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St. Stephen’s offers many opportunities to grow spirituality. We offer a number of monthly workshops at the church that are designed to help adults find community with each other and grow closer to God. We have wonderful programs for children and youth. And we regularly join with other parishes and with our diocese to offer a wide variety of workshops and classes.
Workshops & Practice Groups
Centering Prayer
St.Stephen’s centering prayer group meets weekly on Wednesdays at 8:00 AM. Centering Prayer is a Christian approach to meditation where the individual sits in stillness to dwell with the Inner Divine for 20 minutes. Everyone is welcome and no previous experience is required! We will begin with some training on the practice and it is very easy to learn.
To join on Wednesdays at 8:00 AM, click here.
Jamie Massa, our leader, has been practicing centering prayer since the 1990’s. Jamie also offers specific workshops from time to time. Keep an eye on the blog to learn about them.
Journaling
Join Melissa Reed as she guides us through a beautiful Lectio Divina inspired creative journaling practice. Bring your journal, your favorite pens, old magazines, and any other crafting supplies you may like. We will spend time quietly journaling together followed by a time of (optional) sharing.
Journaling workshops take place in Hobson Hall on the fourth Saturday of every month.
Labyrinth Walks
A labyrinth isn’t a maze. It has a single circuitous path that leads into its center, and that then leads you back out into the world. Lauren Artress, author of Walking a Sacred Path, writes: “The labyrinth is a spiritual tool meant to awaken us to the deep rhythm that unites us to ourselves and to the Light that calls from within. In surrendering to the winding path, the soul finds healing and wholeness.” To walk the labyrinth is to journey to the center of existence. Not a solo journey, but one we walk with God.
St. Stephen’s labyrinth is a variation on the “classical labyrinth,” of the kind that could be found throughout the ancient world and dates back at least 3,500 years. The design of these labyrinths evolved out of the spiral unfolding of natural things – think fiddle heads on ferns or shoots unfurling from seeds. Our labyrinth is appropriate for our space, with its plants and windows that look out on the natural world.
Labyrinth walks take place in the sanctuary on the fourth Thursday of every month. Contact Rich Horton for more information.
Children & Youth
We welcome children and families to St. Stephen’s! Our children’s program is small but mighty, and we’ll learn your child’s name immediately. Below you’ll find information about our programs and links to recent posts. You can also find weekly information by joining our FlockNote group: https://ststephenscolumbus.flocknote.com/youth
Children’s Church
Children’s Church meets each Sunday during the 10:30 service with children returning to the service for Communion.
At the start of the 10:30 service, children and youth will process with the crucifer from the sanctuary to the upstairs Sunday school room for Children’s Church. Each week, children will take turns in the roles of crucifer, acolyte, lector, and intercessor as they hold their own Liturgy of the Word with readings, songs, and homilies that are appropriate to their age. They will return to the Sanctuary for the Liturgy of the Table (Communion).
Nursery
The Nursery is open from 10:15 AM through the end of the 10:30 service and is staffed by trained childcare professionals. Children 5 and under can play in this space while their parents attend worship. Children can join their parents for communion time or remain in the nursery.
Youth Group
We have a combined youth group (6th grade and up) with Saint John’s, Worthington. Our Youth Group meets every other Sunday at St. Stephen’s and then at St. John’s on the other Sundays in between. Youth Group includes time for everyone to share about their week, a lesson, and a game! If you have a teen interested in participating in Youth Group, please contact Nile Najmi.
Adult Formation Opportunities
We regularly join with other Episcopalians, both in the deanery and in the diocese, for adult formation activities. Click on the posts below to see past offerings, and watch the blog on our homepage for announcements of future classes
- The Mixture of the Multitude: Liberation Readings of Scripture
We gathered on Wednesday evenings throughout July and August, sitting around the ubiquitous plastic folding tables that are known to every church. Sunlight slanted in through the wall of glass windows, and the smells of the parish kitchen— old coffee, musty sponges, cleaning product— filled the room. We were there to study Queer Theology, a… Read more: The Mixture of the Multitude: Liberation Readings of Scripture - Take the Adult Formation Survey
Our new Adult Formation Working Group has created a survey so that you can help guide their planning. Please fill out here, or fill out a paper copy in church on Sunday. - Spiritual Journaling Workshop
Saturday, August 22nd 10:00am – 11:30amHobson Hall Join Melissa Reed as she guides us through a beautiful Lectio Divina inspired creative journaling practice. Bring your journal, your favorite pens, old magazines, and any other crafting supplies you may like. We will spend time quietly journaling together followed by a time of (optional) sharing. - All Living Flesh: Experiencing God in the Natural World
Join us every Sunday in September after the 10:30 AM service for a time of formation and learning centered around the Season of Creation. For approximately one hour, we will engage with the ongoing work being done to plant a native pollinator garden at St. Stephen’s and reflect on the project’s significance on ecological, communal,… Read more: All Living Flesh: Experiencing God in the Natural World - Neglected Scriptures: The Song of Songs
Periodically throughout this year, we will spend time during the Sunday Adult Formation hour reading and learning about some of the scriptures that we rarely hear on Sunday mornings, as they are mostly left out of the Revised Common Lectionary. We will start with the Song of Songs. We will begin our study of this… Read more: Neglected Scriptures: The Song of Songs - Book Study: Queer Theology
Join us for a book study on queer theology this July and August at St. Stephen’s, led by Judith Grant. In this series, we will explore the origins and meanings of the term queer and examine its relevance for theology and religious life. Our readings will include: We will meet at 6:30 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: Use this link… Read more: Book Study: Queer Theology