revival churches in the 19th century.

• 8078 State Route 22, Copake Falls, NY 12517
• Taconic Hills / Taconic State Park setting
• Between Millerton, NY and Hillsdale, NY
• Near the New York–Massachusetts border