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In August of this year, I had the onerous task of having to find somewhere else to live, after, er, differences with my landlord. Unfortunately, after many visits to houses all over York, the only one I could find that I actually liked was in Acomb, right on the west side of the city and a good twenty to twenty-five minutes cycle-ride to campus every morning. “Well, no more going to Heslington Church on a Sunday”, I thought. The prospect of getting up before 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning did not bear thinking about. I was then faced with the prospect of finding a new church somewhat closer. The logical choice seemed to be the local parish church of St. Stephen’s, just off York Road and a mere five minute walk from my house.
The first thing to strike me about St. Stephen’s is the incredible difficulty to label it. In some ways it is evangelical, in others fairly catholic. The style of worship is loosely evangelical with plenty of opportunity to clap to the hymns. The music group is very good and compliments the hymns from ‘Mission Praise’ and the overhead projector very well. Like Heslington Church, the organ is often used to accompany the music group during hymns but by no means every time. Sermons are biblically based. The first few mornings I went, they were on the theme of putting your trust in God — the story of Noah was used extensively in this respect. Interestingly, the first evening service I attended had a sermon on the blessed Virgin Mary and her vast importance for Christians (just for a second I thought I was back at Goodricke SCR — see Issue 42 if you don’t understand that one!).
A most beautiful East window faces the congregation as they worship. This is a very recent addition to the church and really adds to its atmosphere. I would encourage anyone to go to the church just to see it — it’s that good. It is one of those windows where you see more in it and appreciate it more every time you look.
One thing which is evident from a few trips to St. Stephen’s is the strong emphasis on the children. It is basically a family church with a large number of children and the service is tailored for them until they are trundled off to Sunday School. In some respects this part of the service is like St. Mike’s morning service and the regular all-age-worships are even more so. It is worth mentioning here that the theology in sermons is not quite the same as St. Mike’s and tends more towards mainstream Anglicanism whilst, perhaps, just being on the evangelical side of the theological spectrum.
Tea is offered after services and you have a good chance to talk to the congregation who are open, friendly and welcoming. It is here that the church’s great weakness can be found. Although it is lively, friendly, and hugely welcoming; it has a hole in it. By this I mean that it has lots of children and lots of parents but there is no-one in between. In other words, there are lots of adults over thirty and lots of children under sixteen yet hardly anyone around the same age as university students. This is a real shame as St. Stephen’s is an otherwise excellent church.
There are two morning services. The first is at 9.15 at St. Aidan’s, its daughter church on Ridgeway — opposite Acomb Baptist Church. The second is at 11.00 and is at St. Stephen’s itself. I have never been to the earlier service, but I gather it is broadly similar to St. Stephen’s only more liturgical.
To sum up, St. Stephen’s is a good, lively and friendly church. As a new-comer I felt instantly welcomed and was glad I had gone and I intend to continue going on most weekends when I am in York. All it needs is a few more young people (e.g. students). So, if you happen to live in the area …
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Last modified: 25th November 2005