Community Outreach
Serving our local community
 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.
Emergency Relief Ministry
Provide food, clothing, and assistance with rent, utilities
or transportation for individuals or families in need.
 Habitat
for Humanity is a
program providing low-cost permanent housing to families
that could not otherwise qualify to own their own home.
Members of St. Stephen volunteer to serve on construction
crews several times a year, working alongside other
volunteers in the community as well as the future owners of
the home. No special skills or equipment are needed to
participate. St. Stephen also offers financial support to
the local branch of Habitat for Humanity.
 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.
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.
 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
- 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
Read Dr. Ritsch's article about homelessness
in Ft. Worth and St. Stephen's participation in "Room in the
Inn" by clicking
here.
 Carter
Bloodcare is invited to set up shop in the Parish Hall
several times a year to make donating blood easy and
convenient for church members.
 Each
month, the Presbyterian Youth Connection performs a
mission-related service. Past activities have included
making sandwiches or collecting toiletries for the
Presbyterian Night Shelter, raking leaves for church members
who are elderly or incapacitated, and working at the food
pantry. In addition, youth who wish to be engaged in a
specific Christian service project during the school break
are invited to travel with our PYC (Presbyterian Youth
Connection) to Mo-Ranch each year.
 The
Presbyterian Women Sewing Guild of St. Stephen provides
school clothes, infant receiving blankets, and supplies for
hospitals and other charities.
Giving Tree
An annual, Advent program that provides Christmas gifts for
children referred by various service agencies. |
