St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

  • St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
  • St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
  • St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
  • St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

About Us

Historic Register, Rite 1, Rite 2, small, growing

WELCOME to Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, an historic community of faith in Newton, Iowa, for nearly 140 years.

We’re a small, faithful, and growing group of Christians who learn together, support each other and grow in our faith together. We gather here to worship, to sing, and to hear God’s words. We gather here to offer our needs and our joys before God, and to have them heard. We gather here to be refreshed and renewed, and then go out from this place as living bearers of God’s love.

St. Stephen’s is steeped in history. Our worship is rooted in anglo-catholic tradition, the building is on the National Register of Historic Places (added in 1977), and the church is the oldest church in Jasper County in continual use for worship services. The first worship service in the church building was on April 19, 1874.



Our Services

Sunday
08:00am
Quiet Holy Eucharist (Rite One). No music. Children welcome.
10:00am
Holy Eucharist (Rite Two) with traditional hymns and adult choir. Nursery staffed, Sunday School for children during the first half of the service (kids come back for the Eucharist).

What to Expect

What are services like?
Worship comes from the Book of Common Prayer (1979): Rite One with no music at 8 AM and Rite Two with choir at 10 AM. Music comes from a variety of sources including The Hymnal 1982, occasional guest instrumentalists, our choir director's love of spirituals, and (rarely) the Rector's saxophone.

What is the community like?
Friendly greeters will help you find a seat, direct parents and kids to Sunday School and the nursery, and make sure you can find your way through the prayer book. After the 10 AM service you can enjoy a warm and cheerful coffee hour in the parish hall.

What if I'm not a Christian?
Welcome! There's no better way to understand Christians or what makes them tick than by living through the steady, patient cycles of the Anglican liturgy and its ancient calendar. The wisdom of the ancients meets normal people and their daily life in our Adult Sunday School class at 9 AM in the parish hall. And when you meet Jesus here - because He is here - let us know how it happens. Each of us has been surprised by Him in just this way, and together we're being guided through the lifelong ramifications of that.


Location

What Members Say

Add your voice

Go here? Tell us why you love St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. Visited? Tell us what a newcomer can expect.