Thank you for your interest in our church. We
hope you will visit with us at a worship service,
educational program, or community event.
If you come to visit
us, we hope that you will feel warmth and acceptance, and a church
that will speak to your mind, your heart, and your senses.
Who We Are
St.
Stephens' is an inclusive faith community in the Episcopal (Anglican)
tradition. Our mission is to be a welcoming family, united in Christian
love, worship, and
service. Our members are a mix of long-time attendees and newcomers,
who all find a supportive community in the church. We are united in
corporate worship and ministry to others, within and outside our
congregation. We are people who want St. Stephen’s to continue as a vital
spiritual force in our lives, our families’ lives and the life of the larger
community of Northumberland County and the Northern Neck.
St. Stephen's congregation reorganized in December 2006, shortly after what was then the congregation voted to sever ties with the Episcopal Church and Diocese of Virginia.
As part of the Episcopal Church, we share in the heritage of the
worldwide Anglican Communion. We are a community of Christians guided by
Scripture, tradition and reason seeking to interpret our ancient faith in the
modern world.
Episcopalians affirm the four principles of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral-namely,
the Nicene Creed is a sufficient statement of belief,
the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation,
the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Eucharist, and
the Historic Episcopate
The Episcopal Church acknowledges that Holy Scripture must be understood within the context of its origins and traditions of interpretation, as well as with the mediation of reason and the Holy Spirit. You will hear this referred to as Scripture, Reason and Tradition. The Episcopal Church, and in fact the Anglican Tradition, has always celebrated its diverse understandings of matters outside the basic tenets of the faith as indicative of humanity's struggle to understand God's will for contemporary societies, but the underlying commonality has always been, and remains, our common belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
This belief that Scripture must be interpreted, to some degree, within the context of our common life and culture, is not unique to the Episcopal faith. It is, in fact, evident in all Christian faiths in this country. For example, while biblically endorsed, our culture no longer supports stoning persons to death, severing the hands of the thief, or the tongue of the liar.
The interpretation of scripture, with reason and tradition, and within our common life is not something to be feared, rather, it is something to be treasured. Following the example of our Lord and Savior, ours is a faith of inclusiveness, respecting the dignity of every human being, created in the image of God.
Worship
Worship is at the heart of our community. Holy Eucharist is celebrated on
Sunday mornings at 11:30 am at Heathsville United Methodist Church, (9:00 am. on
the first Sunday of each month at the St. Stephen's Parish House.) All Sunday
services have music with choir and piano. Bible Study is held Sunday at 9:30
at the Parish House. Christian Education is offered for adults on most
Thursdays at 6:00 with Pot Luck Supper followed by the program
Where We are Going
Our vision for
St. Stephen’s is to be known as a welcoming and loving faith family -- one
in which we and others clearly see God’s grace and love in our worship, our
actions, and our commitment to each other and to our neighbors.
| Three other congregations have reconstituted themselves in temporary locations after the majority of their congregations voted to leave the Diocese. They are Falls Church Episcopal, St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Woodbridge, and Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, Herndon. |