Welcome to Saint Stephen's
Welcome! We are an exciting and vibrant congregation committed to doing God's work.
The mission of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. St. Stephen's pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel and promotes justice, peace and love. St. Stephen's carries out this mission through the ministry of all its members. There are many parish ministries that are looking for a few more hands to make us even better, As you explore our web site, please email us with any questions you may have. It is our sincere hope that you will join us for worship and fellowship right after the service. 
Come Worship With Us
The Holy Eucharist is celebrated at two services, with music and nursery care at the latter. Any baptized Christian is welcome to receive Communion.
Welcome Visitors!
Check out our Welcome Visitors! page for answers to your Frequently Asked Questions.
Contact Us
3 John Street
Westborough,
MA 01581
Phone: (508) 366-4134
Fax: (508) 616-0820
E-mail: St. Stephen's Church
What's Happening...
Click here for the Parish Calendar
Bob Williams Priested
On Saturday, January 21, the Rt. Rev. Gordon Scruton, Bishop of Western Massachusetts, ordained Robert Roy Williams to the sacred priesthood at St. John’s Church in Millville.
Bob and his wife Sharon were members of St. Stephen’s parish for over 15 years, and Bob was sponsored for ordination by St. Stephen’s. Bob has been serving the parish of St. John’s for the past five years, first as lay vicar and then as deacon.
The ordination liturgy involved a mixture of participants from both St. Stephen’s and St. John’s, as well as visitors from around the Diocese. Though the morning was snow-filled and chilly, over 110 people gathered to join in the joyous celebration.
Bishop Scruton presided at the liturgy, with our rector, the Rev. Jesse Abell, serving as Master of Ceremonies. The Rev. Dr. Will Bergmann, dean of East and South Worcester Deanery (of which Millville and Westborough are a part) and rector of Good Shepherd, Clinton, preached the ordination sermon. Music was provided by the Choir of St. Stephen’s with our own Marla Farrow providing the organ accompaniment.
As part of the ordination ceremony, the newly ordained Fr. Bob was vested in a chasuble and stole provided by St. Stephen’s as an ordination gift. He was also presented with a new communion set (chalice, paten, and ciborium) purchased by his family as an ordination gift. A reception followed immediately in the parish hall, with a second reception held that evening at St. Stephen’s.
St. Stephen's Hosts Free Concert for Children
On Tuesday, December 27, St. Stephen's hosted award winning children's musician Nick Deysher and his equally talented wife Tracey Freitag (both Westborough natives), treating young children and their parents/grandparents to an engaging performance of Nick's unique style of kids' music.
"By combining various styles of popular music with themes and concepts from his preschool and elementary curriculum[s], Nick has discovered the magic formula that gets everyone big and small up and dancing."
Nick performed to great acclaim at Tatnuck this summer and is delighted to give yet another musical gift to Westborough area families.
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church’s Advent Activities
The photo shows that Advent activities are in full swing at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Gretchen Pruden on the right, a parishioner of St. Stephen’s, presents a table of Christmas greens for parishioners to help themselves in making Christmas decorations. Father Jesse Abell stands by Gretchen.
Behind them is St. Stephen’s annual Christmas Giving Tree. In the Giving Tree program, done by churches in Westborough including St. Stephen’s, parishioners provide Christmas presents to youngsters in town who would otherwise go without.
Installation of St Stephen’s New Priest, Reverend Jesse Abell
On Sunday, November 6th, 2011, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church installed their new priest, The Reverend Jesse Abell in a special service entitled “The Renewal of Ministry with the Welcoming of a New Rector”.
As part of this special service a Letter of Institution from the Bishop was read affirming the Bishop’s approval of the installation. Various members of the congregation presented Fr. Jesse with the Symbols of Ministry - a bible, a prayer book, a stole, anointing oil for healing, and the bread and wine. The baptismal vows of all the participants of the service were renewed as part of the service.
The Celebrant of the service was Archdeacon William Coyne, representing Bishop Scruton who was unable to attend due to a death in his family. The sermon was given by The Reverend Steven Giovangelo, a mentor and close friend of Fr. Jesse from the Diocese of Indianapolis, where Fr. Jesse previously served. The Reverend Dr. W. Bergmann of Good Shepherd, Clinton, was the Master of Ceremonies. The Reverend Deacon Robert Williams, Vicar of St. John’s, Millville, a former parishioner and currently sponsored by St. Stephen’s, helped in the service.
Father Jesse was chosen by St. Stephen’s to be their permanent priest following a year long search after their previous priest, The Reverend Bill Martin, retired.St. Stephen's Welcomes Fr. Jesse Abell
Fr. Jesse Abell comes to us from the Diocese of Indianapolis by way of Omaha, Nebraska.
Fr. Jesse is a native of Indiana and grew up in the small town of Greensburg. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Indiana Wesleyan University and his master’s degree in Psychology and Religion at the University of Cambridge in England. He subsequently attended seminary at Sewanee and was ordained in the Diocese of Northern Indiana. Read more...
On November 6, 2011 Bishop Scruton will officially install Fr. Jesse as our new rector at 3:30 PM. Please note: The only Sunday morning service that morning will be at 9:00 AM and will be without music. The installation will be our primary service that day.
Blessing of the Pets
On Sunday, October 9, 2011, St. Stephen’s parishioners and members of the community brought their pets, reminders of deceased pets, and stuffed animals to be blessed at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
This year, the annual event was held on the Sunday following the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, a Saint known for his love of animals.
Dinner Theater at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
On Saturday, September 24th, the parishioners of St. Stephen's enjoyed a pot luck dinner followed by a play produced by the St. Stephen's Players. Actors shown in the photo from right to left are Robert Deysher, Basil Brigandi, Michelle Goodwin, Anne Deysher, Chris Scheffel, Michele Mongeon, Dianne Barrette and Gretchen Pruden in a presentation of "The Women of the Church", an original comedy that had the audience laughing.
Check out the Videos from YouTube:
The Reverend George Warren’s Farewell Reception
On Sunday, August 21st, 2011, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church bid farewell in a bittersweet celebration to the Rev. George Warren. St. Stephen's has been in transition since the parish priest (the Rev. William Martin) retired a year ago. The church has been very lucky to have had a wonderful and beloved Interim Rector, Father George Warren, for this past year. A permanent priest has now been chosen and will be starting on September 1st. St Stephen’s held a farewell reception for the Rev. George on Sunday after the 9 am service. St. Stephen’s wishes him the best of luck and will deeply miss him.
Photo: St. Stephen’s parishioners join in to say goodbye to Father George and his family.
St. Stephen’s Youth’s Mission Trip to Portland, Maine
From Sunday, July 17th until Saturday, July 23rd, 2011, nine youth and two adult leaders from St. Stephen’s were on a mission trip to Portland, Maine where they worked with a non-profit organization called The Root Cellar to help inner-city youth and their families. Started in 1984, The Root Cellar serves the poverty stricken East side of Portland, where many refugees have settled over the past 20 years.
Prior to the trip the Youth spent the year raising funds to pay the expenses of the trip. Once they reached Portland, under the guidance of a ministry coordinator, the group spent time with the children, playing games with them, putting on a child’s tea and fashion show as part of a clothing distribution for women and girls and running a children’s program called the Kid’s Club that taught about gardening and helping the earth. In addition to working with the children, the Youth Group was assigned a project of cleaning up a minipark area. They turned it into a kid friendly park complete with flowers which resulted in many people of the community expressing their gratitude to the St. Stephen’s Youth. The members of the Youth Group felt it was a very successful trip and, if possible, they hope to return next year.
(Webmaster note: Thank you, Jennifer Reilly, for the wonderful pictures!)
Rectory Open House
On Sunday, July 31, St. Stephen's held an open house for its parishioners to view the work done on the Rectory in preparation for Fr. Jesse's arrival. Everyone was delighted to see the rectory looking so fresh and welcoming.
Robert Williams Ordination
Robert Williams (left) is presented with his ordination stole by Don Shapleigh, Senior Warden of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The presentation followed the ordination of Bob Williams as Deacon on Saturday, June 11th, 2011 in the Episcopal Cathedral in Springfield. Bob Williams is a former parishioner of St. Stephen’s and left to become the vicar of St. John’s in Millville, MA. St. Stephen’s sponsored Bob through his training to become a Deacon and hosted a reception for Bob following his ordination.
St. Stephen’s Supports Our Troops and Asks for Your Help
Saint Stephen’s continues to support our troops through the actions of an adopted soldier named Courtney, who is an Army Chaplain in a combat team in Afghanistan. He travels from base to base, distributing the care packages that St. Stephen’s has sent him to troops stationed in areas that have little accommodations, boosting morale.
Courtney has several requests. First, he asks us to remember the soldiers in our prayers. Second, he asks for food supplies that he can hand out to troops who have no access to cooking facilities. These include such snacks as power bars, chips, licorice, candy, chocolate, gummy candies, peanut butter crackers, and beef jerky. All items must be in original bags and boxes. His third request is for items that might bring the comforts that we take for granted. He is working predominately with men, and requests men's personal hygiene products (no aerosols), batteries, paperback books and magazines that would appeal to people in their 20’s, such as car magazines, National Geographic, People and Time/Newsweek.
The soldiers would love to hear from people in America to know they are not forgotten. If you would like to reach out to our troops, a letter can be placed in the care packages addressed to “Any Male” or “Any Female”. This may result in a pen pal.
Please help St. Stephen’s in supporting our troops. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped off at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 3 John St., Westborough, 9 AM until 1 PM, Monday through Friday. For additional information please call the church office at 508-366-4134.
Thank you.
Time and Talent Opportunities
Recognizing that stewardship entails more than matters of finance, the Stewardship Committee has spent time during its monthly meetings this year reviewing these and has recast them as opportunities for parishioners to share their time and talents with the St. Stephen’s family. Read more on the Activities page.