Outreach

“If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10 NRSV

Let the light of Christ that shines through you brighten and embrace the lives of your neighbors. Join the people of St. Stephen’s as we seek to meet the needs of our community. For a small church we have a lot going on.

Ongoing Outreach Efforts

School Adoption – Donna Park Elementary School

We are partnered with Donna Park, a nearby elementary school in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, to provide support to teachers, enrichment for students, and assistance to families. Members of our congregation also pray daily for the students, teachers and staff of the school. You can help with this school ministry by providing a food donation or volunteering to cook for the quarterly meal served to teachers. A few times every year we stage a special activity for the kids during family events. We had great fun staffing a beanbag toss and handing out cookies during the fall Back-to-School Picnic.

                       

4Saints Food Pantry

The 4Saints Food Pantry is a start-up ministry conducted by four parishes of the Eastern Deanery of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth at St. Luke’s in the Meadow Episcopal Church, 3021 Rosedale Street, Fort Worth.

Saints Episcopal Food Pantry serves clients from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM each Friday with volunteers arriving at 10:00 AM. 

As part of our parish outreach ministries members of St. Stephen’s volunteer to meet pantry clients, distribute food, take care of paper work, and serve on the board of directors.

For more information on helping with this ministry contact our Outreach Planning Team Chair.

Transgender Support Group

St. Stephen’s sponsors a support group that invites anyone who is transgender or has a transgender family member. We want to welcome, love and support you and your family any way we can. There are no fees to participate and no professional counseling offered. Teens and adults are welcome. We plan to share resources, offer spiritual support and be a friend.

This group meets on the last Sunday of the month at 3:00 PM on Zoom. If you have any need for support and want to confirm the meeting date and time please contact Lisa Daly. She can talk with you about group meetings and provide you with personalized support and resources.

Little Free Library

Take a look at our “Little Church” on the sidewalk in front of St. Stephen’s. We have installed a beautiful Little Free Library. We keep it stocked with donated children’s and adult books on a variety of topics. Shopping center visitors enjoy using it regularly and can enjoy reading in the adjacent Village Plaza Gazebo.

Part of a world-wide network to promote literacy, small boxes of books like this one can be found in public places and in front of homes. The network is monitored and publicized by LittleFreeLibrary.org. The idea is to share good things to read. The collection of donated books belongs to everybody. Any passerby is welcome to take a book. It can be returned to any Little Free Library or passed on to a friend. Pay it forward.

Tuna Ministry for AIDS Outreach

On the third Sunday of the month, we collect cans of tuna to donate to the Nutrition Center of the AIDS Outreach Center in Fort Worth. If you forget to pick up tuna during your shopping, you can also purchase some from our Outreach Planning Team member in the entrance to the church for $1 per can.

St. Stephen’s has been regularly donating tuna for many years, and the Center knows that it can count on our cans coming in like clock-work every month.

Interfaith Connections

St. Stephen’s and Pathways Unitarian Universalist Church (located in the same shopping center with us) have partnered to engage in community dialogue about working together by understanding one another’s faiths and seeking out meaningful ways to make a difference in the Midcities. ​

Popular Outreach Programs We Have Enjoyed

Ronald McDonald House Dinners – Planning, cooking and serving dinner to the families living at the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth is one of our favorite outreach programs. We will plan to host another dinner soon.

Lenten Lambs – We love to adopt residents in the Hurst Nursing and Rehab Center. Some don’t have families to visit or provide for them. Look for this program to come back before Easter next year.

Caring Soles – Providing shoes for school children in the Birdville ISD

Operation Back2School – Distributing backpacks of school supplies to kids in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD.

I Can Still Shine – Providing clothing for women looking for a new start

Fort Worth ISD Programs for the Deaf – Providing monetary support the extracurricular programs for hearing impaired kids.

Union Gospel Mission – Delivering coats for the homeless during winter months. Adopting a room to be painted and furnished.

Down Syndrome Partnership – Pledging support and participation in the walk-a-thon for Team Kai’s Wings.