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.

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

The story we celebrate today is quite a simple one.  Mary brings the forty day old infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem in order to make the sacrifices she feels are necessary.  Jesus is her first born son and therefore, according to ancient custom, belongs to God.  By making the sacrifices she believes she can keep Jesus with her to bring him up.
But once she arrives at the temple she meets two old people called Simeon and Hannah.  Simeon takes the infant in his arms and recognises in him the saviour and the light of the world.  We learn today that Jesus, though he is the Son of God and our eternal Christ, did live as a real flesh and blood human being subject to the strange rules and regulations of his time.  We learn today that Mary did not flinch from bringing Jesus and presenting him so that he would light up even the darkest corners of this world, hearing that her own heart would be pierced also.
And quite by chance we learn from Hannah today – if we listen to our gospel reading carefully – that women have been prophets right from the beginning of Christian history and before.  Simeon also has a message for us: having experienced the presence of Christ we can contemplate our own departing in peace.   We can learn today that old people are sometimes the ones who have deepest insights.  But above all we celebrate today: we celebrate that Christ lights up our faces because in him can be found truth that is beyond speaking.

Bernhard Schünemann

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Services during the week.

Monday to Friday: 8.30am silent prayer followed at 8.45am by Morning Prayer
Wednesday 9.45am Holy Eucharist . 2.45 Funeral of William CF Barrow at West Norwood Crematorium.

Services next Sunday 14th February.

8am Holy Communion. Sermon: Revd Peter Westwood.
10am Parish Mass with Footsteps for children. Sermon: Revd Peter Westwood.

Services on Ash Wednesday 17th February.

9.45am Holy Eucharist with sermon and Ashes
8pm Sung Mass with sermon and Ashes and St Stephen’s Singers

Notices.

Readers training is being offered next Sunday at 11.20am by Michael Goodman for all who are on the reading rota or who would like to become regular readers of Bible readings during services at St Stephen’s.

Lent Programme –  a special blue leaflet is available detailing courses, events concerts and services for Lent, Holy Week and Easter.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Party - Tuesday 16th February at 7pm in the Hall. Tickets now on sale from members of the Social Committee – please note earlier start time.

Lent Course 2010 – on Wednesdays in Lent, 24th February to 17th March, we will be offering a special lent study course ‘APOSTELLO’ for those who want to grow in their faith, this has been written by the Revd Dr Teresa Morgan (Oriel College Oxford) and she will introduce the course on Wednesday 24th February at 8pm

Bishop Tom’s farewell service at Southwark Cathedral will be held on 20th February. We have been allocated three tickets, please ask our Churchwarden Joan Greenwood, or the Vicar for a ticket if you wish to go.

Shrinking our footprint –  Ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December, the Church of England launched a new seven year strategy to cut the church’s carbon footprint by 42% by 2020. St Stephen’s PCC has decided to look at how we can respond to this challenge. A small group of people are going to undertake an ecological audit of the church to work out a plan to do this. If you would like to be part of this group please contact Helen Wolfson (020 8768 4273) or the Vicar.

Victorian Day -  at Kingswood House, Seeley Drive, SE21 8QR on Saturday 20th February 11am until 4.30pm. Activities include old maps and photos, making gingerbread men, badge and plaque making, dressing up, what it was like at Crimea, how to make a rag rug, questionnaires, a talk on ‘How Things Have Changed’ at 2.30pm, also pie and mash and liquor or sausage and mash served from 12.30 -2.30. Bring the family.   Free entry.

‘A Christian response to Darwin?’ If you would like to join a small group to discuss this topic please speak to Jane Wenlock or e-mail janewenlock@gmail.com