“When the Rev. J.M. Chestnut came to Ferguson on a fall afternoon in 1872 at the request of a devoted churchwoman named Mrs. William B. Collier, he didn’t realize that he was about to start a new parish in the small town….”

-by the Rev. Frederick Pope, Interim newsletter, November 1978. Pope served as rector of St. Stephen’s from 1966 to 1984.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is the second oldest church in the city of Ferguson. This community of faith was founded by the Rev. J.M. Chestnut. The first services were held in 1872 at the home of Mrs. Eliza L. Wash on Darst Street.

In 1887 St. Stephen’s was organized as an Episcopal mission and the process began to raise funds to buy land and build a church. That first church building was completed in 1891 for $2,700. St. Stephen’s officially became a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri in 1895.

As the congregation grew, plans were drawn for an attached parish hall, which was completed in 1949. The growth continued in the 1950s and 1960s as veterans from World War II moved into the area to work in the air and space industry at nearby McDonnell Aircraft.

The growth led to St. Stephen’s launching another mission church in Florissant in 1954, which is now St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. And in 1955, St. Stephen’s worshipers moved into the parish hall as construction began for a larger contemporary church designed by architect Gale Henderson.

The new church was completed in 1956. The space featured a Great Cross at the center of the worship space and new stained glass windows designed by Robert Harmon of Emil Frei Studios in St. Louis. The windows line the sanctuary and tell the stories of the liturgical year. Stained glass windows from the original church were placed in the undercroft (basement) of the new facilities as a reminder of our church’s history.

Engagement with the community has always been a driving force at St. Stephen’s. And under the direction of the Rev. Steve Lawler, who served at St. Stephen’s from 2001 to 2019, those community connections grew to become the Vine. The Vine began in 2005, with member and social worker Trisha Sheldon serving as facilitator. The Vine is more than outreach ministry. It’s an intentional effort to collaborate with local leaders and organizations to create intimate connections with our community and neighbors.

Today, the Rev. Aaron Rogers is moving the Vine to the next level by creating more community partnerships and actively engaging the congregation in community service. The Vine continues to challenge us to be a community that always extends hospitality and strives to see the best in one another, remaining grounded in Jesus’ example of love and service.