St. Stephen’s Church has a wonderful legacy of loving in action, of living as the hands and feet of Christ in Richmond and beyond. We take to heart the example of Jesus, who loved friends and strangers, insiders and outcasts. We strive to open our doors to all people and to be a community of hospitality, healing, and hope. All are welcome as we gather for worship, formation, and fellowship. Just as important, we move beyond our walls to deliver food, tutor children and help people rebuild their homes and their lives.

We understand that in loving and serving others our own hearts and lives are transformed.

Your pledges and gifts toward our annual budget make this ministry possible. Through outreach grants, mission support, and funds that support our many “front porch ministries” (our grocery store/food pantry, farmers market, café, Dogwood Preschool, May Fair House, and more), we bring to life this call to love in action. Of course, your gifts also support our full staff and building expenses, our music and worship, our children’s, youth, and adult formation, and so much more. Inside and out, we work together to embody the love of Christ and to make that love known.

Some of our priorities for the coming year are:

• Outreach and Engagement: A primary goal of this year’s annual giving campaign campaign is to sustainably build into our budget funding for a key staff position, the Director of Outreach and Engagement. This person will help cultivate relationships both within our parish and in the community and will coordinate our efforts to translate love into action.

• Children and Families: We want to continue to invest in the growth of our children’s, youth, and family ministries, including expansion of the Palmer Hall worship space by removing the wall between Palmer Hall and the Palmer Hall annex and replacing it with a flexible dividing wall that can open the space for larger services and events, as this part of our parish community continues to grow.

• Communication and Connection: We will continue to develop and integrate our new website and church management software, allowing for easier, targeted connectivity through the site and a new mobile app. At the same time, through a new Connect and Serve initiative, we are striving to better connect newcomers and old-timers to opportunities for fellowship and ministry.

• Worship, Music, and Formation: We will always invest in continued excellence in our worship and music offerings which draw us together and lift our hearts in praise. Likewise, we continue to emphasize our formation offerings for all ages, including new spirituality in aging small groups, prominent guest speakers, the anticipated return of youth and adult mission trips/pilgrimages, and more.

All of this will be possible only with your generous financial support. As we look toward 2025, we ask you to help us continue to grow and flourish, to put our love into actions that further God’s dream for the world.

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