What do bagpipes and a bag of stones have in common with a holy water stoop, votive
candles, and a baptismal font? If you're acquainted with St. Stephen's Episcopal
Church on Daly Road in Springfield Township, you might already know.
The bagpipes and bags of stones were at the diocesan convention
held at the Dayton Marriott in November 1999. At that gathering, St. Stephen's
was reclassified as a parish after several years as a mission. As attendees
rose to their feet for a standing ovation, St. Stephen's members celebrated
by marching around the hall to the joyous strains of a bagpipe and passing out
stones that were inscribed with the citation of a Bible verse. Since St. Stephen,
the first New Testament martyr, was stoned to death by a mob, it seemed an appropriate
connection.
Holy water stoop from original church.
St. Stephen's was organized in 1884 during the Episcopacy Thomas A. Jaggar, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, making it one of the older congregations in the diocese. The original baptismal font from the 1888 building is dedicated "To the Glory of God and to Christie, Rebecca, and Mary Sargent" -- the son and daughters of C.S. Sargent, the founding missionary and St. Stephen's first Rector.
The original St. Stephens's at Winton Place.
Outgrowing its building in the 1960s, the congregation relocated to its current
suburban location at Daly and Compton Roads. As one of only a few high church
parishes in those days with Eucharist every Sunday, people came from all over
the area to attend St. Stephen's. During the following seven to eight years,
the parish grew to around 300 families. The holy water stoop and rack of votive
candles date from those days. But, as more and more congregations adopted the
Eucharist as their principal service the parish began a slow decline in membership.
A period of decline began in 1981 for a variety of reasons, and 1991 St. Stephen's
was reclassified as a mission.
In October 1991, the Rev. Henry Perrin, a specialist in congregational development, was appointed as half-time Vicar. Showing tremendous spirit, the Mission Council and new Vicar created a redevelopment plan and presented it to the Commission on Congregational Life and Bishop Thompson in the Summer of 1992.
Brightly painted nursery in modern St. Stephen's
With Father Perrin now the full-time Vicar, the congregation renewed its commitment to its baptismal vows, that is, making and meeting commitments to worship, stewardship, evangelism, and outreach. The result was a huge paradigm shift from a perspective of the glass being half full versus half empty. By 1998 St. Stephen's was fully self-sufficient, and in 1999 restored to full parish status. St. Stephen's is currently a stable, healthy parish, active in deanery and diocesan activities, and connected to the local community through outreach ministries and ecumenical events.
Rev. Perrin has since moved on and, after a diligent and faithful search, St. Stephen's recently called The Rev. David Bailey as its new Rector. We are excited about entering a new era with new leadership, and are committed to building up the Body of Christ with prayer and worship outreach, evangelism and Christian education.
Join us as we Seek Jesus, Share Jesus and Serve Jesus !
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