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St. Stephen |
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St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church P.O. Box 3321 225 East Eighth Street Beaumont, California 92223
8th Street 2 blocks west of Beaumont Ave.
Phone: 951 845-1358 E-mail: ststepbmt@verizon.net
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St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church |
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Thanks for stopping by. Whether you’re church shopping, visiting or just curious, we’re glad you’re here and we invite you to visit us in person. Our rule of hospitality is quite simple, “Let all strangers be received as Christ, because Christ will say, ‘I was a stranger and you took me in.’”
We are a welcoming church.
St. Stephen’s is a place of laughter and hope, a place of friends and family. We are a place where diversity is not only celebrated, but welcomed. Our congregation includes former Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists and Buddhists. In fact, 80% of all Episcopalians started out as something else. Many former Roman Catholics, especially those who are divorced or married to Protestants, find a comfortable home in the Episcopal Church. At St. Stephen’s all are welcome at the Lord’s Table, no matter what their background or where they are on their journey.
We are a thinking church.
As Episcopalians we believe church should be a place where thinking is stimulated and encouraged, where minds are open and questions welcome.
We are a spiritual church.
We affirm life in this world and believe that the body, pleasure and material reality are fundamentally good. And that the natural world is God’s gift to us. What matters is what we do with these gifts. Our spiritual life is our everyday life lived in an ever-deepening and loving relationship with God, with our true self, our neighbors and all of creation.
We are a church of prayer.
As Episcopalians our prayer life shapes our beliefs and our behaviors. We are a community of practice bound together by our common prayer and our liturgy rather than any doctrinal emphasis or social organization.
We are a church of the Bible.
We believe that Holy Scripture is the living word of God and that this living document is being constantly revealed to us. But Scripture is not self-explanatory; we believe it requires thought and reason to determine its meaning. A traditional Episcopal service includes Bible readings from the Old Testament, Psalms, the Epistles and the Gospels, which is usually the basis for the homily or sermon.
We are a church of Jesus Christ.
While we believe without question that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, we also believe that Christianity is a religion not of a book, but of a person, Jesus Christ. And that Jesus is manifested in the Holy Trinity, one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We are a sacramental church.
We believe that the sacraments are an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. We celebrate the sacrament of Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) each Sunday. Through this sacramental action we are united with Jesus Christ in his offering of himself and are empowered to be Christ’s presence in the world.
We are a servant church.
We understand Christianity not as a set of rules nor as a theory, but as a way of life. In our Baptismal Covenant we promise to “seek Christ in all people, to love our neighbor as ourselves and to respect the dignity of every human being.” We work to make sure this is more than a promise, it is a matter of practice.
We are a growing church.
St. Stephen’s parish is on the move. In the last two years our attendance has increased by nearly 300%. We’ve added a Sunday School program and nursery care. We’ve co-founded Carol’s Mercy House, a shelter for women and children in need. And we’re looking for a site to build a new church and school. There’s a lot happening at St. Stephen’s and we welcome your participation.
Are we the church for you?
If St. Stephen’s sounds like the kind of church you’ve been looking for, we invite you to come this Sunday and see for yourself.
Blessings,
Fr. Jeff Wilhelm, Vicar |
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VICAR
Father Jeff Wilhelm |
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PASTORAL CARE
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