Welcome to St. Stephen's Church Hightown

----- Mission Statement -----

"St. Stephen’s Church, Hightown, is integral to community life,
welcoming and joyful in worship,
and inspiring and loving in our ministry to children....."

We are a small, welcoming and busy church at the foot of the railway bridge in Hightown; very much a part of the local community. Eucharistic worship, every Sunday at 10.30am, is ”middle of the road” and there are alternative worship opportunities: BCP (Book of Common Prayer) Evensong every Sunday at 6.00pm.

Enquirers and Nurture courses are run regularly. New members and visitors are always given a special welcome. St. Stephen’s Youth Club meets every Friday in term-time at 6.00pm in the Church Hall.

We have a large and excellent, well-equipped parish hall, which is available to hire.

St. Stephen’s has a friendly and inclusive feel, which comes from the warmth and enthusiasm of its people. If you haven’t already, why not give us a try?

February Message

Dear All,

Do you know this passage from the Bible?

‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.’

It’s often read at weddings, a poem about love in a letter written by St. Paul to the churches in Corinth around AD55. The poem finishes with ‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’ Considering Paul uses so much ink writing about faith and hope, it’s surprising he thinks love is the greatest virtue. But he’s right, isn’t he? Love builds us up, forms our personalities as children and creates communities and families. Love needs celebrating - this is why I think Valentine’s Day should be a Red Letter Day for us all and not just for those couples wanting romance.

On Sunday 9th February we’re having a Celebration of Love service based around the ‘Love is…’ cartoons. There’s one, my favourite, on the advert for this service. I looked at many of Kim Casali’s cartoons before I picked this one. I realised Kim had different ideas to me about what love is. I’ve been influenced by a Christian understanding of love which says love is not a feeling, though of course it involves feelings; love is ‘doing’ - actions done for others. We believe Jesus gave the greatest display of love on the cross that we have ever seen (John 3:16-17), giving his own life as a ransom for the many who would trust in him. It wasn’t that Jesus felt like bearing our sins. His love in going to the cross was not based upon what he felt like.

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Revd. Jan Ashton Vicar of Hightown, Liverpool. Telephone: 0151 929 3971 Email Me Here