St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish is entering its last Christmas season after 161 years of service in the downtown Portland area.
Earlier this month, the ancient church, which began holding services in 1863, declared that the next holiday season would be its final one. Parishioners were informed on Facebook by diocese officials on November 21 that services must conclude by February 1.
The post stated, “We are extremely saddened and disappointed by this news.”
Throughout its history, the church has housed a number of groups that support downtown Portland, particularly its homeless population, demonstrating its longstanding commitment to social justice.
The ordination of four men to the Episcopal priesthood at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in 1962 was followed by Holy Communion. Bishop James WF Carman was joined for the ceremony by about 28 priests from the diocese. From 1892 to 1973, St. Stephen’s was the Bishop’s Cathedral.Oregonians
The rector of St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Wilsonville and a member of Bishop Diana Akiyama’s relocation team, the Rev. Brendan Barnicle, stated that the future of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish, which is situated at 1432 S.W. 13th Ave., has been a topic of discussion for a while.
From 2017 until 2019, Barnicle was the rector of St. Stephen’s, where he was ordained. He claimed that the congregation had altered and shrunk in size even in recent years. While membership was closer to 100 in the early 2000s, average Sunday attendance dropped from 60 in 2018 to roughly 15 in 2022 and 2023, he said.
According to Barnicle, St. Stephen’s has also had serious property issues.
The parish has been housed in the Southwest 13th Avenue building for over a century, but it was initially designed to be a temporary structure following a string of church arsons in the 1920s. He stated that the basement, gutters, and drainage system of the building need to be repaired today.
Barnicle stated that he saw the changeover as more of a resurrection for the church than a conclusion.
According to him, the community has always had a strong commitment to outreach and social justice. With this new setting, it will be able to do that much more completely.
Bishop Akiyama said in a statement on December 11 that the Episcopal Church in Western Oregon is currently negotiating the sale of the building to Operation Nightwatch. Since then, the organization has worked with nonprofit Blanchet House to transform the St. Stephen’s sanctuary into a women’s shelter, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2025. The group presently provides evening hospitality within the sanctuary three nights a week.
Even after the building is sold, parishioners will be able to worship at St. Stephen’s chapel, a little space that can accommodate up to 30 people, according to Barnicle. The parish will still hold regular Sunday morning services at 10:30 every week through February 1.
The congregation would then become a mission, a smaller organization supported by the diocese, rather than a parish, which is a congregation that can sustain itself financially. If the congregation chooses to go this route, Bishop Akiyama will collaborate with them, Barnicle stated.
“Stewarding the resources we have been blessed with is part of our job as a church,” he stated. Being able to use that space in a way that serves more of God’s people was highly consistent with the Episcopal Church’s purpose, especially considering the needs that present in downtown Portland.
Situated near the intersection of Clay Street and Southwest 13th Avenue lies St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish.Samantha Swindler
St. Stephen’s is getting ready to welcome the community through its bright red doors for one last Christmas season, which formally starts on Dec. 24 at sundown, even as it enters this new, sad age.
Advent is a month-long season that begins four Sundays prior to December 25 and is when Christians get ready for Christmas. It’s a more subdued time for observation, linked to introspection and getting ready for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The Christmas season begins on Christmas Eve and lasts for 12 nights, ending on January 5, the day known as Epiphany, when the Magi, or Three Wise Men, brought gifts to the infant Jesus.
Only after Advent is complete does St. Stephen’s undergo a tangible Christmastime metamorphosis. According to senior warden Christy McMurtry, who has served the church for more than 60 years, the greening of the church this year will happen at noon on Sunday, the fourth and last night of Advent.
“We fill the candles and extinguish the greens,” she continued. We spread poinsettias everywhere.
Situated near the intersection of Clay Street and Southwest 13th Avenue lies St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish.Samantha Swindler
The church will be completely decked out in time for its Christmas season celebrations, which start on December 24 with a service on Christmas Eve. At 7:30 p.m., music will begin, and at 8 p.m., the Eucharist will follow.
An all-day Epiphany celebration will be held at the church on January 5th, beginning with a service at 10:30 a.m. and ending with an open house that will be packed with food, celebration, and reflection until 9 p.m. Before sacramental objects like altars and pews are eventually removed, church officials hope that parishioners will use the occasion to take pictures and share memories of the church.
According to McMurtry, that was the day we hoped to effectively let people know they could attend. There will be food and time for storytelling and reminiscing.
Diverse Harmony, the Seattle gay-straight alliance choir, is led by Jared Brayton Bollenbacher at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish in Portland in June 2013.Beghtel, Doug
According to McMurtry, the parish is using the occasion of St. Stephen’s Day, which falls on December 26, to provide additional hospitality in the sanctuary that evening through Operation Nightwatch.
The Southwest 13th Avenue church used to accommodate a number of local programs, including this one.Before relocating to First Christian Church, the food pantry and meals program Clay Street Table started in 2010 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish. Others, such as the inclusive Catholic community Journey Koinonia, have only recently announced plans to move.
For almost thirty years, the club, which now numbers around forty active members, has gathered at St. Stephen’s every Sunday. According to Sam Gioia, a member of Journey Koinoia’s pastoral leadership team, the location is stunning and has played host to innumerable weddings, funerals, and baptisms over the years.
According to him, St. Stephen’s welcomed us in 1989 and gave us a physical location as well as the camaraderie and sense of community that we have had for the last 35 years.
The group formed a site committee to start looking at other locations after hearing of St. Stephen’s closure, and they have now accepted the offer to relocate to First United Methodist Church on Southwest Jefferson Street, according to Gioia.
Travel At 6 p.m. on Sunday, Koinonia’s last service at St. Stephen’s will be its early Christmas service. After that, all services will be conducted virtually via Zoom until the start of February, at which point First United Methodist Church will start holding Sunday meetings in person.
Supporting underserved areas has been a major part of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish’s long and progressive history.
Situated near the intersection of Clay Street and Southwest 13th Avenue lies St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish.Samantha Swindler
According to the church website, the parish was a sanctuary for LBGTQ+ people in the 1980s, accepted Japanese Americans who were imprisoned during World War II, and was among the first Episcopal churches to accept Black members in the 1920s. It was Portland’s first church to marry an interracial couple in the 1960s.
We are standing on the work of many others. McMurtry remarked, “I’m amazed at what’s happened from such simple beginnings.” God will continue to provide, therefore even if the building will change, the task will still be completed somewhere.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!