Contemplative Services

Sunday 5:30 p.m. Celtic service | Sunday 8:00 p.m. Compline

At 5:30 p.m. each Sunday evening, St. Stephen's offers a service of Celtic Evensong with Holy Communion. Our Celtic worship is drawn from the liturgical traditions of Iona and Northumbria, and the music at these services is contemplative, lively and haunting. The prayers are at once earthy, holy and inclusive. This service has been well received not only by St. Stephen's parishioners, but includes worshipers from other churches in the area, as well as those with little or no religious background. All are welcome at this service.

The Celtic service includes healing prayer for those who desire it.

All are welcome to receive Communion at St. Stephen's. In the pew rack there are instructions about receiving the bread and wine, but please do not worry about "doing it right." (You can read these guidelines on our Web site, too.) The important thing is simply that you know that God welcomes you, and there is no telling how God might reach you in Communion. Just be open.

For more information about the Celtic Service at St. Stephen's, please contact Weezie Blanchard.

Sunday 8:00 p.m. Compline service

From the ancient monastic practice of ending the day in prayer and praise of God, a weekly Compline service is held every Sunday at 8:00 p.m. This stunningly lit beautiful candlelit service features a small group of singers, "Sanctuary," offering Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony. This service was inaugurated in September 2010 to mark our Centennial Year, but proved so popular that we have continued to offer it.

All are welcome at this service, and we encourage you to make yourself comfortable when attending it--perhaps even lie down in a pew and enjoy the beautiful sounds and stillness. Listen to part of a recording from this service here. Read more about Compline, including what the choir sang at the most recent service, here.