Saint Stephen's Church in Providence
Who We Are
An Anglo-Catholic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
S. Stephen's has been around since 1839 (and on George Street since 1862), bearing witness to the Catholic Faith in the Episcopal Church. We are one of the few Episcopal parishes in the area open daily for worship.
Our Services
Service Times
Sunday
- 08:00am - Low Mass - a spoken Eucharist without music, but with a sermon. Preceded by Morning Prayer at 7:30, and followed by refreshments
- 10:00am - Solemn High Mass - a traditional Mass with incense, hymns, chanting, hymns, and other music by our fine Schola Cantorum - and a sermon.
Monday
- 08:00am - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday - Morning Prayer, followed by Low Mass; on federal holidays Morning Prayer starts at 9:00 AM
Wednesday
- 05:30pm - Evening Prayer, followed by Low Mass
Saturday
- 09:00am - Morning Prayer, followed by Low Mass
What to Expect
Leadership
The Rev'd John Alexander
Father Alexander has been Rector of S. Stephen’s since August of 2000. Born in 1958 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he immigrated in 1963 to the United States with his family, eventually settling in the Philadelphia area. He received his BA (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1979, and his MA in 1980, from the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied International Relations. During the 1980s, he worked for Electronic Data Systems Corporation on assignments in the United States and in England, where he met and married his wife, Elizabeth, in 1988. Subsequently, he attended Virginia Theological Seminary, where he received his Master in Divinity (M.Div.) in 1992. Ordained deacon in 1992 and priest in 1993, he served as Curate at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania (1992-1994), and as Rector of the Church of the Ascension, Staten Island, New York (1994-2000). He completed his Master of Sacred Theology (STM) at Nashotah House in 2004. Father and Mrs. Alexander are the parents of two teenage sons.
Father Alexander's sermons are on his blog at http://www.homiliae.blogspot.com/
Location
What Members Say
Add your voice-
Betsy DWhile the liturgies at Saint Stephen's are formal (and absolutely beautiful), the clergy and the people who attend St. Stephen's are anything but formal - they're warm, friendly and inclusive. It is a gorgeous church, devoted to glorifying God through beauty in all ways - through the physical building, through the liturgy, the music, the choir and by reaching out to the larger community around the church, with a ministry to Brown University students and by hosting a Soup Kitchen, which they've managed to keep going, modifying for safety, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Note - Father Alexander left St. Stephen's in 2019 - the new Rector is a young (35), energetic, intelligent, warm and insightful priest, Father Benjamin Straley. Father Benjamin's bio is available on St. Stephen's website, https://www.sstephens.org/clergy-staff-vestry.
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