Mission
Serving our local, national and world community
ROOM IN THE INN is a proven, simple model ministry that provides such shelter. Begun in 1985 in Nashville, Tennessee, by Fr. Charles F. Strobel in his local parish church, there are now more than 150 interfaith congregations participating in ROOM IN THE INN in Nashville, and hundreds more in other cities, including St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Ft. Worth.
ROOM IN THE INN is:
- A small independent haven for 10-15 people one night per week during the coldest and hottest months of the year (December to February & July to August).
- A safe, clean place to sleep, with a real pillow, rather than shoes under guests’ heads
- An interfaith effort
- A supervised, controlled environment with established boundaries
- A flexible commitment
- A place of hospitality when church facilities are not being used
- A way for more people to become directly involved with men, women and children who are homeless
- A way to serve and put faith into practice
- A way to answer God’s call
Want to help? Contact Wendy Larmour / 817-368-6503
Read Dr. Ritsch’s article about homelessness in Ft. Worth and St. Stephen’s participation in “Room in the Inn” by clicking here.
As a service and an outreach, St. Stephen houses within our facility the Fort Worth branch of the Child and Family Program (under Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services). The Child and Family Program in Fort Worth provides nearly 200 children and adults each month with basic assistance for food and clothing, counseling, and evaluation and referral to appropriate service agencies. Our own emergency relief pantry provides food, clothing and basic household items for 4-5 families a week, and church members volunteer time to help with other efforts of the organization.
Contact Becky Evans, Child & Family Specialist. 817-926-4673 / 800-888-1904 / Fax 817-926-1155.
Once a month, members of St. Stephen participate in the Samaritan House Supper Club. We prepare and serve a hot, sit-down dinner for residents of Samaritan House, a local residential facility for individuals living with AIDS. Volunteers are needed both to cook and serve. We provide the meal on the 3rd Friday of each month.
Contact the church office to help out.
Presbyterian Night Shelter
St. Stephen is a long-time supporter of Fort Worth’s Presbyterian Night Shelter, one of the region’s largest facilities for providing food, shelter, and basic medical services for needy individuals and families. In addition to financial support, the Sandwich Guild of the Presbyterian Women provides hundreds of sandwiches each week and collects other supplies needed by the facility.
The youth of St. Stephen coordinate our congregation’s participation in the annual Souper Bowl Sunday – a nationwide effort to help feed the hungry. Each February, on Super Bowl Sunday, you can help our youth succeed in providing funds for our local Tarrant County Food Bank. Help our youth succeed in mission.
Giving Tree
Every year, the congregation of St. Stephen sponsors Christmas Angels, individuals in financial need of Christmas presents as clothing, toys, or bicycles. We serve both South Central Alliance of Churches clients and Presbyterian Children’s Home recipients.
We also provide Easter Baskets filled with bunnies, goodies, and gift cards to various children in need via the Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services network.
And at Thanksgiving, we donate decorated bags of food for recipients of South Central Alliance of Churches, feeding our neighbors in friends in our zip code and surrounding zip codes. Currently, the Stepping Stones Children’s Fellowship group sponsors this event.
For more information on any of these programs contact Becky Evans with Presbyterian Children’s Homes, 817-926-4673, or Beth Fultz, director of Christian Education, 817-927-8411.
Annual Youth Mission Trip
Every year the youth of St. Stephen throw a dart in the USA map and solicite mission sites within a day to a day and 1/2 drive away from Fort Worth. Most recently, we went to Living Hope Church, Chicago, Illinois, July 16-24, 2011, to help at the beginning of the restoration of a former Pool Hall, circa 1920, into fabulous worship space. We also conducted a recreational and religious camp for African American and various residents in Southside Chicago. We look forward to where God leads us in 2012. See youth ministries for related articles.
Contact Beth Fultz for more information.
SERRV is a nonprofit alternative trade organization that promotes social and economic justice for people in developing regions of the world by marketing their handcrafts and food products in a just and direct manner. St. Stephen hosts an annual, international market at the church during the Christmas season that returns the profits from the sale of art and handcrafts back to the artist and village.
Partnership with the Church of South India
Through participation in the Presbyterian Church’s Partnership with the Church of South India, St. Stephen occasionally hosts a delegation from the Kerala district of India to visit Presbyterian churches in Fort Worth. Members of our church have also been selected as delegates to travel to India to visit churches and participate in other exchange programs. We are also helping to support a pastor from the Church of South India and his family while he pursues an advanced degree in Biblical Studies from Brite Divinity School.
Denominational Mission Support
St. Stephen is also active in various denominational mission opportunities and makes regular financial contributions to Presbyterian Church (USA) Mission Causes; Grace Presbytery Mission Support; Synod of the Sun educational and leadership mission; the Christmas Joy Offering; One Great Hour of Sharing; and the Theological Education Fund. We also regularly announce ways to participate in Presbyterian Disaster Relief funding for regions of the world in critical need of funding.
Sponsored by Church World Service, the CROP Walk is an annual, community-based effort to raise money and awareness of hunger. Each year, members of St. Stephen participate by walking, sponsoring a walker, or both.