St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Parish Profile
Saint Stephen’s has always had a very strong commitment to outreach, not only with our work but also with our money. The outreach budget is carefully planned and implemented by a very dedicated Outreach Committee. There are 31 line items in the budget, 21 of which are agencies that receive funding from Saint Stephen’s. We also have a contingency fund, which allows us to respond quickly to local, national, and international disasters.
Our beautiful building provides hospitality to many organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon and hosts a number of parish and diocesan events. As we focus on becoming a larger presence in our local community, we expect our building and grounds to be used in many additional ways.
The Outreach Nook in our church hallway provides a unique opportunity for ongoing material giving. It
We offer many opportunities for parishioners to become actively involved with outreach. Four times a year the parish hosts Family Promise, a local agency that provides shelter to homeless families. Our guests stay with us for a week. During this time parishioners cook and serve meals, spend time with the guests, and spend the night with them at the church. Every Wednesday and Thursday volunteers serve lunch at Community Kitchens, where a hot meal is provided for 100-120 people, 365 days a year. The numbers swell to more than 200 people when Saint Stephen’s hosts the annual Christmas Party at Community Kitchens to celebrate the Christmas season and God’s love. Every year we participate in several builds for Habitat for Humanity, and in 2015 we were part of the Diocese of Alabama Habitat build.
provides a space to collect non-perishable food, toiletries, and other useful items. Eachmonth a specific item is collected and later donated locally. Every year we participate in the Diocese of Alabama Habitat build.
A large outreach event in 2015 took place on Empty Tomb Sunday. In three hours our parish packaged over 40,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger. The beauty of this event was that it involved the entire parish, from the youngest to the oldest. Saint Stephen’s will once again be involved in another Rise Against Hunger event in October of 2017.
These are just a few examples of how we at Saint Stephen’s are the hands and feet of God. The generosity and commitment of so many in this parish is amazing. Details on some of the outreach efforts that we participate in and support regularly are shown below.
OUTREACH
