Welcome

Welcome to the website of the parish church of St. Stephen, South Dulwich in South East London, England. St. Stephen’s is a parish church of the Church of England, and aims to be a broad and inclusive church valuing formal liturgy, challenging preaching, and fine music but aiming also to serve its community and parish.  We are striving to make Christ’s presence real in our community.

Our postal address and telephone number is:

St Stephen’s Church
College Road
SE21 7HN

telephone +44 20 (or from the UK 020) 8693 3797
email: ParishOffice@ststephensdulwich.org

The last Sunday in October, when the clocks go back and the shorter days and longer nights settle in, is sometimes also called ‘Bible Sunday’ to remind us of the central importance of Holy Scripture in our lives.  Clearly it is not enough to hear the Bible read in small portions on Sundays in church.  The Bible needs to be a witness to the living word of God.  We need to find time to read in it and live with it in such a way that God’s word becomes the fountain from which our lives are refreshed.
Reading and studying the Bible is a form of communion with God through which we are fed.  St Paul makes the distinction between treating the Bible as a written code, full of wooden and dead words and – on the other hand – letting the words come alive through the Holy Spirit in our lives (2 Corinthians 3,6).  Whether we read the Bible in groups or alone, we must not remain at the dry surface meaning of individual words and sentence but we must enter ourselves into the story and meet God as we do so.  Chiara Lubich, the founder of the ‘Focolari Movement’ and winner of the Templeton prize for fresh approaches to religion, said once that if all Bibles were lost or burnt one day, people ought to be able to re-write it simply by observing the lives of Christians!  This is the ancient prayer for this Sunday as written for the Book of Common Prayer:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever.
And after the communion we are encouraged to pray:
God of all grace, your Son Jesus Christ fed the hungry with the bread of his life and the word of his kingdom: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your true and living bread; who lives and reigns, now and for ever.
Bernhard Schünemann

Thought for the week.

In our Lent course (Apostello) we have been looking at how we, as Christians, live our faith as a witness to Christ in the world in which we are placed.  One of the callings is that to be a prophet to our own age, we looked at past prophet figures and their words here are the words of  Sojourner Truth from speech she delivered to the State Women’s Rights  Convention in Akron, Ohio, 28th May, 1851.

‘A’n’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And a’n’t I a woman? I could work as much, and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear de lash as well! And a’n’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and see ’em mos’ all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And a’n’t I a woman?
Den dat little man in black dar, he say women can’t have as much rights as man, ‘cause Christ wan’t a woman. Whar did your Christ come from? Whar did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothin’ to do wid Him.’

Sojourner Truth (c. 1797-1883), a runaway slave and a deeply religious woman, became a famous anti-slavery preacher and campaigner, and one of the founders of modern feminism.

Bernhard Schünemann.

Services during the week

Monday  to Friday: 8.30am silent prayer followed at 8.45am by Morning Prayer
Monday: 12.30pm Funeral of Gwen Cradock at West Norwood Crematorium
Wednesday: 9.45am Holy Eucharist – reflection by Richard Weydert-Jacquard . 12noon Funeral of Joyce Whiting in Church

Services  Sunday 14th March

8am Holy Communion. Sermon: Mrs Trot Lavelle.
10am Parish All Age Mass for Mothering Sunday with the St Stephen’s Choristers

Notices

Lent Programme –  a special blue leaflet is available detailing courses, events, concerts and services for Lent, Holy Week and Easter.  Please also consider giving towards our Lent Appeal (see special leaflet)

Lent Course 2010, Apostello – Monday 2pm at the Ketra Rooms in Seeley Drive and on Wednesday 8pm in the Church

Some further highlights in March:

13th March at 7.30pm Spring Concert by the Concordia Choir with music by Haydn, Handel & Mozart
14th March at 10am All Age service for Mothering Sunday
21st March at 10am preacher Revd Anthony Buckley, chaplain at Alleyn’s School
21st March at  6pm Special Choral Evensong
28th March at 10am. Palm Sunday outdoors procession with our two Palm Sunday donkeys and a brass band made up of students from JAGS and Dulwich College.
30th March at 7pm Concert by the choirs of Sydenham High School.

Oberammergau 2010 – 28th June to 5th July: Chris and Deborah Jarman need to withdraw from their places booked on this trip because of family illness.
‘Is there anyone who would like to take over our two places in the group?  Please talk to us in church, phone or email us. Total cost of the holiday for two is £2318, of which we have paid £600 so far. The remainder plus a £172 currency exchange surcharge is due by the 3rd of May 2010′  (Please contact either Chris or Deborah Jarman 020 8699 5306 or chrisj@cantab.net )