St Stephen’s is an Anglican (Church of England) Church in the progressive Catholic tradition. We are a friendly congregation drawn mainly from the local community and reflecting the rich diversity of this part of London.
We aim to be an inclusive church welcoming everyone, whatever their age, background, sexuality or relationship status and regardless of how much or how little faith they may have. Honest doubters and people with questions are positively welcomed! You will find unconditional welcome and blessing at St Stephen’s.
With the easing of lockdown restrictions we once more have services at 10am on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mass is also celebrated at 12.30pm on Tuesdays and at 8am on Sundays. – no booking is required. The 10am Mass on Sundays is live-streamed (https://www.facebook.com/ststephensNTH/live/). The church is open for private prayer between 9am and 11am Tuesdays to Saturdays.
From the Vicar
Dear friends,
So here we are again. Advent is upon us with its wonderful hymns and stirring bible passages; with its candles and the sense of Christmas approaching. After last year’s lockdown I hope you can make something of it and feel confident to return to worship.
Returns of the Time and Skills survey are a bit thin so please dig it out and fill in the form as soon as you can. I’m attaching it to this message as well. One talent we all have if we can still put one foot in front of the other is delivering parish Christmas cards. These will be waiting for us in bundles shortly and will need to be distributed before 19th December when we have our first Christmas Carol service since 2019. Great exercise!
Phyllis Goode’s son, Martin, would like to thank everyone at St Stephen’s for the love and support he and the family received after his mother’s death. Thank you all.
Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke reminds us not to be weighed down by the cares of this life – easier said than done, you might think. But it’s a timely warning for us to get our priorities right for our own sake and for the sake of those around us. I wish you all a holy and fruitful Advent.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Geoffrey
Vicar
Follow this link to see the video from the Woolwich and Croydon Youth Forum’s take on an Anti-Racism Charter. It includes contributions from St Stephen’s.
https://youtu.be/GJo4Wt_IoL4
View Act of Spiritual Communion
SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD BANKS
St Stephen’s has supported local food banks for several years but now the pressure on them is greater than ever. Gifts of non-perishable items can be left at St Stephen’s vicarage (9 Warwick Road) at any time.
WAYS TO SUPPORT ST STEPHEN’S
We encourage all our regular worshippers to give to the church by monthly standing order or through our weekly envelope scheme.
For One-off donations please consider using our Just Giving Page please follow the link below –https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/St-Stephen2020
We can also accept payment by the following methods:
Bank transfer to “St Stephen’s PCC” Sort code: 40-35-01. Account: 61059572.
Credit or debit card – please speak to Fr Geoffrey or Ian Pudney (our treasurer) for more details.
Cheques payable to St Stephen’s PCC.
Cash (It is difficult and time consuming to process cash, but we are happy to accept payments if you cannot use other methods)
Other methods of helping St Stephen’s
SHOPPING – no doubt many of you will have tried on-line shopping and if so, you can support our church without it costing you a penny.
First, there is EasyFundRaising – by using the link below you can set up an account to support St Stephen’s – the retailer will give us a donation every time you use them.
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ststephennorburythorntonheath/
Once in your account search on their website for your favourite retailer Argos, John Lewis, Boohoo – they are all there, and click the link though to start shopping.
Remember you must log in to EasyFundRaising and use the link each time you shop, do not go direct to the retailer’s website.
Amazon likes to do things differently – so next time you use it (or maybe it’s the first time) go to:
Log in as usual (or set up an account) and you will see all your old Amazon history – it’s exactly the same!
It will prompt you for a charity you wish to support so enter – ‘St Stephen’s PCC’ select it and start shopping
Remember you must log into Smile Amazon (Not Amazon) each time you shop.
PLEASE ADD THESE LINKS TO YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND SHARE THEM WITH YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY
Weddings & Baptisms at St Stephen’s
We welcome enquiries about Baptisms (Christenings) and Weddings. Numbers attending are longer restricted and we are taking bookings. Please contact Fr Geoffrey. ststephens@fastmail.uk
View more Weddings details
View more Baptism details
SAFEGUARDING
The parish of St Stephen, Norbury & Thornton Heath takes the safeguarding and care of children and vulnerable adults very seriously. Further information about safeguarding can be found here
