COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

St. Stephen’s is an active, giving, parish. We open our church to a number of groups to meet there, and our members provide financial and volunteer support to a wide variety of organizations that serve the needy.

GROUPS THAT MEET AT ST. STEPHEN’S:

St. Stephen’s hosts meetings for several groups, including the following:

Two Brownie Troops

Southside Newcomers’ Assn.

Kinderchor (children’s chorus)

ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTED BY ST. STEPHEN’S:

Both financial and volunteer support is given to many different outreach agencies, including the following:
Alternatives for Burmese Children (ABC): A group which gives educational support for the Karen refugee children.
Second Harvest Food Bank: We keep a collection box in the Narthex for ongoing collections, and also have special food drives at selected times, including the January nationwide Souper Bowl.
Shalom Ministries: A downtown ministry of Central United Methodist Church, which serves and feeds the inner-city poor.
Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery: An organization that cares for infants and children at risk of abuse, and that helps those parents who are in crisis and at risk for abusing.
CROP Walk: An annual walk that raises money for the hungry.
La Cieba Medical Clinic: A medical clinic in La Cieba, Honduras, ministering to the very poor and run by Dr. Carole Denison, Spokane Diocese’s medical missionary there.
Crosswalk: An agency that gives support and aid to homeless teens in downtown Spokane.
Interfaith Hospitality Network: An ecumenical network of churches that provide temporary accommodations within the churches to families who need shelter.
Family Friend Project: A program that connects marginalized persons with designated “friends” in the church, reducing isolation and loneliness and providing the stability and support that friends offer and that is needed by all.
Meals on Wheels: An agency that delivers meals to those who are homebound; people volunteer as both drivers and as deliverers of the meals, and provide a bit of company and human contact as well as sustenance.

Ogden Hall Shelter

Camp Cross Scholarships

Holy Trinity Supper program

Alzheimer’s Assn. of Spokane

Hospice of Spokane

Angel Tree Ministry  — Interfaith Hospitality Network

Kinderchor– see more information below!

K I N D E R C H O R

It’s Kinderchor now, but it was the South Hill Children’s Chorus when it was formed in 2003 as a community outreach dream of parishioner Bernie Loposer and Fr. John Shepard.   After consulting with the artistic staff of the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus, it was created to provide a high quality choral experience accessible to all children ages 8-11.

Lynn Brinkmeyer, then head of Choral Activities at EWU,  was the first Artistic Director, serving until her move to Texas in 2006,  after which Sharon Rodkey Smith took over, having moved to Spokane from Nebraska.

Kinderchor’s initial funding came from St. Stephen’s, and, although Kinderchor has since become an independent 501)(c)3 nonprofit organization, it continues to receive generous financial support from individual parishioners and groups within the church.

A number of our members serve on its Board of Directors, and the children rehearse regularly at the church.    Scholarships are provided, enabling needy students to participate.   Over 50 children now participate in Kinderchor’s 2 choral groups.

Performances are enjoyed, not only by us at St. Stephen’s, but by many groups throughout the community.   Watch our website  home page for scheduled performances here.