Contact us at:

St. Stephen's Church

St. Stephen's Street

Worcester WR3 7HS

Please note that these are all personal phone numbers.  

There is no phone in the church.

Reverend Andy Todd           

Priest-in-charge

Tel: 07806892165  

Email: revandyt@outlook.com 

Geoff Hill,

Churchwarden

Tel: 01905 453312

Email:hill.89parkave@btinternet.com

Michelle Walsh

Parish Administrator 
Tel: 07961 097497  

Email: mwalsh.ststephens@outlook.com 

Worcester Foodbank

The Foodbank fed more than 1100 people in December and gave over 600 children a Christmas gift. Thank you for all the generous donations, we sent in around 10 bags each week which was amazing.

New Year is expected to be even busier, so please continue to support local people in crisis. They always need tinned meat and fruit, packets of dried mashed potato, peanut butter, crackers, toiletries, tin openers and loo rolls. Please no food that needs refrigerating as the Foodbank can’t accept it. The lists in the porch are still current if anyone would like one. The Foodbank are also grateful for money donations as this helps towards the rent and allows them to go and buy essentials if they run out of something. They will also take clean children's clothes and toys. If anyone wants to donate directly to them, they are located in Lowesmoor Wharf and are open Monday, Wed and Fridays between 11am-2pm. During January the Foodbank is trialling opening on Tuesdays between 5-7pm to help clients and supporters access them more easily.

New Format for Praise Together services!
This year we will be moving towards a different format for our Praise Together services, which happen on the 3rd Sunday of each month unless there is a particular reason for having it on a different week (e.g. Mothering Sunday).  There will be some light breakfast available in the Bishop Allenby Hall from 9.30am - optional, but all are welcome - and the service, which will run from 10 -10.50am, will not be Eucharistic.  The thinking behind this is to have a service each month which can be really accessible for all ages, including those who find the complexity of the full liturgy rather daunting.  We will trial this approach during 2020, so nothing is set in stone, and your feedback as the year goes on will be much appreciated.  In particular, please do support these services with your prayers, and by being part of it. To be clear, these are not children's services - they really are for ALL AGES!
 

David and Annie Morphy.
After many years of involvement in the life of St Stephen’s, David and Annie feel the time is right to focus their ministry more locally in Hallows. We still hope to see them from time to time, but at the 10am service on Sunday 6th February we will be saying ‘au revoir’ and wishing them well for this exciting new phase of their life. David will be preaching. Please do join us if you can.

A Better Way to Give Regularly to the Church
The Church of England has introduced a new Parish Giving Scheme (PGS), administered by a charity controlled by various Dioceses and based in Gloucester. The new scheme should be a win-win situation – better for givers, and better for the church. We are asking for a few people to sign-up initially, before we encourage more general take-up.

PGS collect regular donations on the First of the month by Direct Debit, and then on a monthly basis recover the associated Gift Aid if appropriate. The monies are paid over in full and the Diocese covers the cost.

The intention is to reduce the amount of administrative work done within the Parish. At present we have to record 81 standing orders each month and then complete a HMCE form to recover Gift Aid every quarter.

The Treasurer has set up his own payment with PGS and reports that it has run smoothly on the first two monthly payments PGS have collected!

There is a small supply of booklets at the back of Church. If you want to know more, speak to Andy or Richard Hemmings, or look at PGS’s website: www.parishgivingscheme.org.uk

Confirmations 2020. At Confirmation, those who have been christened or baptised as children give public assent to the faith into which they were baptised, and are admitted to receive Holy Communion.  As usual, there is an opportunity to be confirmed this year, with a series of preparation classes (not as scary as that might sound!).  If you have not been confirmed, please do consider it: have a chat with Andy to find out more.
 

What is God saying to us as a Church? 
How would He like us to be involved in His work of building the Kingdom? It’s not always easy to know how to hear God’s voice, but one of the ways we can try to do just that is by listening to one another – our hopes and dreams. During Lent and beyond that is exactly what we are going be doing. We are organising a series of relaxed “Coffee-and-Chat” sessions, for half a dozen people at a time, to give you an opportunity to talk and listen to others about St Stephen’s. Everyone with an interest in the life of the church is welcome to attend one of these. They will also be an excellent opportunity to meet people. You will be hearing more shortly. In the meantime, we are looking for volunteers to host a couple of these small groups at their homes, and facilitators to help make sure we get the most out of the discussions. Training will be provided, so no need to be shy or nervous! Please speak to Andy today, or text/email him if you are interested - (07806 892165/ Revandyt@outlook.com)

Church Cleaners - A Massive Thank You
Thank you to all the people who helped clean the church during 2019. A new sign up list with dates for 2020 will be published soon.
The Cleaning Team.