Who We Are...
Saint Stephen Lutheran is a community of Jesus people. In other words, we are a church dedicated to reaching out and proclaiming the good news of God in Jesus in our local neighborhoods, our communities, and our world.
Mission
St Stephen Lutheran finds its missional and strategic direction in the prophet Micah:
[The LORD] has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and the love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6v8 NRSV).
Everything we do and believe at St Stephen as a church can be categorized under these three directions:
Do Justice
Through evangelism, social ministry, and stewardship, St Stephen Lutheran reaches out and advocates God’s justice in our communities and world—for the poor, marginalized, oppressed, excluded, and lost.
Love Mercy
Through our parish life and mutual ministry, St Stephen helps people make connections and fosters healthy and faith-filled relationships among our community—to share our resources, support one another, and care for the common good.
Walk Humbly
Our journey of faith as a community of Jesus people begins and ends with our worship and prayer life, and is fueled and supported through faith formation opportunities that meet at the intersection between God’s word and our world.
Worship
We worship regularly on Sunday mornings with Word (hearing the Bible stories read and proclaimed) and Sacrament (sharing the Lord's Supper--aka Eucharist, Holy Communion). Periodically we have special services for special days (e.g. Christmas Eve). Healing services might be planned in response to extreme circumstances (e.g. natural disaster, personal or national tragedy). Occasionally there are services to celebrate life passages (e.g. weddings & funerals).
Communion/Jesus' Sacred Meal
Jesus welcomes everyone to his holy table. Our Savior’s body and blood nourish our faith, forgive our sins, and form us as living witnesses to God’s promise of unity, justice, and peace.
Children typically begin preparing to receive when they enter the 2nd grade. Those who do not wish to receive, for whatever reason, are welcome to come to the table and receive a blessing.
Baptism/Washing in the Word
In essence, baptism is the first step of faith formation. Through baptism God delivers us from evil, puts our sinful self to death, gives us new birth, adopts us as children, and makes us members of the body of Christ, the church. If you desire to be baptized, or wish your child to be baptized, please visit with the pastor.
God's Work. Our Hands.
God calls us to do work as disciples. This work doesn’t earn us a ticket to heaven, nor does it make us holy or privileged or special. This work is ours because we are disciples of Jesus who teaches us that how we love our neighbor reflects how we love God (Matthew 25v31-46).
At Saint Stephen Lutheran there are many opportunities to employ your gifts and talents to God’s work. As you participate in the life of our community, you may find that one or more of these ministries is just right for you; or you might find that you bring to our community new ideas and tools we have yet to discover.
Our outreach team is dedicated to coordinating efforts to care for and serve our communities—from our local neighborhood in Metrowest, Massachusetts, to world-wide relief efforts; from raising money and awareness for medical research to providing a home-cooked meal to a needy family; from singing carols at a local nursing home to sending care packets to soldiers serving far away from home.
Our community life team develops opportunities for fellowship and nurturing relationships within our congregation—from family game nights to potluck dinners; from organizing classes to share special talents to taking field trips to special events or locations.
Our communication team is devoted to getting the word out—from publishing our monthly newsletter to updating our website; from raising community awareness of our ministries to publicizing our activities and outreach.
Who's in Charge?
Jesus, to be honest. But there are hands and feet at Saint Stephen who help do Jesus' work of ministry and mission in our communities. We have a full-time, called and ordained pastor who preaches, teaches, leads worship, and offers pastoral care. The congregation council of nine faithful disciples run the business of the congregation. And the various ministry and mission teams work together to discern our calling to 'do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God' (Micah 6v8).
ELCA
Saint Stephen Lutheran is an extension of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a community of faith that shares a passion for making positive changes in the world. Our faith is built around a strong belief in God as made known to us in Jesus. Through worship, service, and education, we practice our faith, grow our relationship with God and experience God's grace in our lives.
We also work hard to put our faith into action. In today’s complex world, we strive to make a difference in practical, realistic ways.
Mission
St Stephen Lutheran finds its missional and strategic direction in the prophet Micah:
[The LORD] has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and the love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6v8 NRSV).
Everything we do and believe at St Stephen as a church can be categorized under these three directions:
Do Justice
Through evangelism, social ministry, and stewardship, St Stephen Lutheran reaches out and advocates God’s justice in our communities and world—for the poor, marginalized, oppressed, excluded, and lost.
Love Mercy
Through our parish life and mutual ministry, St Stephen helps people make connections and fosters healthy and faith-filled relationships among our community—to share our resources, support one another, and care for the common good.
Walk Humbly
Our journey of faith as a community of Jesus people begins and ends with our worship and prayer life, and is fueled and supported through faith formation opportunities that meet at the intersection between God’s word and our world.
Worship
We worship regularly on Sunday mornings with Word (hearing the Bible stories read and proclaimed) and Sacrament (sharing the Lord's Supper--aka Eucharist, Holy Communion). Periodically we have special services for special days (e.g. Christmas Eve). Healing services might be planned in response to extreme circumstances (e.g. natural disaster, personal or national tragedy). Occasionally there are services to celebrate life passages (e.g. weddings & funerals).
Communion/Jesus' Sacred Meal
Jesus welcomes everyone to his holy table. Our Savior’s body and blood nourish our faith, forgive our sins, and form us as living witnesses to God’s promise of unity, justice, and peace.
Children typically begin preparing to receive when they enter the 2nd grade. Those who do not wish to receive, for whatever reason, are welcome to come to the table and receive a blessing.
Baptism/Washing in the Word
In essence, baptism is the first step of faith formation. Through baptism God delivers us from evil, puts our sinful self to death, gives us new birth, adopts us as children, and makes us members of the body of Christ, the church. If you desire to be baptized, or wish your child to be baptized, please visit with the pastor.
God's Work. Our Hands.
God calls us to do work as disciples. This work doesn’t earn us a ticket to heaven, nor does it make us holy or privileged or special. This work is ours because we are disciples of Jesus who teaches us that how we love our neighbor reflects how we love God (Matthew 25v31-46).
At Saint Stephen Lutheran there are many opportunities to employ your gifts and talents to God’s work. As you participate in the life of our community, you may find that one or more of these ministries is just right for you; or you might find that you bring to our community new ideas and tools we have yet to discover.
Our outreach team is dedicated to coordinating efforts to care for and serve our communities—from our local neighborhood in Metrowest, Massachusetts, to world-wide relief efforts; from raising money and awareness for medical research to providing a home-cooked meal to a needy family; from singing carols at a local nursing home to sending care packets to soldiers serving far away from home.
Our community life team develops opportunities for fellowship and nurturing relationships within our congregation—from family game nights to potluck dinners; from organizing classes to share special talents to taking field trips to special events or locations.
Our communication team is devoted to getting the word out—from publishing our monthly newsletter to updating our website; from raising community awareness of our ministries to publicizing our activities and outreach.
Who's in Charge?
Jesus, to be honest. But there are hands and feet at Saint Stephen who help do Jesus' work of ministry and mission in our communities. We have a full-time, called and ordained pastor who preaches, teaches, leads worship, and offers pastoral care. The congregation council of nine faithful disciples run the business of the congregation. And the various ministry and mission teams work together to discern our calling to 'do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God' (Micah 6v8).
ELCA
Saint Stephen Lutheran is an extension of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a community of faith that shares a passion for making positive changes in the world. Our faith is built around a strong belief in God as made known to us in Jesus. Through worship, service, and education, we practice our faith, grow our relationship with God and experience God's grace in our lives.
We also work hard to put our faith into action. In today’s complex world, we strive to make a difference in practical, realistic ways.