Seasonal English services
St. John’s in St. Moritz is an Anglican Church, part of the Swiss Archdeaconry. It offers weekly services during the winter season from Christmas Eve to the end of February for all residents and guests in the Engadin.
The chaplaincy was begun in 1860 by the Rev. Alfred Strettell, whose son was the first recorded winter guest of the Kulm Hotel. In 1868 the Archbishop of York laid the foundation stone of the current church building, on land gifted to the church by Johannes Badrutt of Kulm Hotel. The building was consecrated in 1871 by the Bishop of Dover.
The Rev. Strettell still looks over our congregation, from the church’s memorial window where he is depicted as King David.
Chaplain’s Corner
Our visiting Chaplain is The Rev. Canon John Douglas Ousley.
Doug grew up in a small town outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Yale University where he played on the rugby team and was secretary of the Yale Political Union. After graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy, magna cum laude and phi beta kappa, he went to New York Theological Seminary where he earned a Master of Religious Education degree. he then received a Master of Arts in philosophy of religion from King’s College, University of London. he also added a degree in philosophy (Master of Arts) from the New School for Social Research in New York City in 1976.
Following ordination, he was an assistant at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and chaplain of its Choir School from 1972-78, where his responsibilities included young adult and education groups as well as visiting the sick. After St. Thomas, he moved to Paris to serve as canon pastor of the American Cathedral for three years. While at the Cathedral, he was a member of a national Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue and addressed a group of French bishops who were interested in Anglicanism. He was also honored to be invited to preach at a Sunday evensong in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. In 1981, he was called to be rector of St. Paul’s-Within-the-Walls in Rome, Italy. While he was at St. Paul’s, he was a member of the board of the Anglican Centre in Rome, and gave lectures on Anglicanism on the RAI Italian news network and on Vatican Radio.
Doug began his ministry as rector of the Church of the Incarnation, Madison Avenue, New York City in 1985. During his 34 years there, he focused on reviving the parish; he launched three capital campaigns on behalf of the building, a New York City and national landmark. When he arrived, New York was struggling with the AIDS crisis and rising crime. Later, we faced the aftermath of 9/11. In my final years, he was able to hire and train excellent young assistants, one of whom is now leading Incarnation. He served on various non-profit boards and as chairman of the Board of Directors of Incarnation Camp for many years.
Since retiring, Doug has been the Bishop’s Chaplain to Retired Clergy in the Diocese of New York as well as coordinator of the Link Program between the Dioceses of New York and London. On Sundays, he serves as an honorary associate at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Manhattan.
Over the years, he has been fortunate in being able to return to Europe many times. Since the Covid lockdown, he has kept up my French and Italian with a friend through weekly Zoom sessions and have also started studying German. he continues to review books for the journal, Anglican and Episcopal History. For exercise, he plays tennis and swims.
He is married to Dana Fern, who is a developmental consultant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Lenox Hill Hospital. Our family includes three sons, all of whom live in New York City, as well as a dog and a cat.
The English Church
For this season, as our ‘home’ church of St. John’s is not being heated, we’re holding our services in the Reformed Church in St. Moritz Dorf.
The church is opposite the Monopol hotel in the pedestrian area of Dorf. The address is Via Veglia 12, 7500 St. Moritz