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,
At its meeting last night (12th) the PCC discussed ways in which we can reach out to members of the congregation who might feel isolated or in any way neglected by St Stephen’s. People in this group are most likely to be offline or in some other way hard to contact. As a result of our discussion we will be writing to our sisters and brothers in the good old fashioned way using an envelope and a stamp – just to see if and how we can help. In the meantime, if you know somebody who doesn’t receive emails and who would like some other form of contact from us, please let me know.
This Sunday we read of the astonishing “sign” – as John puts it – of the water turned to wine at the wedding feast at Cana. The miracle speaks to us of the overflowing love and grace of God. A grace that can flood our lives and, in turn, the lives of others. It’s one of the wonders of this Epiphany season that as God in Christ is revealed to us we come to realise afresh that God can be seen in our lives too. Fed at the Eucharist we are uniquely enabled to become more Christlike ourselves and share in his ministry of love and reconciliation.
On 27th January Mother Joyce will be commissioned as area dean of Croydon North by the Bishop of Croydon. It will take place during the deanery synod at 8pm that evening. Everyone is welcome.
And, finally, a date for your diary. The ever-popular Quiz Night returns on 5th March. More details soon.
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
