St. Stephen’s member Stephen Robin shared this reflection on his Facebook page August 22, 2025, remembering St. Stephen’s role in supporting our community during the chaotic aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown, Jr.
On August 22, 2014, just eleven years ago, we were struggling in our Ferguson Community.
We prayed for help and the larger community responded, from across St. Louis, from across Missouri, from across the country, and even from across the world, people reached out to help.
All the local food stores were closed.
Nowhere nearby was selling food.
In a time of need, our little church that could, nestled in the heart of Ferguson, became a hub to feed the community for free and supply other food pantries in the area.
Food was donated.
Money for food was donated.
Hundreds came through our parish hall and got fed.
The first day, over 1,000 bags of free food were given out.
For days we fed any who had need.
Amidst the chaos around us, we became a still small voice of calm and sustenance.
The same building we worship in as Episcopalians, which also hosts the Ferguson Farmers Market in the winter months, served the community and no one was turned away.
Our sanctuary and lower chapel became places of prayer, meditation and healing. Nobody went hungry, physically or spiritually.
Many hands made light work of all the tasks required to share such an abundance with our neighbors and friends across our community.
We were all thankful.
It changed lives forever.