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Creation Care/Green Day is April 28

Our responsibilities as followers of Christ to be good stewards of God’s creation and the abundant blessings we have in the natural world are addressed in The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. The Green Day event on April 28 at St. Stephen’s is designed to raise awareness, educate, and inform about issues of Creation Care and environmental awareness. St. Stephen’s volunteers will be joined by several outside organizations to present information, demonstrations, and children’s activities to make us all more aware of our responsibilities and opportunities to fulfill them. We can all make changes, small and large, that will have a positive effect on our environment and improve conditions for future generations. St. Stephen’s is becoming more responsible in how we use resources in our facility management and our programming. Let us all work together to prioritize needed economic, political, social, and technological changes to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world and a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation.

Please plan to attend the Third Annual Green Day event on Sunday, April 28 immediately after the 11:00 worship service. Please note that parking will be restricted in the back parking lot where the event will occur if it is not raining. Additional parking is available along the entrance driveway. It could be a great day to walk, bike, or carpool to church for some of us. Lawn chairs and/or picnic blankets are encouraged if we can be outside. Chairs and tables will also be available. If it rains, we will be in the Fellowship Hall. 

If you would like to personally contribute to the success of the event, please visit the SignUpGenius at this link:   https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AA9AE29A4FACE9-49109615-green. 

Holy Week at St. Stephen’s

We invite you to join us for our Holy Week activities:

Palm Sunday Worship, March 24, 9:00AM & 11:00AM with special music

Maundy Thursday Worship, March 28, 7:30PM

Good Friday Worship, March 29, 7:30PM

Easter Eggstravaganza, March 30, 2 :00-4:00PM, bring your Easter basket!

• We are accepting donations of plastic eggs filled with individually wrapped, nut-free candy between February 25 & March 24.

Easter Sunrise Worship, March 31, 6:30AM

• Breakfast will be provided after Sunrise Service in our Welcome Center

Easter Sunday Worship: March 31, 9:00AM & 11:00AM

• This year, St. Stephen’s will dedicate its Easter offering for the Lamb Center, a faith-based, daytime drop-in center in Fairfax City serving individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Bring live flowers to worship for our Easter flower cross

Photo Gallery: 60th Anniversary Weekend

Celebrate St. Stephen’s 60th Anniversary and its Future!

Don’t miss this “all-hands-on-deck” event, where we hope to see new and old friends and past pastors and associates come back and visit. Here are the details:

February 10 – Saturday

• 5:00 p.m. REUNION time in quieter settings with snacks and memorabilia- open all evening
• 6:30-7:30 p.m. Sit down DINNER — WITH TICKET ($15 or donation, ticket sales on Sundays or by email to church.)
• 7:30 p.m. 60’s DANCE with “memory lane” music, dancing, contests and games, and special treats.

February 11 – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. (one service)

• Join us for a combined worship service followed by a Special Reception. Pastor Jeff Mickle, who served SSUMC from 2007 – 2014, will be preaching.

Contact all the friends and alumni you’d like to see. For questions:​office@ststephensfairfax.org​.

Download the flyer and spread the word!

Justice January

The Church and Society Committee of St. Stephen’s UMC welcomes you to a month of events examining maternal health and our church’s response.

• Friday, January 12, at 6:00 p.m.: MPK kids will create no-sew blankets to add to the layette kits we will be assembling on January 14.
• Sunday, January 14, at 4:30 p.m.: Our annual Dr. MLK, Jr worship service with guest speaker Rev. Camille Henderson-Edwards, director for Economic, Health, and Gender Justice at the General Board of Church and Society, followed by a service project assembling layette kits and a dinner.
• Thursdays, January 18 and 25 at 7:00 p.m. online: Letters to my Daughters: We will gather online to watch video presentations using materials created by Rev. Camille Henderson-Edwards and discuss the maternal mortality crisis and ways that the faith community can respond.
• Thursday, February 1: United Methodist Day at the General Assembly.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance January 14 at 4:30 pm

St. Stephen’s UMC will host their annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. service on January 14, 2024 at 4:30 pm.  Our guest speaker will be Rev. Camille Henderson-Edwards, director for Economic, Health and Gender Justice at the General Board of Church and Society. She is responsible for legislative and policy advocacy in support of economic, health and gender justice. Most recently she has been leading a monthly online seminar entitled Letters to my Daughters which, among other topics, examines the current maternal mortality crisis in this country.

Please join us for the worship service and then a service project when we assemble layette kits for mothers and their new babies which will be donated to the Northern Virginia Assistance League. This will be followed by a time of fellowship with dinner.  Please make plans to join us on January 14 for this very special event.

United Methodist Day at the General Assembly February 1, 2023

United Methodist day at the General Assembly has long been supported by United Women of Faith and the Church and Society Committee here at St. Stephen’s UMC.  What is UM day?  It is a day when we join together with Methodists from all over Virginia. We advocate for our neighbors by meeting with our representatives! We learn about issues that are facing people all across the commonwealth. We connect with each other, meeting friends old and new! We celebrate our United Methodist faith that values justice, advocacy, and compassion.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about what happens at United Methodist Day at the General Assembly you should sign up for our preview this November 30 at 7:00 pm. You can learn about the event before taking the plunge to join us on February 1. Already know you want to join us in Richmond? Register for UM Day here.

Interested?  Please see Max Brewer or Victoria Bryant Bateman for details and to sign up for a carpool.

December 24 Services

10:00 am: Fourth Sunday of Advent Service (combined)
– note the time change for one single service on Sunday morning –

5:00 pm Christmas Eve Service

7:00 pm Christmas Eve Service

We invite you to join us for a special, blessed Sunday. 

Christmas at Grace Ministries

Thanks to the “extravagant generosity” (one of St. Stephen’s guiding principles) of the St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church community and friends, in 2022 we provided over 600 children from 215 families with wrapped, age-appropriate Christmas gifts. Their families also received shelf-stable groceries, produce, bread, and diapers. Additionally, we gifted Browne Education Campus in Washington, DC, with 35 family activity gifts for their preschool to eighth-grade students.

With your help, we hope to share even more this year. The number and size of guest families participating in Grace Ministries and First Fridays/Green Groceries has steadily increased throughout 2023.

Detailed gift suggestions for infants to 17-year-olds can be found below. There will also be a Giving Tree in the Gathering Space, with tags grouped by specific age ranges. We kindly ask that you wrap the gifts (although we are happy to assist if needed) and label them by age and gender, if applicable. Please remember to include batteries if required. We also appreciate donations of wrapping paper, tape, and Christmas labels.

You may drop off packages at the church during regular office hours or when attending services or meetings. The deadline for drop-off is Thursday, December 14, and distribution will take place on the 16th.

Thank you so much for your support. Grace Ministries and our families truly appreciate it.

• Suggested Gifts for Most Age Groups: Books, sports balls, puzzles, art supplies, science, building and craft kits, board and card games.
• Infant to 3: Attachable mobiles, plush animals and dolls, pull toys, bath toys, picture books.
• 3 to 5: Musical toys, play sets (farm, first responders, garage, medical, cooking, dinosaurs, jungle), coloring books, crayons, markers, stickers, play vehicles.
• 5 to 7: Action figures and dolls, costume headgear (firefighter, construction, jungle animal, decorated hairbands, superhero), Etch A Sketch, chalkboard and chalk, musical toys, puppets, bean bag sets.
• 7 to 9: Motorized land, air, and sea craft, plant grow kits, building sets, science, craft, and baking kits.
• 9 to 11: Science, model-building, craft kits, personal journals, pens, art supplies, LED gloves, scrapbooks.
• 12 to 14: Advanced science and craft kits, nail care kits, bracelets, sports gloves, frisbees, decorative items.
• 15 to 17: Personal journals, dart boards, men’s travel and shave kits, makeup sets, wallets, purses, entertainment gift certificates, decorative boxes.