Ministries

Spiritual Direction / Spiritual Accompaniment
The Vicar of St Stephen's, Nick White; John Stewart from The Living Well Centre for Christian Spirituality; and Roland Ashby from The Living Water offer spiritual direction / spiritual accompaniment from St Stephen's.
Through deep listening, a spiritual director / spiritual accompanier can help others explore a deeper relationship with God. If you'd like to explore participation in spiritual direction / spiritual accompaniment, please contact us.
Community Chaplaincy
At St Stephen's we have taken a 'listening' approach to engaging with our community. We listen and look for where God's love and compassion are showing up in the community and we look for ways of working together.
We provide professional pastoral support to individuals and local community service providers, most of whom are not members of the St. Stephen's congregation. Please get in touch if you'd like to have a chat.


Silent Prayer
We have silent prayer in the church from 9am to 9:30am on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each week.
You are welcome to join us and to use your own tradition of silent prayer. For those who are new to silent prayer we are happy to teach the methods practised by the World Community for Christian Meditation and Contemplative Outreach.​
Watch a short animated video about how to meditate.
Supporting Culture, Music and the Arts
Music and other forms of the arts are universal forms of the creativity of God, which give expression to the human spirit and grow community. At St Stephen's we have been gifted with an acoustically rich space which is perfect for music of all kinds - including voice, jazz, instrumental and our magnificent organ.
The church hosts a recital series. St Stephen's recitals are not fund-raising events. Ticket revenue is used provide musicians a professional fee for their performances.


Get out for Good
Leaving prison is a difficult time for many. Anglicare Victoria’s Get out for Good program provides social and emotional support for those who are newly released or struggling to find a place in their community.
The Wednesday morning tea at St Stephen’s provides a friendly drop-in space for people who have experienced prison and are looking for social connection and emotional support.
Specially trained volunteers provide non-judgemental acceptance alongside a cuppa and homemade cake. Every Wednesday from 11am to 2pm. All are welcome. Cost is free.
Food and
Sustainability Education
St Stephen's has the privilege of stewarding a Trust, which has been set aside for the purposes of supporting educational programs for persons experiencing social disadvantage.
This includes partnering with Cultivating Community on the development of a "Food Systems Futures" readiness for work program. We seek to take a 'relational/enabling' approach which fosters dignity and builds on existing gifts and capability.


Sacraments of life
The church celebrates various sacraments which are symbolically rich vehicles of God's grace. These sacraments include:
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Baptism and Confirmation - a public expression of faith and formal entry into the life of the church
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Eucharist (Holy Communion) - the heart of Christian Communal Prayer/Worship
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Weddings
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Funerals
Community Garden
The St Stephens Community Garden is a community partnership with Cultivating Community, the Richmond Churches Food Centre, and parish and local volunteers.
The food produced is distributed each Monday through the Richmond Churches Food Centre.
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Please contact us if you would like to get involved in the garden.
