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

Thought for the week:

During the month of August the Sunday Gospel readings are extracts from chapters 14 to16 of St Matthew’s Gospel.  Many people see these chapters as Jesus laying down the foundation of the church.  As we would expect Jesus is not doing this by giving his disciples a ready made constitution a blue print mainly to satisfy bureaucrats of the Charity Commission or the managers of the Lambeth Conference.  No – instead – Jesus takes his friends on a hectic journey through Northern Palestine.  They are in and out of boats, up and down mountains, listening to sermons and witnessing miracles.  He teaches them about who he really is.  He warns them about hypocrisy.  He performs numerous healings especially on people whom the disciples would rather have him ignore.  He miraculously feeds thousands of followers.  He walks on water (and encourages Peter also to do so!).  And finally he reveals that all this will lead to his own suffering and glorification. Yes, let us not forget his glorification (chapter 17, especially celebrated in August as the festival of the Transfiguration on Wednesday 6 August).  What emerges from these pages is not a picture of the church as an institution but the church as a band of people.  People restlessly seeking a deeper understanding of Jesus as healer, teacher and saviour.  A group of people being on the one hand coaxed and encouraged and on the other hand set on fire with enthusiasm.  The church as a group of people that ultimately is to glow with the unspeakable glory of the cross.

- Bernhard Schunemann

Regular services at this church

Sundays
8am   Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer
10am Sung Parish Mass with Footsteps for children during School term time
12noon Holy Baptisms (most sundays)
6pm occasional evening services

Weekdays
8.30am Silent Prayer & 8.45 Morning Prayer
Wednesdays ay 9.45am Holy Eucharist

Notices:

Passion Play in Oberammergau

Joan Greenwood, Trot Lavelle and Michael Goodman are organising a group from St Stephen’s to attend the Passion Play in Oberammergau (in the Bavarian Alps) in the summer of 2010 (a once in every ten years event).  Tickets for this are already difficult to obtain, if you are interested you must give your name to either Joan or Trot as soon as possible.

What is the Oberammergau Passion Play?

The History
In 1633, in the middle of the Thirty Years War, Bavaria was being swept by a plague epidemic and more than 80 lives had been lost in Oberammergau alone.  The local elders vowed that if the village were purged of the plague, they would ‘keep the Passion tragedy every 10 years’. The epidemic came to a standstill and in 1634 the villagers fulfilled their solemn promise for the first time.  Ever since they have loyally kept their vow and in 2010 Oberammergau will, for the 41st time, be staging the Passion Play telling the story of Christ’s Passion, from His entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Resurrection and Transfiguration.

The Play
The play is performed exclusively by amateur actors, who were either born in Oberammergau or have lived there for the past 20 years.  In 2000, some 2,200 of the 5,300 or so inhabitants were involved either on stage or backstage.  550 of them children.  A special feature of the Oberammergau Passion Play is its living tableaux colourful scenes from the Old Testament, which are woven into the story of the Passion in the form of still life pictures.

No Prayer fellowship in August

Coffee Morning in August: Wednesday 13 August 10.30am to 12noon in the Church Hall with our host Cynthia Kirby