Parish Ministries
Altar Guild
The Altar Guild is a behind-the-scene service ministry responsible for preparing the altar before all services including communion, baptisms, weddings, funerals and/or memorial services.
They set up for each service and assist the priest and chalice bearers before the service, as needed. After each service they clean the altar area, wash, dry and put away all communion vessels, linens and vestments.
Divided into four teams; each team works one weekend per month cleaning (altar area only) on Saturday and different members cover one weekend service. If interested in learning more about this service ministry contact Marge Renquin.
They set up for each service and assist the priest and chalice bearers before the service, as needed. After each service they clean the altar area, wash, dry and put away all communion vessels, linens and vestments.
Divided into four teams; each team works one weekend per month cleaning (altar area only) on Saturday and different members cover one weekend service. If interested in learning more about this service ministry contact Marge Renquin.
Lay Lectors and Chalice Bearers
Lay lectors and chalice bearers play a vital role in the three services each weekend at St. Stephen’s.
The lay lectors read the lessons and leads the congregation in the psalm of the day and the prayers of the people. The chalice bearer administers the cup at Communion and assists the priest at the altar. At the Saturday service, the chalice bearer also serves as lay lector for all lessons and the prayers.
Volunteers to serve as lay lector or chalice bearer are always encouraged. Contact Christy.
The lay lectors read the lessons and leads the congregation in the psalm of the day and the prayers of the people. The chalice bearer administers the cup at Communion and assists the priest at the altar. At the Saturday service, the chalice bearer also serves as lay lector for all lessons and the prayers.
Volunteers to serve as lay lector or chalice bearer are always encouraged. Contact Christy.
Choir
The Parish Choir, directed and accompanied by David Zych on the organ and piano, provides music for the 9:30 service. Rehearsals are Sunday Morning's from 8:30-9:15am.
S.A.G.E.S. - Service. Aging. Gifts. Education. Spirituality.
S.A.G.E.S. is a group of 50’s more or less men and women whose major focus is to get to know each other better. This newly formed group is exploring areas of interest to educate ourselves as to how we can better serve our church community. We offer fun activities on and off property; address aging issues identified by our participants; helpful to our neighbors; and supportive to outreach opportunities as they arise. We meet the third Thursday of each month at noon for a pot-luck lunch in our dining room. Come join us! Contact Pat Davis, pdavisaz@msn.com or the church office,
602-840-0437 for additional information.
602-840-0437 for additional information.
Hospitality
“All are welcome in this place…”
At Stephen’s we strive to make hospitality the key to who we are and what we do.
Here all are called to share what they have with others; to be welcoming, hospitable and friendly; to share a smile, a handshake, engage in conversation, and to make a connection with guests and with each other.
Hospitality at St. Stephen’s shows respect for all, treating others as equals, providing for their needs, and encouraging ALL to feel truly welcome in this place!
At Stephen’s we strive to make hospitality the key to who we are and what we do.
Here all are called to share what they have with others; to be welcoming, hospitable and friendly; to share a smile, a handshake, engage in conversation, and to make a connection with guests and with each other.
Hospitality at St. Stephen’s shows respect for all, treating others as equals, providing for their needs, and encouraging ALL to feel truly welcome in this place!
Crochet & Knitting Prayer Ministry
Do you know how to crochet or knit? If not would you like to learn? All are welcome. Please join us!
Contact: Schelly Cifone - schellyjune1@aol.com - 480-227-9686 OR
Sue Grace - sue.grace25@gmail.com
Contact: Schelly Cifone - schellyjune1@aol.com - 480-227-9686 OR
Sue Grace - sue.grace25@gmail.com
Heretics Book Club
Heretics’ Book Discussion is a book discussion group that meets most Saturdays at noon. We meet away from St. Stephen’s campus, because we seek to be open to participation from people outside this church community. We are currently meeting at a diner-type restaurant (Jim’s Coney Island Cafe) where we order lunch & can usually use a private back room which makes it quieter for discussion. Books are selected based on proposals & consensus from the group. We have also met at coffee shops & Denny’s. Recently we’ve read, Grossman & DeGaetano’s Stop Teaching our Kids to Kill, Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth & World Without End, & last year’s big project was MacCulloch’s Christianity the First Three Thousand Years. Our current book is Bowler’s Everything Happens For a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved. Contact Leah Batty or Kristin McCartor for more information.
Movie Lovers Group
The Movie Lover's Group meets the first Friday of each month to attend a movie at Harkin’s Shea 14 on Shea and Scottsdale. After the movie, the group enjoys a meal and lively conversation. Movie goers are notified on Wednesday prior to that Friday either by email or phone the movie and time of the showing. Transportation is offered to those who do not drive. All are welcome to join this lively group. Contact Pat Davis, pdavisaz@msn.com or the church office, 602-840-0437 with questions or if you wish to join this group.
Education for Ministry (EfM)
Through study, prayer, and reflection, the Education for Ministry (EfM) program provides people with an opportunity to discover how to respond to the call to Christian service and carry out their ministries. It is a four-year theological education program of the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. Participants meet weekly over the course of a nine month academic year led by a trained mentor. The seminars furnish an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the reading materials: year one focuses on study of the Hebrew Scriptures, year two is assigned the study of our Christian Scriptures, year three is the study of Christian history, and year four concludes with the study of philosophy and theology. More important is the development of skills in theological reflection. In a conversational, wondering, and musing environment, participants examine their own beliefs and their relationships to our culture and the tradition of our Christian faith. Through this process participants learn what it means to be effective ministers in the world.
Through study, prayer, and reflection, the Education for Ministry (EfM) program provides people with an opportunity to discover how to respond to the call to Christian service and carry out their ministries. It is a four-year theological education program of the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. Participants meet weekly over the course of a nine month academic year led by a trained mentor. The seminars furnish an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the reading materials: year one focuses on study of the Hebrew Scriptures, year two is assigned the study of our Christian Scriptures, year three is the study of Christian history, and year four concludes with the study of philosophy and theology. More important is the development of skills in theological reflection. In a conversational, wondering, and musing environment, participants examine their own beliefs and their relationships to our culture and the tradition of our Christian faith. Through this process participants learn what it means to be effective ministers in the world.