Youth Ministry Welcomes You
Join Us!
At St Stephen’s Episcopal Church, our goal is to form young people who aren’t afraid of doubt being part of the Christian journey and who are committed to their church and to one another in the midst of the busyness of life in Lamorinda.
Contact our Youth Minister with any questions or comments!
Youth Group
Most Sunday nights, middle and high schoolers gather downstairs in the youth room for food, games, and a little bit of church-stuff. It’s a great way for youth to start to develop their own relationship with church and to close out the week before school on Monday. Middle school (6th-8th grades) meets from 5:00-6:45pm; high school (9th-12th grades) meets from 6:15-8:30pm; the two groups share dinner from 6:15-6:45pm.
Confirmation
Every other year, high schoolers are invited to participate in the Rite of Confirmation, including a twelve-week preparatory course. Confirmation is often understood as a rite of passage for youth to become fully-fledged adult members of the church with their own beliefs and commitments, separate from their parents. The course is an opportunity for them to grapple with faith, doubt, and what is means to be a Christian.
Acolytes
St. Stephen’s Acolytes are an outstanding group of young people (grades 4 through 12) that play an integral role in Sunday morning worship services and other special occasions. Our Acolytes work in teams to assist clergy and the congregation throughout the service. Acolytes have the opportunity to learn about the service and its many levels of meaning as they are involved in all aspects of the service including the Procession, the Gospel Reading, the Offertory, the Holy Eucharist and the Recession.
Sunday Morning
St. Stephen’s is bustling from 7:30am to noon and there are many ways for your child/teen to plug in to the worship, the learning, and the work.
- Serving as an acolyte at the 8am/10am services
- Sitting in the pew with the family
- Serving with parents as an usher, on the altar guild, on a hospitality team
- Volunteering in Sunday school or the nursery
- Being a reader during the service
All-Ages Events
There are many ways for our entire community to be together for worship, fun, and formation.
- Parish retreat at the Bishop’s Ranch in May
- Annual Woods-to-Waves fundraising hike at St. Dorothy’ Rest
- Holy Week, including Maundy Thursday foot-washing
- Easter Sunday 9am family service
- Christmas Pageant and family service
- “Feast and Festival” days throughout the year
- Sunday Morning Instructed Eucharists
Mission Trips/Camp
St. Stephen’s is bustling from 7:30am to noon and there are many ways for your child/teen to plug in to the worship, the learning, and the work.
- Serving as an acolyte at the 8am/10am services
- Sitting in the pew with the family
- Serving with parent as an usher, on the altar guild, on a hospitality team
- Volunteering in Sunday school or the nursery
- Being a reader during the service
Ways for Adults to Get Involved
- Sign up to bring dinner to youth group
- Have coffee with the youth minister!
- Donate to the mission trip fund or to the youth ministry general operating fund
- Come on the parish retreat and make friends with a youth
- Follow us on Instagram!
- Brainstorm ways for your ministry area (altar guild, ushers, outreach, etc.) to be more intergenerational in its membership and practices