About St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. STEPHEN’S

St. Stephen’s began in 1928, as a chapel of Schenectady’s historic St. George’s church. The first services were held in a remodeled store; as attendance grew, services moved to a nearby house, and, ultimately, in 1947, to a new church building, constructed of stone from an abandoned nearby armory. (A person interested in history can still see stones bearing chalked numbers indicating the locations from which those stones were removed and where they were to be installed as the church was built.) In the 1970’s we expanded the church building to provide wheelchair access and so that we could support a senior meals program at the church. In 2010, faced with a building with environmental problems, and recognizing a need for a larger, more flexible space, we committed to replace the outdated parish hall with a newer, larger structure that would provide a more modern parish hall, as well as classrooms, a nursery, a library, and utility rooms. Part of the effort to construct the new building was the creation of a stone labyrinth courtyard, a space for quiet meditation (or a romping space for youngsters.) Recognizing the importance of music in our worship, in 1981 we installed a 15-rank Carey pipe organ, and in 2018 we added two more ranks and modernized the instrument’s keyboard and electronics.

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History Quilt

The history of St. Stephen’s is captured in a unique History Quilt that hangs in the nave extension. Quilt squares depict significant activities and buildings of the church. In front of the hanging is a notebook that contains the stories behind each square. The quilt was designed, researched, and created by the Fabricators & Yarners group over a period of 3 years.

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Labyrinth

Our labyrinth, in the courtyard between the church and Begley Hall, is an adaptation of the millennia-old classical type. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one path in and out; there are no tricks or dead ends. The path winds from the exterior to the center and can become a mirror for our journey of life, touching our sorrows and releasing our joys. Walk it with an open mind and an open heart.

Church Staff & Lay Leaders

Interim Priest-in-Charge: The Rev. Jane Brady-Close

Senior Warden: Erin Cohen

Junior Warden: Jean Stefanski

Office Manager: Jon Ewbank

Treasurer: Denise Crates

Clerk: Theresa Fay

Organist: Susan Lohnas

Choir Director: Dr. Douglas Lohnas

The  Vestry

The Vestry is the body within our congregation that, together with the clergy, leads the parish.

The Vestry is responsible for personnel management and the stewardship of our money and property. The Vestry has a legal and moral responsibility to manage our congregation’s resources, including operating funds, investments, furnishings, buildings and grounds, and to ensure the care of paid and volunteer personnel, so that they receive adequate compensation, benefits, equipment, resources, training, and support.

Wardens and Vestry members are elected by the parish at our annual meeting. Vestry meetings are open to members of the parish. Our current Vestry members are: Ryan Abel, Ruth Basantes, Linda Emaelaf, Vicki Hoshko, Carole Merrill-Mazurek, and George Woodzell.

The Over The Hill Gang (OTHG)

Do you wonder who replaces the burned-out light bulbs in church buildings, sands and varnishes the big oak doors, paints walls, doors and ceilings, unclogs drains and many other countless jobs? All of these are done by The Over the Hill Gang — a small team of men and women who meet at mutually agreed upon times during the year to work on ad hoc as well as planned projects on the parish buildings and grounds. We help maintain the infrastructure of the church grounds and fix things that we are capable of doing. We also send forth recommendations to the Wardens and Rector for those projects and maintenance items that should be done by an outside professional.

If you enjoy working with your hands, come join us on any project we are working on – handyman work experience is not required but having a sense of humor and a willingness to learn does help. We meet on an ad hoc basis to do whatever work is needed to keep the church and grounds in good working order. We do minor electrical and plumbing work, we paint, we do carpentry, we clean gutters, we move topsoil and clear brush – in fact, we do almost anything that permits a group of people to gab and joke or talk about how to solve the problems of the world while we work and sometimes after work over a hot chocolate or coffee. And unlike the choir, we only hit a high note when an errant hammer hits our thumb.

There are Three T’s of Giving: Tithe, Time and Talent Please consider joining the OTHG to give your time and talent.