Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
We are delighted that you have taken time to visit our website and we welcome you. We hope that you are informed by its content and refreshed by its forthrightness. We are privileged as a church to have received an inheritance, a deposit of faith, which remains faithful to Catholic faith and practice. We affirm the absolute and infallible authority of the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, as interpreted by the Catholic Fathers and Councils of the undivided church. We stand with the Apostle Paul when he, in great boldness and in the power of the Holy Spirit, wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes...”(Romans 1:16). Therefore, we have great peace and assurance in knowing what we believe has not changed since the very beginning of the Apostolic Church, and it accords with what the Church has always taught, as handed down to us through Holy Tradition. St. Stephen’s Church is not tossed about by every wind and change of the culture in which we find ourselves, but rather, we believe in the transforming power of Christ to change that culture and, in so doing, to redeem it through repentance and faith. Consequently, we both defend and offer the “faith once delivered to the saints” to a broken, lost, and hurting world.
As Anglican Christians, we believe in evangelism and discipleship. We have been called to seek and save the lost. We minister Christ’s healing to those who are broken by sin. We accomplish this by doing what Christ and the early Church did. We preach the pure Word of God, administer the Sacraments, and minister to the sick, hungry and troubled by corporal works of mercy. The Gospel is not only spoken, but is also lived through acts of compassion and generosity. Our doctrine, liturgy, devotional practices, and piety are Catholic within the framework of Anglican expression. Our preaching is thoroughly evangelical. Therefore, the faith we profess is at one and the same time fully evangelical and fully catholic. We trust, with all certainty, in what God revealed to Isaiah: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Therefore, it is not our word which we speak but God’s. This is done with the understanding that it is His desire that all should be offered the opportunity for salvation through faith in the only Name given to us by which people are to be saved, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Anglican Christians we also believe in hospitality. We are certainly not an exclusive group, far from it! The parishioners you will meet at St. Stephen’s come from diverse economic and denominational backgrounds. We are also at different points along the spiritual journey. We are not a homogenous group. You will find among us non-denominational Evangelical Christians, cradle Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and mainline Protestants -- all worshipping together and loving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. All are welcome to experience the transforming love of Christ, which turns sinners into saints through holiness. If you enter into our fellowship, you will be greeted warmly and made to feel right at home. All we want is to show forth the love of Christ and welcome all who come into our midst in His most blessed Name. With that understanding, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to visit St. Stephen’s in person and share in this exciting journey of holiness and union with Christ through His body, which is our church.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Anthony Ferraro+
Rector