St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Ferguson - Parish

Profile

Mission

St. Stephen’s mission is to grow a healing community of those who seek to love

God, love each other and serve the world through Christ. We are an increasingly

diverse community welcoming ALL people to St. Stephen’s and restoring each

other to unity with God and Christ.

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Our Diocese

Our diocese, the Diocese of Missouri, is situated in the eastern half of the state of

Missouri. We are one of 42 parishes in our diocese and we are part of one of the

nine provinces of the Episcopal Church. Our province, Province V, includes

dioceses within the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and ours

in Missouri. Our diocese is divided into convocations basically according to

location. We are in the Kemper Convocation which meets several times a year,

shares information about what the member churches are doing and with the

other convocations shapes the concerns of the Diocesan Convention.

St. Stephen’s members have participated in Diocesan Activities. Two members are

our representatives to Kemper; one of them just finished serving a two-year term

as president. We have a member who serves as the Secretary of the Diocesan

Episcopal Church Women Board and several members regularly attend the

Diocesan ECWs Annual Meeting/Retreat. We have had members serve on

Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, as Deputy to General Convention and on

the Board of Directors of Episcopal City Mission (a chaplaincy program sponsored

by our diocese for youth in detention). We also have members who have

participated in Episcopal City Mission’s wrapping of Christmas presents for youth

in detention and have attended ECM business meetings. Some of our youth have

attended Camp Phoenix, a summer camp, run by our diocese.

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The last couple years have been exciting in our diocese. In preparing for the

search for a new bishop, “listening sessions” were held throughout the diocese to

learn what qualities the people of the diocese were looking for in a new bishop.

Much work was done before three candidates for bishop were selected. The

candidates were then introduced to the people in several online walkabouts

throughout the diocese. The Rev. Deon Johnson was elected on the first ballot as

our 11th diocesan bishop in November of 2019 at our diocesan convention. In July

of this year, 2020, in an online ceremony, that celebrated his first 14 years of life

in Barbados and his journey toward the priesthood, we were all able to feel part

of his consecration and dedication during this pandemic time. Bishop Deon has a

passion for evangelism, is outgoing and is visiting the churches in the diocese in

outdoor worship and in town hall meetings on Zoom. Some of us at St. Stephen’s

got to know Bishop Deon recently at our scheduled Zoom town hall meeting,

which also enabled us to share our dreams for St. Stephen’s with him.

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Brief History of St. Stephen’s

According to The Church News of 1906, the first Episcopal services in Ferguson

were held in 1872 in the home of Eliza L. Wash. We are still worshipping in the

same location where Mrs. Wash’s home stood – at the corner of Darst and N.

Clay. The church grew and the first church building was built and furnished for

$2700.00 at that same corner. The first services were held in the new church in

1891 and St. Stephen’s was received into the Diocese of Missouri as a parish May

26, 1896 by a unanimous vote of the 1896 Diocesan Convention.

The church continued growing. More land was purchased at that same corner

extending down Darst and down N. Clay. In 1949 a new parish house was built

and in 1954, plans were drawn up for a new church building. The parish house

was used for services until the new church was finished in 1956 and the first

service in the new church took place. Note: The chapel in the undercroft of that

new church, our present church building, is appointed with the stained-glass

windows from the original church building. We still enjoy those windows today.

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St. Stephen’s continued to grow and in 1957 created St. Barnabas in Florissant as

a mission. A few of the long-standing members at St. Barnabas still call us their

“mother church”. In the last few years, the women at St. Stephen’s and St.

Barnabas have begun to collaborate on our English Tea and their Turkey Dinner

and to enjoy lunches together in Ferguson and Florissant. By the 1970s we saw

several Episcopal churches in our diocese close and we welcomed a number of

our fellow Episcopalians who became members at St. Stephen’s. The addition of

these parishioners helped our mission to strengthen and grow.

Through the years St. Stephen’s has thoughtfully taken care of its two connected

buildings and its grounds. In the last 10 years the roof on both buildings has been

replaced as well as the siding on both buildings. We renovated the Sanctuary in

2018 with money from a donor and are presently working on a grant for redoing

some flooring in the area between the church and the parish hall. Our commercial

kitchen was remodeled in 2016 with the help of a grant from United Thank

Offering.

We are still worshipping in Episcopal services at St. Stephen’s in the same location

where Mrs. Wash’s house stood. In recent decades, St. Stephen’s has become a

smaller parish that is focused on finding its way in a changing neighborhood and a

changing world. In recent years, in our efforts to find our way, we had a Sunday

evening Celtic Service; we had a first Sunday of the month Faith and Film series;

we hosted ‘Dismantling Racism’ workshops; we welcomed Deaconess Ann House

residents; and we hosted ‘pilgrimages’.

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Our outreach into the surrounding community, as an outreach of our Christian

ministry, has increased considerably. This is covered in our section on outreach.

One common thread throughout our history has been the exceptional hospitality

of the people of St. Stephen’s. We truly strive to LIVE the Good News in our

parish and in our community.

Worship

In our newly renovated Sanctuary, we have two worship services each Sunday

morning. Our 8:00 a.m. service is a Rite I Eucharist service with no music. The

10:00 a.m. service is a Rite II Eucharist service with music. This is our family

service with church school for children held during the Liturgy of the Word.

Children then join their families for the remainder of the service. Music is an

important part of our worship at St. Stephen’s and we are excited to welcome our

new organist. He will be restarting our choir when the COVOD-19 pandemic is

over. At that time, our organist,

along with the choir and the

congregation will again provide “a

joyful noise” at the 10:00 a.m.

service. Music for the service

includes both service music and

hymns from The Hymnal 1982, from

Wonder Love and Praise and

sometimes from other sources.

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In addition, for a number of years, in the Parish Hall, a small group celebrated

Morning Prayer daily. Occasionally, we were joined by neighbors and others who

had noticed we were meeting and sought support for a variety of reasons.

For several years we had a Sunday evening service for those who came to enjoy

the peace and quiet of our Celtic Service. This service drew on a spiritual

Christianity that has been at the margins of the world for more than 1500 years.

During the many years when

Wednesday evenings were a time to

gather, we began the evening with our

healing service and communion,

followed by potluck and then Bible

study. The evening ended with our

service of Compline.

Our worship services are collaborative

endeavors. Our congregation, including

altar guild members, lay readers,

chalice bearers, acolytes, ushers,

greeters, church school instructors and

digital and social media specialists, along with our organist and Interim priest,

contribute in many ways in preparation for and during our worship services. All

work together in the spirit of hospitality to create a welcoming environment

where all who come will have a meaningful worship experience.

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Christian Education

Church School

At this time, we have very few children and teens at St. Stephen’s. However, we

do have a Church School program and teachers just waiting for young learners.

Our church school serves children and teens ranging from preschool age children

to college students. Our preschool through grade 2 children hears Bible stories

and take part in activities such as drama, art, music and games to help them

understand the stories and relate them to their lives. Children in grades 3 through

5 also hear Bible stories and discuss them in depth, in an effort to learn how the

stories can help them understand how to live their lives as followers of Christ. Our

Youth Class includes

Grade 6 through college

students. This class

watches videos as a way

to open discussions on a

variety of topics relevant

in helping Christian

youth in faith formation

and navigating today’s

world as Christians.

Bible Crafts are held after the 10:00 a.m. service for pre-school through grade 5

who enjoy crafts. The craft relates to the story heard earlier that morning in their

class.

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Adult Education

Between our two Sunday morning services, we have an ‘adult Bible study’, a

study of the lectionary for the day, with emphasis on the Gospel. Through many

years, we had ‘Bible study’ on Wednesday evenings. Some groups have spent a

year, or more, reading through the Bible with weekly meetings to understand

background for what we were reading and to discern its meaning for us now.

Recently eight of us accepted the ‘Bible Challenge’ and were truly being

challenged. Each day we read a commentary provided in our book, The Bible

Challenge. We were on Day 272 when COVID19 stopped us from getting together.

Church Groups

As members of St. Stephen’s, engaging in our own healing, growing a healing

community and allowing ourselves to be instruments of God’s love in the world,

our church becomes a place for these things to be learned and practiced. 2020

has been a challenging year as many of the activities listed below have not been

able to operate or had to operate in a limited fashion. When COVID19 restrictions

are no longer necessary, we look forward to becoming fully active.

Pastoral Care Team

We have a ‘Pastoral Care Team’ charged with helping to care for those in need in

our church family. From preparing meals and delivering them to taking

communion to someone who is unable to attend a church service or from sending

cards to actually visiting someone who is ill or homebound, the Pastoral Care

Team is always ready to serve.

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Episcopal Church Women (ECW)

Every woman in every Episcopal Church is a member of the ‘Episcopal Church

Women’ (ECW) and is welcomed to participate, engage and serve. The women at

St. Stephen’s work together building our strengths while addressing concerns and

needs within the church walls, in our community, in the Diocese and in the world.

Each year we enjoy an

opportunity for fellowship

with our ‘English Tea’. We

also work hard each year

on two Rummage Sales,

which provide an

abundance of clothes,

household items, books,

kitchen and other

miscellaneous items at low cost. The money the ECW makes goes to a variety of

organizations or groups chosen by the women. We have provided funds to our

church, to our Food Pantry and to organizations and groups outside of our church

walls from the Ferguson Caring League and the Episcopal City Mission, to giving

1200 cookies to the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center.

A sister organization of ECW is the ‘United Thank Offering’ (UTO). We have an

ingathering for UTO each year, as other Episcopal churches do. These ingatherings

allow the national Episcopal Church to give grants to churches throughout the

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world, including our own. We have received a grant for our “elevator” and our

commercial kitchen.

Men’s Club

The ‘Men’s Club’ is an informal group of men who volunteer for food events. Last

year they made pancakes for us and for our neighbors on Shrove Tuesday. They

also provide a Valentine’s Breakfast for the ladies each year. They honor us with

their delicious eggs and other culinary delights as well as balloons, flowers and a

new CD for each of us. This is truly a special event we look forward to annually.

Back to Church Sunday

Every year a group works together for a ‘Back to Church Sunday’ celebration. We

are encouraged to invite anyone we think might be interested in joining us. Time

is spent sprucing up outside and inside our building. A meal is planned for after

the service (sometimes a BBQ, sometimes a pot luck) and there is a lot of energy

we all feel as we enjoy this celebration. Some people who have joined us on Back

to Church Sunday visit us occasionally; others have come and stayed to be

members of Vestry and to be involved in other ways.

Invite Welcome Connect – a ministry of the Episcopal Church

In 2018, we had 8000 people come through our doors for activities other than a

church service. Wouldn’t it be amazing and wonderful if we could, in the spirit of

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hospitality, help them see we are more than just a safe space to come for

activities; we’re also a welcoming place where they can connect with others to

worship, study, serve and grow as instruments of God’s love in the world.

Creating invitations to join us for worship, welcoming all who come, and helping

people connect with us in living out our mission and faith tradition is what Invite

Welcome Connect is about.

A small group of us from St. Stephen’s attended a workshop on the Invite

Welcome Connect ministry. Inspired by the opportunities and possibilities, we

briefly presented the ministry to our congregation the next morning at church. In

the following weeks, we shared more about the program at meetings after

church. We went through the curriculum of inviting people to church, welcoming

them and helping them connect with us as followers of Jesus and with the many

opportunities of engagement with living the good news at St. Stephen’s.

We brainstormed possible ideas in

each area and later created teams for

each area of the ministry with a

volunteer team leader and team

members. The curriculum resources

were fun, engaging and full of

assessment tools, surveys, checklists

and ministry materials designed to be adapted to our use. This process allowed us

to come together in diverse ways and build stronger relationships as a

congregation. These meetings were well attended, showing us how much our

small congregation wanted to grow.

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Recognizing our commitment, we received a $10,000 grant from our diocese to

assist us in implementing Invite Welcome Connect. We chose from the

brainstorming lists ways to invite and ways to be ready and welcoming for those

who would come when we invited them. We began making our church welcoming

for those of a digital age.

We put our Sunday service online and saw that a number of people were joining

us for worship. We also started rebuilding our website and it will soon feature a

professionally produced video that we feel captures our collective personality and

gives a brief overview of our history and mission. Changes were also made to our

other social media pages.

All of this continues to be done with the intent of spreading the good news and

making viewers feel invited, welcomed and connected to us and the many

opportunities for engagement available with our community.

When the pandemic hit and we could no longer worship in our building, we

continued to stream our Sunday service online and now offer a new Wednesday

morning devotion. We also launched Living the Good News, our gospel and

sermon podcast and we continue to work on our social media presence – website,

Facebook and Twitter. We are excited to get back to in person worship and

explore more ways we can Invite, Welcome and Connect with people at St.

Stephen’s.

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Stewardship/Finance/Budget

Stewardship plays a most important role in our budget. Members of the Parish

have been very faithful in their stewardship. Pledges are often increased and

almost always fulfilled. However, a waning congregation population is resulting in

a reduced total of pledge contributions.

The 2020 Operating Budget anticipates a deficit of $38,275. We planned for such

a possibility by setting aside reserves. In 2019 we were able to operate with a

balanced budget due to the excellent return on our investments. A Finance

Committee meets at least annually to discuss our financial planning and

investments.

Our Parish Administrator, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer work together to

manage the finances of the parish. Their work is overseen by a CPA and audited

each year by the Treasurer of another parish. We also had a formal audit

conducted in 2019 by our CPA firm.

The Statement of Financial Position has been changed this year, on the

recommendation of our CPA. It now shows the value of Building, Land and

Equipment. The following figures represent a summary of our finances in 2019

and a summary of the budget approved by the Vestry for 2020.

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FINAL 2019 INCOME EXPENSE and 2020 BUDGET 2019 Actual 2019 Budget 2020 Budget

Ordinary Income/Expense

Operating Income 211,081 169,553 147,210

Restricted Income 276,761 159,241 44,400

Operating Expense 207,563 191,734 185,485

Restricted Expense 210,506 226,899 163,550

NET OPERATING INCOME 3,519 -22,180 -38,275

NET RESTRICTED INCOME 66,255 -67,658 -119,150

NET CONSOLIDATED INCOME 69,774 -89,838 -157,425

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION Jan. 1, 2019 Jan. 1, 2018

TOTAL ASSETS 1,177,467 1,081,722

TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY 1,177,467 1,081,722

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Outreach

Our longest operating outreach efforts started after WWII, grew from the sharing

of clothing and food among the members of St. Stephen’s in the early 1900s, and

today includes the ‘FOOD PANTRY’ and the ‘RUMMAGE SALES’.

‘FOOD PANTRY’

In 2019 our Food Pantry distributed

2004 bags of food. It took a lot of

people, coordination and collaboration

to accomplish this including volunteers

from our parish, North Hills Methodist,

several home school families and Girl

Scout Troop 2648.

Organized food donations come from Zion Lutheran, North Hills Methodist, the

Homeschool Cooperative, local school drives and the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts

with April Showers and Food Drives. April Showers allows us to have personal

hygiene items available.

We also have Birthday Bags that have special items to add to a family celebration

of a birthday.

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‘RUMMAGE SALES’

We have two Rummage Sales each year – one in the Spring and one in the Fall.

Donations are collected throughout the year. Contributions for our Rummage

Sales come from many people, including parishioners and the greater community.

We look forward to seeing everyone, as many shoppers return for both sales

every year. Our rummage sales are well

run and are a true collaborative effort

and an amazing fellowship opportunity.

The week before each sale, all available

helpers unpack bags of rummage and

organize the rummage for display.

Although some things are priced higher, the majority of clothing and other items

are $.10 - $1.00. Proceeds from the Rummage Sales are donated by the women of

the church to church or community groups that help others. Items not purchased,

are donated to another charitable organization.

‘THE VINE’

Conceived in 2006 ‘THE VINE’ grew from a vision to extend our mission of growing

a healing community and serving the world through Christ. It was described, at its

conception, as a great opportunity to promote community mindedness through

the practice of hospitality and the expression of stewardship and has been vital in

building relationships and partnerships with various community leaders, agencies,

businesses, residents and programs. The Vine began as an opportunity to engage

the people in the community through conversation to further strengthen the

community as it grows and changes. To provide the opportunity for conversation,

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The Vine sponsored what were called “Front Porch Conversations” and through

these conversations, we realized that St. Stephen’s had the ability to offer “space

and place” to the people of the community.

As we entered 2020, ‘THE VINE’ collaborations included:

‘Strings Attached’ The Strings Attached program finished its 10th year at

the end of 2019. It teaches approximately 70 youth per week with individual

music lessons in guitar, ukulele, mandolin, banjo and an additional 100 youth

through special groups and workshops. Over 80% of youth and families make use

of our loaner instrument program, which provides instruments at no charge. In

our yearly survey of families, over 90% responded they would not be able to

afford music lessons in conventional settings, such as music stores or private

instructors, where lesson costs average between $80 and $120 per month per

child.

Additionally, Strings Attached provided

30 ukuleles to the music teacher at

Walnut Grove Elementary School for

use by 2nd/3rd graders in class. It also

gave 12 guitars to the Ferguson Middle

School’s after school guitar club,

making it possible for students to have

instruments to practice with at home.

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‘Clay Café’ Originally named Peace Meal, the community meal began in

response to and as a way to bring a community together after the killing of a

Ferguson youth. For 5+ years the congregation and the local community have

come together to share an evening meal and conversation every third Sunday.

Clay Café, as it is now known, has

grown from one organization

preparing each monthly meal the

first year, to a true community

collaboration. The meals are now

hosted in collaboration with a

variety of community entities

(individuals, groups, organizations and businesses), including our Vestry and

congregation who sign up in advance for specific months to prepare our

community meal. Clay Café allows our faith community to extend hospitality and

the opportunity to organically connect with 50-70 of our neighbors around food,

art, entertainment (i.e., Circus Harmony) and community services (i.e., free flu

shots) and connection with a variety of community resources. Earlier in the year,

due to the pandemic, Clay Café was on a brief pause; however, it has recently

resumed as a Drive Thru pick-up option.

Three years ago, the director of The Vine received a grant to host a Senior meal at

lunch. Originally the lunch was offered on the third Friday afternoon; however, in

response to an opportunity to reach and serve more of our community neighbors,

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our Senior meal at lunch has evolved into a brunch that is open at the same time

as The Food Pantry. We now welcome, on average, 40 of our neighbors to Clay

Café brunch every third Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon. This opportunity has also

resumed as a Drive Thru pick-up option during this pandemic.

‘Youth Futures’ For the last 2 years, 4-H Youth Futures Ferguson, in

conjunction with the University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) had about 35 youth

who participated in the program in varying capacities. These teens were present

on a Sunday afternoon at club meetings; served the community through our

Annual Trunk-A-Treat and Clay Café events; attended a summer camp and the

Youth Futures Conference, which is held at the University of Missouri Columbia

every July; participated in our fall regional college tours and were some of 46

youth who attended our spring college tour to Atlanta, GA and Montgomery, AL.

In May 2018 we had a graduating class of 5 students. Three of these students

applied for admittance and were accepted into colleges we visited on our tour.

Two of the three have gone on to attend those colleges.

Another aspect of ‘THE VINE’ collaboration has brought the following groups that

are welcomed as they meet at St. Stephen’s on a weekly and/or monthly basis.

‘North County Homeschoolers Cooperative’ started meeting at St.

Stephen’s in 2012. The group currently consists of over 20 children ages 5-

18. This year at their weekly meetings they are studying financial literacy,

survival skills, writing, art and poetry. Families in the Co-op help out at St.

Stephen’s in the Food Pantry four days a month and do the shopping for it

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once a month. During the holiday parties they collect donations for the

Food Pantry as well as bringing donations throughout the year. The Co-op

families also provide a Clay Café meal of BBQ with all the fixings in

September.

‘Girl Scout Troop 2648’ is a multilevel troop serving 23 homeschooled girls

ages 7-18. They currently offer programming for Brownies through

Ambassador level Girl Scouts. The girls are active in giving service to St.

Stephen’s. Troop families volunteer once a month in the Food Pantry.

During April Showers they take the girls shopping and each has a budget

from their cookie profits to select personal care items to donate directly to

the Food Pantry. St. Stephen’s Food Pantry is also their selected charity for

the troop gift of caring during cookie sales.

‘Circus Harmony’ teaches the art of life through circus education. They

work to build character and expand community for youth of all ages,

cultures, abilities and backgrounds. Through the teaching and performing

of circus arts, they help people defy gravity, soar with confidence and leap

over social barriers, all at the same time. Circus Harmony is a non- profit

social organization that uses circus art to motivate social change. They

meet at St. Stephen’s once each week and perform for Clay Café once or

twice a year.

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‘Boy Scout Troop’ A newly created troop started meeting twice a month at

St. Stephen’s in 2019.

‘Tai Chi’ group meets weekly.

‘Ferguson ECO Team’ Their mission is to create a more environmentally

sustainable spiritually fulfilling, socially just human experience in the

Ferguson area and on planet earth. They have met monthly and have had

monthly environmental film nights during the winter months for the last 7

years at St. Stephen’s. Their call is to awaken the need to care for the earth,

engage people and organizations in caring for the earth and to experience

the presence of the divine in all of creation.

‘Community Bridge Club’ meets monthly.

‘ADK sorority’ meets monthly and provides support for our bi-annual

Rummage Sales.

‘Ferguson Farmers Market’ Our Parish Hall is home to the Market on the

3rd Saturday of each month from 9 am -12 pm during the six months in the

Fall and Winter. Warm up with some local coffee, mingle with neighbors,

visit local vendors, listen to live music and stock up on local products. All

are welcome.

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‘Local Chefs’ Our Commercial Kitchen has been used by several potential

entrepreneurs to create and grow their businesses. Thus far, we have

enjoyed welcoming a chocolatier, a maker of dog biscuits, a syrup maker

and a woman who cooks for Food Church – meals for people in need.

In 2019 St. Stephen’s and The Vine received an acknowledgement of our

continued commitment to our neighbors by being honored by Ferguson Human

Rights Commission of Ferguson City Council for our work in the community.

The Ferguson Human Rights Commission of Ferguson City Council plaque reads:

“in recognition and appreciation for a great job”

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Ferguson (Our Community)

Ferguson is a suburban city in North St. Louis County, located 13 miles north-west

of downtown St. Louis and just east of St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Ferguson was incorporated as a Fourth-Class City in 1894 as the railroad headed

north out of St. Louis. Initially, Ferguson was clustered within a one-mile radius

around the train depot which was used to commute to St Louis.

The post-World War II 1950s and 60s saw significant population growth and

expansion of our borders due to the growing aircraft and space industries.

Eventually, from a community of white families, a more diverse city began to

emerge.

Now covering 6.2 square miles, it is a diverse city of multiple races, ethnicities and

cultures. Demographics from the 2010 census indicate a city of 20,730 which is

67% Black, 30% White, with 3% Other (Asian, Native American, Hispanic).

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The Ferguson-Florissant School District is our primary public school system with

some of our students residing within the Hazelwood and Riverview Gardens

School Districts. The Ferguson-Florissant District is a large district encompassing

not only Ferguson, but also the City of Florissant as well as some smaller

surrounding communities. There are 5 elementary schools in Ferguson and two

High Schools: McCluer High School and the STEAM Academy, previously McCluer

South Berkeley. Lutheran North High School and the Christian High School also

serve the area. There are two Catholic elementary schools and one Christian

school. The award- winning Challenger Learning Center – St. Louis, part of a

worldwide network that engages people of all ages in space mission simulations,

is also located in Ferguson. The St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley is

located within the borders of Ferguson and the University of Missouri – St. Louis is

located South of Ferguson.

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The climate in Ferguson is consistent with the St. Louis area and Missouri/Illinois

in general. We are fortunate to be visited by four distinct seasons, each with its

own beauty. Summers are hot and muggy, while the winters are cold and windy.

Temperatures range from winter lows in the single digits to summer highs in the

90s or higher. Altitude is about 500 feet above sea level. Snow fall is usually less

than 20 inches and rain fall is around 38 inches spread throughout the year.

Winter doesn’t generally come until mid-November and usually ends by the

beginning of April. Spring and Fall bring mild temperatures suitable for a variety of

outdoor activities.

The Government of Ferguson is a council-manager form with a six-person City

Council (two from each ward) and an elected Mayor (a councilperson-at-large

position). A city manager is charged with the daily operation of the city. Ferguson

has its own police force (currently around 40 officers), fire department (two

firehouses) and library (a member of the wider St. Louis County Library system).

There are numerous neighborhood parks along with one main park, January-

Wabash Park, housing January Lake, a band shell, a full playground and the

municipal swimming pool. In addition, Ferguson has a large Rec Center with a gym

and meeting rooms along with a full kitchen to serve community needs.

Ferguson is primarily a residential city made up of smaller neighborhoods located

between South Florissant Road (our main roadway) in the Old Ferguson

neighborhood and West Florissant (including our Southeast neighborhood), with a

variety of small businesses, smaller commercial business complexes and a larger

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Walmart/Sams complex. Emerson Electric, a Fortune 500 Company, is

headquartered in Ferguson with manufacturing taking place elsewhere. Boeing

Aircraft, another major industry, and St. Louis International Airport are located

just west of Ferguson. Ferguson has bus and rapid transit (Metro) within and

close to the city. Surrounding Ferguson are three major interstates, I-70, I-270

and I-

170. Near these routes are a number of warehouses and larger business, including

the national pharmacy management company Express Scripts.

Although Ferguson is home to a number of historic century homes, most homes

and diverse living residences are affordable, and neighborhoods form nice

communities. Yes, Ferguson is also best known as the small suburban community

where Darren Wilson, a now former Ferguson police officer, shot and killed

Michael Brown, a young Black teenager on the afternoon of August 9, 2014. The

resulting protests and riots made

world-wide headlines. With local food

stores closed, St. Stephen’s responded

with thoughts of feeding those in need.

Our rector was interviewed by the

news media and shared our desire to

feed our neighbors. This resulted in a

flood of donations. Members of the parish and people from the neighborhood

came with donations and worked together to sort and distribute the food. People

came from all over the nation bringing food donations and support. They also

stayed to help. Our Parish Hall became a place of hospitality where people

gathered to work together to serve others.

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All were welcome. Ferguson became a prime example for needed municipal

reforms, based on practices of racial injustices and inequities, as determined by

the U.S. Department of justice. Currently the city and police department are

working collaboratively with the DOJ and making good progress meeting

guidelines for the Consent Decree. St. Stephen’s became an example of how

“Living the Good News” looks and feels. Both Ferguson and St. Stephen’s are in

continuing transition, learning, growing, evolving and changing. Through it all, St.

Stephen’s remains a good place for worship and service and Ferguson remains a

good place to live and to raise a family.