The Reverend John Zahl

Rector

St. Matthew’s Church welcomed Rev. Zahl as its thirteenth rector in fall, 2018. Since then, at the 2020 Convention of the Diocese of New York, he was also elected a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese. More recently, he served on the Committee to Elect a Bishop of the Diocese of New York. Before coming to St. Matthew’s, he served for six years as Canon Missioner at Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston, SC. He was ordained in 2007, and served his curacy at Church of the Holy Cross, Sullivan's Island, SC. 

John is a graduate of Kenyon College, holds a Master of Divinity degree from Oxford University and is completing work toward the Doctor of Divinity in Preaching degree from Sewanee University. 

The son of an Episcopal minister, John grew up at Grace Church, Manhattan, and has also lived in Westchester, Charleston, Zurich (CH), Surrey (UK), Birmingham, AL and Brooklyn. He is married to Sara Elizabeth, a photographer, and they have a daughter Daphne and a newborn son John, a beloved pug Oscar, two guinea pigs and two ducks.

The author of two books (Sermons of Grace and Grace in Addiction), John regularly contributes to Mockingbird Ministries (mbird.com), participates in a series of podcasts by the Zahl Brothers on the "God Business, " and also moonlights occasionally as a DJ and collector of obscure disco records.

The Reverend Patty Dhar

Curate

Rev. Patty joins St. Matthew’s Church as a curate and will focus on women’s ministries. Patty returned to the USA after living overseas in London and New Delhi with her family for the previous 15 years. These international experiences have given her a deep appreciation of other cultures and perspectives, while keeping Greenwich as her home base. Patty has served at parishes in Greenwich and Trumbull, CT before coming to St. Matthew’s, and will be ordained to the priesthood in January 2027.

Patty devoted time in London to helping those less fortunate by serving as Head of Social Transformation at Holy Trinity Brompton. In this role, she led teams supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and marginalized guests across several social programs. Her management experience over the previous 30 years included roles on Wall Street in investment banking and global asset allocation, in educational institutions, and as a founder of two fashion ventures.

Raised outside of Washington, D.C., Patty spent most of her adult life in New York and Greenwich. After graduating from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Patty much later earned her divinity degree from St. Mellitus College in London in 2023. She lives in Greenwich with her husband, Madhav, and her 23-year-old triplets – Arjun, Ayla, and Maya – who live nearby in New York.