ABOUT Saint Stephen Church

We are a diverse community of believers who come from all walks of life. We welcome people of all ages, races, nationalities, and backgrounds, and we strive to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone.  Founded in August 1994, Saint Stephen Church is rooted in the Anglican and Celtic spiritual traditions - the direct descendant of the earliest Christians in North America. We are a parish of the Anglican Church in North America, and profess the Nicene Creed as it nourished the English-speaking peoples, the Universal church of Christ throughout the world and “the blessed company of all faithful people” (BCP 2019). We maintain the Holy Eucharist as the central act of Christian worship and teach the historic faith with the Book of Common Prayer as the standard of worship and truly believe the Bible in its entirety to be the revealed word of God.

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) unites 135,000 Anglicans in 1,037 congregations in 30 dioceses across the United States, Canada, and Mexico into a single Church. On April 16, 2009 it was recognized as a province of the global Anglican Communion by the Primates of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Members of ACNA are in the mainstream, both globally and historically, of Christianity - the biblically faithful way of following Jesus Christ and being part of the “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

As Anglicans, this orthodoxy is defined by and centered on our church’s classic formularies - the Book of Common Prayer, including the Ordinal, and the Thirty-nine Articles - which all point back to the authority of the Holy Bible and articulate foundational principles of the Anglican tradition throughout the world. Our orthodoxy is rooted in the Celtic and Anglican Christian faith of the first century.

WORLDWIDE ANGLICAN COMMUNION  

The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The communion has more than 95 million members in over 165 countries. The traditional origins of Anglican doctrine are summarized in the Thirty-nine Articles (1571) and The Books of Homilies. The Archbishop of Canterbury in England is a focus of unity, recognized as primus inter pares (first among equals), but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England. Most, but not all, member churches of the communion are the historic national or regional Anglican churches.

  Anglicans hold the Holy Bible, as contained in the books of the Old and New Testaments, as well as those books commonly called Apocrypha to be the highest and supreme authority in matters of faith. It contains all things necessary for salvation, “that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation” (39 Articles of Religion). The Apocrypha (or Deuterocanonical Books) however, are not used to establish doctrine.

We confess the three great Creeds of the Church: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian. Week after week, we profess the words of the Nicene Creed. We also espouse the doctrines of the ecumenical councils, emphasizing the first four in particular. Some of our more unique positions can be found in the historic Anglican Formularies: the Book of Common Prayer, the 39 Articles of Religion, and the Ordinal (which contains ordination services for bishops, priests, and deacons).

Anglicans embrace the episcopal form of church government. We recognize three pastoral offices: bishops (the term “bishop” is an English contraction of the Greek word episkopas), priests (the English contraction of the Greek presbyter or elder), and deacons (derived from the Greek diakonos, meaning servant, minister, or messenger).

We recognize two dominical sacraments established by Jesus Christ himself: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. We understand the sacraments to be visible, effectual signs of grace and God’s good will toward his people, which enliven, strengthen, and confirm our faith in him. We espouse the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, where the Holy Spirit brings about new birth in the waters of baptism. We believe in the real presence of Christ in the consecrated elements of Holy Communion, in which God’s people feed on the Body and Blood of Christ by faith. We also recognize and practice five other ecclesiastical sacraments: Confirmation, Reconciliation, Ordination, Matrimony, and Anointing of the Sick.

We are part of the universal church - One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. We do not see ourselves as the only legitimate Christian tradition, but we seek to hand on faithfully the Apostolic (genuine) and Catholic (inclusive) faith, being always open to reform, and longing to be one with others who, through the Spirit, confess Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We believe that life is better when we do it together. That's why we have a variety of small groups and events where people can connect with others and build meaningful relationships. Reach out to us if you want to learn more about our community.