Outreach Ministries You Support through St. Stephen’s

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St. Stephen’s has always had outreach to those in need as part of its DNA. We serve others through general giving, special offerings, gifts of food and clothing, walking, packing backpacks, and helping arrange rides for medical appointments. The ministries we are supporting in these varied ways during 2025 are:

Please contact the church office if you have an interest in participating in one or more of these ministries.

Burke/Fairfax CROP Hunger Walk

Each year for the past 20 years, St. Stephen’s congregation members walk in the Burke/Fairfax CROP Hunger Walk to raise funds and awareness about food insecurity and hunger in our community and across our nation and globe. The 3.5-mile walk is a joint effort of over 20 faith communities and community groups that have raised over $600,000 in the past 32 years of this local walk. Our walk is part of walks across the nation. Hope you can join in the walk in November! Look for more information closer to walk time.

Children’s Outreach Activities

Mission Possible Kids (MPK) is for children 3rd-6th grade. They meet monthly and do a variety of outreach activities. One special ministry is Food for Thought.

SHINE is also a children’s outreach program that meets once a month for 1st-2nd graders. They also do a variety of age-appropriate service projects. 

Come join the fun!

FACETS

FACETS (a Fairfax nonprofit) meets the emergency shelter, food, and medical needs of neighbors; helps them gain safe, sustainable and permanent housing; and works with them to end the cycle of poverty through educational, life skills and career counseling programs.  Since St. Stephen’s became a founding host congregation of the county’s hypothermia sheltering program about 2005, FACETS has provided the professional staff & transportation vehicles whenever SSUMC hosts as hypothermia shelter. We have provided general financial support for over thirty years.

First Fridays/Green Groceries

First Fridays/Green Groceries provides free, fresh produce from the Capital Area Food Bank to our neighbors in need. It is held on the first Friday of each month as a drive-thru event in our parking lot. We provide fresh food to hundreds of people who are food insecure each month. Look for the volunteer sign-up in the weekly email or contact the church office.

FISH

Fairfax FISH (For Immediate Sympathetic Help), works in conjunction with the Fairfax County Department of Human Services to respond to requests from residents in the greater Fairfax City area who are temporarily experiencing financial difficulties. Financial assistance is provided for items such as food, rent, utilities and prescriptions. St. Stephen’s participates with FISH and our volunteers receive calls to process requests on designated days of the month. Volunteers process check requests and contact volunteer drivers for food deliveries. The drivers pick up groceries and deliver them to the residents in need. Please consider volunteering to take phone calls or deliver groceries!

Food for Thought

Food for Thought is a children’s outreach ministry that takes place during St. Stephen’s monthly Mission Possible Kids (MPK) event. Whoever comes to MPK packs “food for thought” bags. These bags go to elementary school children whose families are food insecure. Please join us at MPK!

Food Pantry

The St. Stephens Food Pantry provides groceries to needy walk-in clients and those referred from the For Immediate Sympathetic Help (FISH) program. Food donations for the Pantry may be dropped off in the coat closet near the Gathering Place and should be restricted to the following: currently dated peanut butter, jelly, canned meat, green beans, corn, and fruit, rice, cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, ravioli, tuna, and mac and cheese.

Grace Ministries

For over 15 years, St. Stephen’s has offered Grace Ministries to the community.  On the fourth Saturday of each month, the church prepares food, diapers/wipes, feminine products and clothing to give to our neighbors in need.  Volunteers gather on Thursday and Friday afternoon prior to the distribution to sort clothing and household goods and prepare food and bread offerings.  Grace Ministries is a Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) partner site where most of the food is sourced.  The ministry also participates in Panera’s DoughNation program receiving excess bread and baked goods to include in the monthly food offering.  Grace Ministries also participates in the Fairfax County Food Access Program (FAP) and received a grant from Wegmans that has helped supplement the generosity of the church. Donations of good quality clothing and household goods are welcome and are made available to our guests in a market set up in the Fellowship Hall.   

Grace Ministries is an ideal ministry for adult and student volunteers to meet new people, be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need in the community.   A sign up genius is used to organize volunteers each month and the link can be found here.

Hypothermia Prevention Sheltering

Each year for the past 21 years, St. Stephen’s has served for a week (or two) as a shelter for our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. We are part of a much larger county-supported effort that involves our nonprofit partner, FACETS, and over 30 faith communities who serve as shelters from Thanksgiving through the end of March. Our guests are at our church every day from 5 pm to 7 am the next morning, and they are so appreciative of the delicious dinners and breakfasts and snacks, the fun fellowship, and the warm place to stay. We partner with 3 other churches – Parkwood Baptist Church, Centreville United Methodist, and St. Mary’s parish – who also bring food and volunteers during the week. Our week is usually in February or March. Look for more information when winter arrives!

Lamb Center

The Lamb Center, a Christian ecumenical community of faith, is a daytime drop-in shelter for individuals who are experiencing homelessness in our area. The Lamb Center provides breakfast, lunch, showers, laundry service, Bible studies, case management, employment opportunities, housing and job counseling, AA meetings, small group opportunities, nurse practitioner services, a dental clinic, and much more. The Lamb Center is currently partnering with Wesley Housing to build 54 units of permanent supportive housing, Beacon Landing. There are many opportunities to volunteer and donate to the Lamb Center – volunteers are needed to help serve breakfast and lunch, to help in the clothing closet, and to help in the laundry. Donations of foods, laundry supplies, paper goods, and breakfast or lunch casseroles or desserts are always welcome. Please join other St. Stephen’s members as we volunteer and financially support the Lamb Center.

Love is All You Need

Love is All You Need is a ministry for adults with disabilities since 2016.  This ministry meets with friends and church members every other Thursday in the Fireside Room or Welcome Center.  Activities are focused on adult faith development, developing meaningful relationships, and having some fun together. The ministry has also offered Summer “Fun Days”, Kayaking events at Fountainhead Regional Park, and Zumba. Church volunteers and friends familiar or interested in working with adults with disabilities are encouraged to contact the church.

Manger Ministry

For more than ten years, St, Stephens UMC has dedicated its Christmas Eve offering to provide families in our community with a safe and stable home. We call this our Manger Ministry, celebrating the birth of Jesus in a manger, the only place available to his family on the night of his birth.

For most of those years, St. Stephens has partnered with a local non-profit organization, Homestretch, to cover the yearly costs of providing a home for families as they go through a highly effective two-year program. The program empowers families to move from crisis to long-term stability and financial independence. During their time with Homestretch, parents work at a job, pay a portion of their living expenses, and are required to improve career, parenting, education, and financial skills. St. Stephen’s volunteers provide special support such as household items and holiday meals to the sponsored families.

The committee that coordinates this ministry would love to have you join!

Preschool Scholarships

The St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church Preschool, an integral part of the ministry of the church, serves the church and local community by providing a wonderfully enriching, engaging, and well-rounded preschool experience. There are 2-, 3-, and 5-day sessions of preschool. An Extended Day Program with various enrichment activities is offered to children 3 years old and up. Spanish, Music and Movement, and nature are incorporated into the daily program as are the Social Skills and STEM. ASL is included in all phases of the program.

The Preschool has an enrollment of over 100 children, with students ranging in age from 1 1/2 to 5 years old. Full or partial scholarships are offered to families of Preschool children with monies made available from Preschool Funds and church Outreach offerings.

Service for Others

Service for Others was started in 2010 by Kathy Hennemuth and Cindy Sbrocco to do outreach to our church members as well as our surrounding community. Since then, the Service for Other members have done a monthly service project, benefitting a variety of groups.  Some examples of their projects include: 

  • providing the St Stephens Homestretch families with summer and fall clothing; filled backpacks, monthly grocery gift cards and Christmas presents for the entire family. 
  • providing Grace Ministries w/ diapers, wipes and feminine products
  • providing the Lamb Center w/ needed supplies and trail mix bags
  • making and delivering soup and other goodies for some of our St Stephens members to brighten their day
  • providing supplies for underprivileged young mothers and Bethany House
  • celebrating our Preschool staff and Lake Braddock teachers w/ homemade treats.

Unaccompanied Youth Scholarships

Many years ago, a program to offer college scholarships to Fairfax County’s unaccompanied youth, those living with a caregiver who is not a parent or guardian or those living without the care of an adult, was developed by Kent Eshelman and others. The applicants submit an essay, transcript and supporting letters of reference to the committee for review. Money for the scholarships comes from the outreach budget and other donations. Through the years we have seen many students go on to graduate from college and become successful citizens despite their difficult backgrounds. Many have kept in touch with committee members.

Reading the essays from these amazing students is humbling and rewarding to know we can help them succeed. Scholarships are paid directly to the admitting institution. Additional help for college life necessities have also been provided at times. The committee can always use additional members to read applications in the springtime.