GRACE AND ST. STEPHEN’S PARISH PROFILE 2015
Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
601 North Tejon Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Telephone: 719-328-1125
Website: www.gssepiscopal.org
Email: office@gssepiscopal.org
OUR INVITATION TO YOU
Dear Friend,
G
racious, loving, ever-present God, you dwell
in our praises and guide us in our journeys.
Open the doors of our hearts and of this church
that we may welcome our neighbors and reach
out in love and service to this city. Stir us to
faithfully steward the ministries, heritage, and
resources you provide. Raise up a rector who will
care for your people, equip us for our ministries,
and proclaim your good news. All this we ask
through Jesus Christ, who calls us to bear witness
to your transforming grace as we accept your
grace ourselves.
OUR MISSION
To accept God’s grace and bear witness to his grace in the world
Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs is in search of our
next rector. We are a large, historic parish in a beautiful city at the foot of Pikes
Peak and the Rocky Mountains. Thank you for your initial interest in us and for
taking time to read about our community in this profile. The fact that you meet
us here indicates that you may be at a juncture in your own ministry. We know
the complicated feelings that change brings, having seen our rector retire in
2014. We have spent the last ten months examining ourselves and discussing
how to plan a new chapter in our life together. We welcome including you in
this conversation.
We are blessed to have been shepherded over the last year by the Rev. Andrew
Cooley, a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado who finds his calling as an
interim minister. He reminds us often of the potential for spiritual growth during
such transitional times, and we have come to understand and appreciate how
unexpected joys can arise amidst vulnerability and change.
We are optimistic about the future of our faith community. The last few years
have seen noticeable growth in worship, programs, and ministry. Our Gothic
Revival building and our vibrant and renowned music program often first draw
newcomers to our church, where they discover the nourishment of our
traditional liturgy and the faith-forming power of our programs.
We recognize that as an Episcopal church in the changing religious landscape of
modern America we face many challenges. But what gives us hope is that many
in our congregation are open to new ways of examining and expressing our faith,
and to following new paths as we proclaim the Good News beyond our walls.
As our name indicates, we see our mission as accepting God’s grace and, like
St. Stephen, bearing witness to his grace out in the world.
We pray regularly for God to raise up a rector to shepherd his people at Grace
and St. Stephen’s. Whether you feel called to new ministry in Colorado Springs or
to ministry elsewhere, we are grateful for the blessing of your service and hope
that the time you spend getting to know us will help clarify your life’s mission.
Above: A statue of St. Stephen,
our patron saint, stands above
the tower door.
Yours in faith,
The People of Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
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WELCOME TO GRACE AND ST. STEPHEN’S
This profile illuminates
how God is working in our
midst to grow our faith
community, strengthen the
bonds that connect us to
our partners in ministry and
the Episcopal Church, and
prepare the congregation
to embrace its future. The
following sections provide
insight into the salient
features of our parish life.
A New Spirit of Ministry describes what we seek in rector leadership. Much of
the work of our Profile Committee and the parish was an extended conversation
about the qualities we believe will serve the church and our new rector. We describe the vision that emerged from this process.
Our Family Gathers on Sunday Mornings testifies to what we cherish about
our worship that brings together a diverse community and underscores our commitment to each other, visitors, and newcomers. The experiences we share
as a community continue beyond Sundays, to demonstrate what our parish
means—and can mean—to those beyond our walls.
The Way Forward: Our Strategic Focus describes the church that we believe
God is calling us to be. The aspirations for our future together focus on five areas:
spiritual growth and intimacy; hospitality and invitation; children, youth, and
families; radical compassion and outreach; and architecture, heritage,
and sustainability.
History of Grace and St. Stephen’s illuminates the bonds between our parish,
the people and city of Colorado Springs, and the diocese. This history informs a
template for our future and reveals the character of our parish.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to Grace and St. Stephen’s A New Spirit of Ministry
Our Family Gathers on Sunday Mornings
The Way Forward: Our Strategic Focus
History of Grace and St. Stephen’s
Finances and Staffing Parish Demographics
Colorado Springs Overview
The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado ii
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Finances and Staffing provides details about our parish finances and outlines
our current staffing arrangements. Since 2009, we have reduced our mortgage
by 50%, raised over a million dollars for repairs to church property, and increased our pledging units and levels.
Almost a century ago, the two parishes of Grace and St. Stephen’s were reconciled
in faith and service. We find this to be a compelling event in our history as we
build our parish community. The great tower of our church stands above the
skyline of Colorado Springs, and we recognize it—like the Work of God itself—as
a call to look outward while our faith grows stronger in our common life
together. Welcome!
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A NEW SPIRIT OF MINISTRY
An Appreciation for Theological Diversity
As in Episcopal churches nationally, at Grace and St. Stephen’s, lifelong
Episcopalians sit, stand, and kneel with others who come to the Episcopal faith
from mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, and non-denominational Christian
churches, or seek personal faith traditions where they have been missing from
their lives. Our congregation cherishes this diversity of theological foundation.
According to their varied gifts of ministry, the clergy of Grace and St. Stephen’s
have preached and modeled the reconciling love of Christ as the means of
keeping our multiple constituencies in loving communion.
Care for God’s People
As our name, Grace and St. Stephen’s, reminds us, God is the instigator of grace,
and it is from him that all other grace in our community flows. We seek to learn
how to receive that grace through being open to our rector as our shepherd.
We envision a rector who will relate to members of the flock and address their
concerns with sensitivity. The rector will possess the wisdom, grace, and
equanimity to lead us through trusting conversations that will guide us in recognizing and responding to our individual needs and those of our parish family.
Choirs recess from
Epiphany service.
The people of Grace and
St. Stephen’s are looking
forward to welcoming, with
joy, a rector who will join us
in our mission of accepting
God’s grace and bearing
witness to his grace in the
world, someone who will
foster hope as we proclaim
together the Good News.
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As we and our new rector work together, with God’s guidance, on a transformative
vision for our parish, we welcome leadership in the following areas:
Excellence in Preaching and Engagement
We are eager to connect the theology and traditional teachings of the Church to
the dilemmas, challenges, and needs of our modern world and issues of social
justice. We hope to call a rector who inspires and engages us with preaching and
scholarship. We seek a rector who will understand, appreciate, and participate in
the interfaith ties of our downtown community as well as our connections to the
diocese and the national Episcopal Church.
Inspired Proclamation of the Good News
of Christ Jesus through Word and Sacrament
The traditional liturgies of the Episcopal Church are deeply rooted in the fabric
of Grace and St. Stephen’s. The rhythm of our worship to glorify God has been
traditional and highly participatory. Evensong and Compline are well attended
by both the Sunday morning faithful and by community members, suggesting
a welcome of clergy who might initiate alternate worship services beyond the
cherished Sunday morning experience.
An Ability to Delegate, Inspire, Motivate, and Develop Others
Given the size of our parish, we are seeking a rector who can empower members
of the body to use their gifts in generous ways to strengthen the community
and further the church’s mission. The parish offers an established pattern in
such engagement for there are over 50 lay ministries at Grace and St. Stephen’s,
most of which have been initiated and enhanced by the energy and vision
of parishioners.
Strong Leadership Skills, Management Experience,
and Familiarity with Church Systems
Our parish needs a rector who can collaborate with us to develop a strong
vision of our future together. The rector should have management experience
in a complex organization and familiarity with church systems to help us grow
more fully into a resource-size church. An understanding of church finances and
experience with capital campaigns is desirable.
The vestry is looking
for a rector who will work with us to
discern a vision of
spiritual growth and transformation. We seek perspectives on
how we might live
into God’s radical compassion for the
world. Our responses
to God’s prompting
are central and neces-
sary for the life of
our parish.
- Robert Coffey, Senior Warden
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OUR FAMILY GATHERS ON SUNDAY MORNINGS
The ringing of the bell in the
120 foot tower before
Sunday services at Grace
and St. Stephen’s is a
welcoming invitation to
worship. This weekly Sunday
welcome characterizes who
we are as a parish family
enriched by worship, music,
and fellowship.
The Call of the Word
Our parish priests in robes, copes, and sometimes boots (this is Colorado), and
Episcopal Franciscan Brothers wearing brown habits and Tau crosses greet
worshippers and passers-by outside our downtown church. The passers-by may
be students from neighboring Colorado College, Olympic bicyclists, or a
homeless man seeking warmth or food or the welcome of Jesus in our midst.
Grace and St. Stephen’s draws people from throughout Colorado Springs and
the surrounding region. Young families drive from the new housing developments burgeoning between Colorado Springs and Denver. Older members live
downtown. Faculty and students from Colorado College, the United States Air
Force Academy, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs worship in
the pews. Active and retired military from Fort Carson Army base and the North
American Aerospace Defense Command join our parish community.
Nurturing Heart and Intellect
What attracts this culturally, politically, and socio-economically diverse group
of people to Grace and St. Stephen’s on a Sunday morning? Some are initially
drawn by the stone Gothic Revival building. They come back because of the
carefully directed liturgy, the thoughtful sermons, the excellence of the music,
and the warm welcome.
The architecture of our cruciform church inspires our worship. When our
building was completed in 1926, the rector spoke of the possibilities of worship
in “a church of simple stately beauty, with something of aspiration, something
of mystery, something suggestive of the higher reaches of life that becomes a
helpful instrument for catching the voice of God.” Forty-eight exquisite stained
glass windows, installed over a period of 100 years, portray the life and ministry
of Jesus, our Old Testament heritage, and our patron, St. Stephen.
Parishioners seek opportunities to be a part of the flow and beauty of the
worship service. They lovingly and collaboratively contribute to the glory of
God. These carefully trained individuals include altar guild members, ushers,
teenage acolytes, choirs, readers, intercessors, chalice bearers, masters of
ceremonies, and the Lay Eucharistic Visitors who take communion to the sick
and shut-ins. At the offertory, our youngest children carry baskets of food for the
Ecumenical Social Ministries to the steps of the choir for blessing. Once a month,
the children and their parents love to gather for Wee Worship in their own
St. Nicholas Chapel.
Our clergy’s sermons knit together theology, the tradition of the Church, and
today’s needs, both stirring the heart and feeding the intellect. The sermons
that guide all of us through the coming week give us thoughtful guideposts
enlightened by the lectionary texts and providing depth from the knowledge
and experience of our clergy.
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Outreach in Taft Hall
Our outreach programs are featured between and following Sunday services
in a hall appropriately named for a rector known for his religious and civic
leadership, the Rev. Arthur Taft. Blood drives are held here. Parish nurses record
the walking miles of an all-parish effort to equal the 14,000 miles to and from
Jerusalem. Funds for sewing machines for Sudanese women are raised, and
African handicrafts displayed for purchase. An Advent tree invites parishioners
to donate household items for the homeless served by the Interfaith
Hospitality Network.
Fellowship and Support
A Sunday at Grace and St. Stephen’s offers fellowship in the form of worship,
and also in the Sunday classes, discussions, and faith formation programs for
young and old. We embrace sociability and conversation, welcoming and
hospitality. Visitors and newcomers tell us that they are greeted by parishioners
who are genuinely interested in them and in hearing their stories. They may join
a tour of the church led by parish docents, or may be invited to attend a Sunday
afternoon Taylor Memorial organ concert.
Above: William Byrd and
Thomas Tallis are among the
composers whose music is sung,
a cappella, by the Compline
Choir at the monthly Sunday
evening services.
The Sounds of Grace
Grace and St. Stephen’s has one of the finest classical music church programs in
Colorado, offering ensembles and musical training for children (Royal School of
Church Music) and adults of all ages. Our worship and liturgy are uplifted in our
praise of God with the participation of about 120 lay and professional musicians
from the Cherub Choir, the St. Nicholas Choir, the St. Cecilia Choir, the Taylor
Choir, the Compline Choir, and the Grace Notes Handbell Choir.
The music program is steeped in the Anglican musical tradition. In the summer
of 2014, about fifty members of the Taylor and St. Cecilia choirs made a
pilgrimage to England to learn more about our musical heritage. Special mass
settings, often with brass or orchestra, are offered for Christmas and Easter.
Choral Evensong is sung several times each season, and Choral Compline is
sung monthly. The music program reaches out to the community through the
endowed Taylor concerts, dating from 1927, and featuring guest organists from
around the country and Europe. People flock to the church from all over the city
on summer evenings to enjoy the talents of a variety of Jazz in the
Garden musicians.
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Hospitality hours after the services are a favored activity for many parishioners.
These times provide unhurried opportunities for parishioners to enjoy one
another’s company and to meet new people. Children dart in and out of the
parish hall selecting cookies and sandwiches. They pet Sadie the dog, a
companion of one of our parishioners. As often takes place in family gatherings,
these social encounters present pastoral opportunities to share life’s
challenges as well as its joys.
Sundays may conclude with neighborhood social gatherings, often potluck
dinners held in the homes of parishioners. These occasions help to keep us
connected with each other, and perhaps let us know of a friend who needs an
extra prayer, a word of encouragement, or a card of thanks.
HELEN MURRAY
Helen, a widow of 22 years
with four adult children and
six grandchildren, joined
Grace and St. Stephen’s in
1994. Helen appreciated the
recent presentation series
“Growing Older Gracefully,”
and the classes on Tai Chi
and balance hosted by the
parish nurses. Helen feels
more comfortable, loved, and
cared for at Grace and
St. Stephen’s than she has
experienced in any other
church, and prays for a rector
who appreciates the special
contributions of the elderly in
our community.
This brief snapshot of who we are as a parish family, focusing on Sunday, opens
a window for you to enjoy a glimpse of our lives as a Christian community. As
Sundays draw to a close, the Gothic Revival tower that beckons us to worship in
the morning is lit as a beacon of assurance and hope throughout the night.
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THE WAY FORWARD: OUR STRATEGIC FOCUS
Special mass settings, often with brass or orchestra, are offered for Christmas
and Easter and are well attended by parishioners and community members.
Ecumenical services on Good Friday and Thanksgiving bring together
worshippers from several downtown churches.
Possible additional services to consider for the future might be a family service
on Sunday for our fastest growing demographic or a Saturday service to appeal
to young adults and college students from neighboring Colorado College, the
nearby University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (the fastest growing campus
in the University of Colorado system), and other colleges.
Nobel Prize winning team member in
physics and Colorado College professor,
Dr. Shane Burns, presented at the
Robert D. McJimsey Memorial Seminar.
In 2013, the congregation
began a conversation
intended to guide a strategic planning process and
renew our work together.
This discussion centered on
the question, “How can we
become the Church God is
calling us to be?”
The five focus areas described below emerged as key components of our parish
life. Although the retirement of our rector in 2014 put this process on hold, the
focus areas continue to inform the work of the parish during this interim period.
Spiritual Growth and Intimacy
Spiritual growth and intimacy are integral to the Christian faith and to our
identity as a community of love and service. The following programs and
activities provide opportunities to enrich our understanding of what it means
to become a family of God and a fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Our regular worship schedule includes:
Sunday at 8:00 a.m. Sung Eucharist
Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Choral Eucharist
Monday at 12 noon Bridges to Contemplative Living
Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Wednesday at 11 a.m. Holy Communion
Thursday at 12 noon Public Service of Healing
Last Sunday of the month at 8 p.m. Contemplative Choral Compline
The Faith-Seeking Journey, an adult curriculum on the Anglican understanding
of the faith and practice of the Church, written by our former rector, Fr. Stephen
Zimmerman, is completing its fifth year at Grace and St. Stephen’s. More than
150 graduates have prepared for baptism, re-affirmation of baptismal vows,
confirmation, or reception. Graduates of the program are encouraged to
sponsor new participants in the yearly program.
Adult Christian Education offers weekly presentations by clergy, parishioners,
and speakers from outside the parish to inform and enrich our faith. Each
October, the Robert D. McJimsey Memorial Seminar, honoring the late senior
warden of Grace and St. Stephen’s and Colorado College professor, features
a presentation by a national religious scholar on a topic of interest to the
wider community.
Education for Ministry, created under the auspices of the School of Theology
at Sewanee, trains lay members seeking theological, educational, and spiritual
formation in a small-group environment. Participants in EfM develop skills of
critical listening, spiritual autobiography, theological reflection, sustaining
spirituality, and integrating belief and behavior to expand their service to
the church.
The Annual Parish Retreat, led by the clergy, vestry, and lay leaders, invites
parishioners to consider practical and theological questions before the parish.
Recently the retreats have considered the strategic plan and the rector
transition process.
FRAN ZANKOWSKI
Fran moved to Colorado from
Connecticut to join the executive staff of an independent
weekly newspaper. Fran was
overjoyed to find at Grace and
St. Stephen’s a community of
people deeply involved with
their faith formation.
Encouragement by the clergy
drew him into becoming a
leader in the Faith-Seeking
Journey, an annual, eightmonth adult catechumenate.
His commitment to Grace and
St. Stephen’s also encompasses
the work of the Grace
Gardeners, the Stewardship
Committee, and the vestry.
Fran hopes the new rector will
encourage excellence in the
educational programs that
take us deeper into our faith.
Advent and Lenten soup suppers, an Episcopal tradition, create the time and
space for fellowship and sharing personal stories.
Small groups, such as the Men’s Bible Study and community farming to
support the hungry populations in Colorado Springs, spring up organically and
are led by lay volunteers. We look forward to supporting and growing this type
of ministry.
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Children, Youth, and Families
We have a long tradition of high-quality Christian education for children
including not only Sunday School and youth groups, but also choir training and
an acolyte program that trains teens for leadership roles in our worship.
The middle-school and high-school youth groups meet weekly after the
10:30 a.m. Sunday service. Each summer, the middle schoolers travel to Leadville,
Colorado, to work in a community kitchen and on the local farm of the Episcopal
church, which provides produce for the kitchen. The high school students
annually engage in a week of service projects and cultural exchanges in
the Diocese of Navajoland.
I fell in love with how meaningful the children’s
education was here and realized that this is
where I wanted my kids to get to know God.
- Joyce Polifka
Above: Once a month, children
and parents participate in
Wee Worship services in the
St. Nicholas Chapel.
Hospitality and Invitation
Our desire to deepen our practices of hospitality and invitation to others stems
from our own experience in 2007 to 2009 after a split in our parish, when First
Christian Church gave us sanctuary and hope and helped us to rediscover our
purpose. (See the story of the parish split in “History of Grace and St. Stephen’s.”)
Our practice of hospitality and invitation enfolds a number of lay ministries.
Sunday morning hospitality teams provide and serve refreshments. The
Daughters of the King offer prayers and intercessions throughout the week for
those in need. The parish nurses minister to the spiritual, physical, and emotional
needs of the young and old as part of our pastoral care team.
Our ministry for the elderly last year sponsored a year-long series of
presentations open to members of the parish and wider community about issues
concerning seniors, community and expert resources, and services. The founder
and president of the board of the Colorado Springs Innovations in Aging
Collaborative and a Grace and St. Stephen’s parishioner, along with the
parish nurses, organized the series.
The family ministry for younger children is an important and growing program,
currently enrolling 105 youngsters. Sunday School for preschool and elementary
school-age children engages them in multiple learning experiences and
encourages their deeper knowledge of the Bible and the Christian tradition.
Once a month, the Wee Worship service in the children’s St. Nicholas Chapel
offers a family-focused service that provides age-appropriate worship and has
drawn as many as 74 participants (children and parents). Our summer Vacation
Bible School has been a collaboration with First Christian Church. Parenting
classes for adults offered by trained professionals provide opportunities to share
best practices, discuss the latest research, and support one another.
EMILY &
RHETT BROWN
Recent arrivals to Colorado
Springs, Emily is a life-long
Episcopalian, while Rhett will
be confirmed into the church
in August. They have two
children, Daniel and Matthew.
Daniel’s diagnosis on the
autism spectrum after turning four motivated the family
to seek the resources available
in Colorado Springs. When
Emily visited our church’s
website, she was impressed by
the children’s programs, and
believed the church would be
open to creating a safe and
supportive environment for
Daniel. The family especially
appreciates Wee Worship, the
Godly Play curriculum in
Sunday School, and the
children’s music programs.
Our membership committee strengthens how we greet and welcome visitors,
and tracks and connects newcomers. This ministry is tasked with increasing our
effectiveness in attracting and retaining new members.
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With the support of our Bishop, we began a discussion under the guidance of our
vestry to consider whether our parish is called to offer blessings to same-gender
relationships according to the provisions allowed by the Episcopal Church.
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Architecture, Heritage, and Sustainability
We are grateful for the gifts God has given us in the form of our buildings and
grounds that have inspired so many over the years. In 2012, a director of the
History Colorado Center in Denver conveyed the Center’s congratulations upon
the dedication of the plaque honoring the church’s admission to the National
Register of Historic Places. The Historic Preservation Alliance, in 2014, awarded
Grace and St. Stephen’s its Historic Commercial Restoration Award for our
restoration of the exterior of McWilliams House, the parish’s 19th century
administration building. The restoration was launched in 2010 with a State
Historical Fund grant of $170,000.
Above: Grace and St. Stephen’s
high school students help repair
and renovate properties in
Navajoland, an Episcopal diocese
created out of the dioceses of
Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Radical Compassion and Outreach
Encounter with the sacred in prayer and worship is not enough until we fulfill
our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being with
compassion turned into action.
We nourish our spirit of compassion with diocesan organizations such as the
Colorado Episcopal Foundation (donations for health care in Jerusalem and
sewing machines in Sudan). Locally, we work with the Episcopal Women’s Thrift
House (grants to associated charities). We partner with interdenominational
service agencies such as Ecumenical Social Ministries (downtown churches); the
Interfaith Hospitality Network (sheltering homeless families); and the CROP
Hunger Walk. On behalf of the parish, we cook supper for at-risk youth, staff
blood drives, and grow vegetables for food pantries.
In the last year, our Outreach Committee has examined how our prime
downtown location uniquely qualifies us to create a more integrated program
of service to the population that survives in the interstices of downtown
Colorado Springs, as in every major American city. In monthly meetings, the
committee has studied the needs of these “invisible” children of God, the
Biblical response to the needs of the urban disenfranchised, and the means by
which they may be fed, housed, and thereby made visible. Discerning that by
the blessing of its place and its moral authority in the city, our church is
challenged to feed and house the downtown homeless, the committee will
begin in May to draw the congregation into study and discussion.
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We take seriously the responsibility to steward these resources for those who
will follow us. Lay ministries have attracted many parishioners skilled in
various aspects of facility maintenance. They have not only saved the church
tens of thousands of dollars every year, but have given our members meaningful and rewarding opportunities to serve the church family. The St. Joseph’s
Guild noted the ill effects of our high and dry desert climate on the pews and
choir stalls. Over the course of several years, they have restored the rich patina
of the furniture with appropriate cleansers and polishes. The Nehemiah Guild
keeps on top of general repairs and maintenance tasks. Grant writers secure
funding for significant maintenance needs. A grant for a formal Historic
Structure Assessment last year led to a grant for additional funds in February
2015 to help cover repair and restoration costs to the church.
The Grace Gardeners maintain the beautiful memorial garden, enjoyed by
church members and passers-by. The gardens are included in the parish tours
offered by a cadre of ten trained docents. The docents give tours following
the Taylor Memorial Concerts, to art students from the University of Southern
Colorado in Pueblo, to historic preservation organizations, and individuals who
drop by. The archives project is a new undertaking. A parish archivist is bringing
together, organizing, and cataloging documents, material objects, photographs,
and architectural drawings. In 2011, a group of five parishioners published a
large, hard-cover book, The Windows of Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church,
which documents and illustrates the church’s 48 stained glass windows.
TANYA ANDERSON
Tanya visited many churches
while delivering flowers for
her business. When she
attended a funeral at Grace
and St. Stephen’s she caught
a glimpse of the interior of the
church whose architecture she
had admired for many years.
Despite being put off by her
experience with organized
religion in her youth, being
welcomed and embraced by
the people of Grace and
St. Stephen’s gave her an
understanding of what is
meant by the love of Christ.
Tanya is a member of the
Profile Committee, Docents,
and the Singles Group.
Issues of environmental sustainability increasingly engage us. We have placed
recycling containers in all offices, meeting rooms, and our two large hospitality
halls. In addition, we replaced our incandescent light bulbs with more energyefficient LED bulbs, significantly reducing annual lighting costs in the church.
With the scarcity of water endemic in Colorado, we are seeking ways to water
the grass and gardens most efficiently.
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HISTORY OF GRACE AND ST. STEPHEN’S
The Old Testament
History of Israel, 1940
Artist, George Owen Bonawit
The history of Grace and
St. Stephen’s Episcopal
Church parallels the story
of Colorado Springs. Our
early narrative describes
our challenges and illuminates the character of our
parish. Indeed, it tells a lot
about who we are and what
we aspire to become.
Origins
The eastern prairie of Colorado rises to over a mile high at the foot of Pikes Peak.
It is here that Civil War general and railroad pioneer William Jackson Palmer and
his colleagues incorporated the city in 1872.
General Palmer, a Philadelphia Quaker, donated to the Episcopalians a lot in 1873
on which to build a small Gothic-style church that was named Grace Church.
Between 1872 and 1894, the city’s population burgeoned from 800 to 12,000 as
it became a hub for tuberculosis recovery, railroads, and mining. The growth led
to the establishment of a second Episcopal church in 1893, St. Stephen’s, on land
donated by James J. Hagerman, a mining and railroad entrepreneur.
Common Life
The two parishes, located only one-half mile apart, united in 1923 in order to
form a single strong, centrally-located church. It was not easy for the Grace
Church congregation to give up its 50-year old building. Rector Chauncey
Blodgett softened the blow by reminding the parish that “a Church is never built
of stones, but of human souls, knit together by the Spirit of God.”
The Rev. Arthur Taft, co-rector of the incorporated Grace and St. Stephen’s
Episcopal Church, envisioned a new house of worship as a “sacrament in stone,
conveying God to the soul.” In 1926, the first service was held in the Gothic
Revival building designed by Boston architect E. Donald Robb. The new church
inspired rectors, lay leaders, and a growing congregation.
Benefactress Alice Bemis Taylor chose the church as the site of a fine Welte
pipe organ and an endowed concert series for the people of Colorado Springs.
The Taylor Trust supports the free concerts to the present day. Over the years,
Grace and St. Stephen’s became a center of musical life in the city. The Colorado
Springs Symphony, the Colorado Opera Festival, the Colorado Springs Choral
Society, the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, and Jazz in the Garden each had its
beginnings at the church.
Rev. Taft set a course of outreach involvement for Grace and St. Stephen’s
originating from a deep sense of social justice. He believed that religion was
nurtured in the church and expressed in the community. Through his
leadership, parishioners were active in the American Red Cross, the Associated
Charities (now the United Way), the Tuberculosis Association, and the Visiting
Nurse Association. Taft was outspoken in his concern for securing better wages
and working conditions for miners in Colorado.
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Recent Challenges
The parish was disrupted in the first years of this century. Rev. Donald Armstrong
was inhibited by the bishop of Colorado in 2007 for theft of church funds and
unauthorized encumbrance of the church’s properties, whereupon he left the
Episcopal Church while claiming the Grace and St. Stephen’s property. Members
of the parish who objected to his actions were locked out of the church
buildings. For the next two years, those who remained in the Episcopal Church
were generously given sanctuary at First Christian Church. A civil court case
affirmed the ownership of the property by the the Episcopal Diocese of
Colorado, and in 2009, the Episcopalian congregation returned to the church
buildings. A grand jury indicted the rector in criminal court. Through a plea
agreement, he received a deferred judgment and sentence.
Above: A crowd of 700
attended the 1925 laying of the
cornerstone for Grace and
St. Stephen’s. Colorado Bishop
Fred Ingley presided, assisted
by Rev. Arthur Taft and
Rev. Chauncey Blodgett,
co-rectors of the new church.
A Tradition of Outreach
The mission-inspired church has continued to play a visible and influential role
in the community. In the 1950s, Grace and St. Stephen’s felt the full impact of the
city’s growth to a population of 50,000. Heeding the call to expand the faith, the
parish, under the leadership of Rev. J. Lindsay Patton, undertook to found mission
churches on the southern, northern, and eastern edges of Colorado Springs.
Within a very few years, these missions became the independent parishes of
the Chapel of Our Saviour, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, and the
Church of the Holy Spirit. Grace and St. Stephen’s collaborated with area Episcopal
churches to establish the Thrift House of the Episcopal Church Women (1958)
and the Ecumenical Social Ministries (1982), a collaborative Christian response
among eight downtown churches to low income and homeless people in crisis.
The waning 20th century witnessed ecclesiastical and societal changes propelled
by the introduction of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the 1982 hymnal,
debates surrounding the ordination of women to the priesthood, the Vietnam
War, and Colorado’s Amendment Two prohibiting protective status on the basis
of sexual orientation. Grace and St. Stephen’s adjusted to the new rites of the
prayer book, but parishioners were also uneasy, as reflected in membership loss.
In 1986, a new rector, Rev. Donald Armstrong, infused energy in the parish, grew
the congregation, established the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Day School (19922009), and assumed leadership of the Anglican Institute.
16
Emergence
During the two sanctuary years, 2007-2009, Grace and St. Stephen’s parishioners
once again learned, as Rev. Blodgett had reminded his Grace Church
congregation in 1923, that “a Church is built. . . of human souls, knit together by
the Spirit of God.” Area churches, including those established by Grace and
St. Stephen’s as mission churches, lent us hymnals, Books of Common Prayer,
Eucharistic vessels, and vestments for our services. The choirs were reassembled, and the Sunday School revived. A lively adult Christian education program
flourished. Friendships grew among former 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 11 a.m. service
attendees who had not known one another before the period of sanctuary.
Strong lay leadership emerged out of a necessity to reassemble and reconstitute
our parish life.
Upon the return to our church building on Palm Sunday in 2009, the church
was filled with our members and community well-wishers. Having successfully
drawn on our own talents during this period of vulnerability, we emerged with
an enduring strength, confidence, and level of commitment to the parish that
united, and continues to unite us, in joy. Over the years, our clergy have helped
us to grow in faith and love of God and one another. They have also guided us
in taking the steps to resume our historic position of Christian advocacy,
leadership, and witness in the Colorado Springs community and the diocese.
Christ the King is the central
figure in the reredos (screen
behind the high altar), a gift
of Clarence and Josephine
Lewis Carpenter in 1927. The
eight accompanying figures
in the reredos are individuals
who saw Jesus in his lifetime
or after his Resurrection.
Illustrated here are St. Paul
on the right and St. Stephen
on the left.
17
FINANCES AND STAFFING
A Surge of Generosity
A surge in special gifts that started upon our return continues to gain
momentum. In 2014, over $68,000 dollars in special gifts were received to help
reduce our mortgage debt, and nearly $30,000 given to reduce the operating
expenses deficit.
The annual giving campaign for 2015 resulted in our largest pledged amount
of $600,904, with 46 new pledges and 24 current members pledging to match
those new pledges. 105 of the total 207 pledges received represented increased
pledges. Annual giving makes up about 61% of all income, with the balance
primarily from open plate and trust income. The Legacy Society promotes and
supports the faithful stewardship of God’s gifts and resources through planned
giving and/or a permanent gift.
Morel & Associates of Denver
have completed half of the
$500,000 restoration of the Taylor
Memorial organ.
Finances and stewardship
at Grace and St Stephen’s
are stable and improving
yearly. Our current financial structure dates from
the return to the church in
April 2009. During our time
of sanctuary (2007-2009)
at nearby First Christian
Church, we worked to
establish strong and
effective financial controls
emphasizing transparency
and accountability.
Background
We were in a position while in sanctuary to accumulate reserves and to establish
a restoration and building fund in anticipation of the expense of returning to our
home. Upon our return, we took responsibility for a $2.4 million mortgage and
property where much maintenance and repair had been deferred over the
previous years. We anticipated several years of deficit budgets while we grew
large enough to support the programs and costs of a program-sized parish.
Recent Accomplishments
Since our return to the building we have reduced the total principal of the
mortgage to $1.2 million and completed over a million dollars in capital
improvements, including:
Exterior refurbishing of McWilliams House, our parish offices
Asbestos abatement
Conscientious Budgeting
Our expenses each year remain largely fixed, including the cost of the
mortgage, the tithe to the diocese, insurance, utilities, clergy and staff salaries
and benefits, building maintenance, administrative expense, and program
costs. The budget approved by the vestry and presented at the 2014 annual
meeting included a planned deficit of $130,000, which represented a significant
portion of our reserves built up during our time of sanctuary. The actual deficit
at the end of the year was $78,000—still significant, but much less than
anticipated. This reduction was largely achieved through strict cost controls
and two months in the summer with only one paid clergy on staff.
The primary goal of the vestry for 2015 is to balance the budget and focus on
reducing our mortgage debt. At this point, we are still short $52,000 from the
goal of a balanced budget. The vestry is confident this can be made up, but it
will have to be through additional prayer, pledging, and special gifts.
2014 $647,279
2013 $640,034
2012 $625,735
2011 $615,823
2010 $610,696
600K
610K
620K
640K
650K
Pledge and Plate Income
Pledge $501,537
Plate $145,743
Trust $162,477
Special Gifts $5,476
Other $8,762
0
100K
200K
300K
400K
500K
600K
2014 Source of Income
Note that special gifts refer only to donations to operating
income and do not include directed gifts to the organ,
mortgage, clergy discretionary accounts, or specific
programs.
Boiler/heating system replacement
Refurbishing of two of the four divisions of the organ
Stabilization of stained glass in the south transept and parish hall
Re-roofing of the great tower and repointing its masonry exterior
Installation of a campus security system
18
630K
19
PARISH DEMOGRAPHICS
Worship $6,425
Staffing
While 28% of our budget is devoted to mortgage and facility expense, the work
of our parish is done by three full-time staff, six part-time staff, and countless
volunteer hours. In 2001, the parish stepped out in faith to hire an associate
rector to head our ministries for children, youth, families, and outreach.
Music $128,567
Our current paid staff consists of the following:
Clergy $240,485
Parish Demographics
We have an active parish database of approximately 425 households.
Additionally, we submitted parochial reports for 2007 to 2014 and we
conducted a parish-wide survey in 2013 that garnered responses from about
150 parishioners. Our parish nurses organized a Healthy Church survey on
both bodily and spiritual matters in 2014, which received about 150 responses.
Together they provide a “data snapshot” of our parish’s demographics.
Interim Rector—full time
Associate Rector—full time
Children/Youth $29,444
Organist/Choirmaster—full time
Assistant Organist—part time
Outreach/Diocese $83,482
Director of Parish Life—part time
Parish Administrator—part time
Admin/Sexton $155,069
Mortgage $141,842
50K
100K
150K
200K
2014 Expense Distribution
250K
2007 230
55%
2008 191
Feeling of belonging
30%
2009 269
11%
2010 317
4%
2011 324
2012* 328
Sense of purpose in the community Sexton—part time
Meaning in life Bookkeeper—part time
Priorities
The emphasis on cost control and mortgage reduction is well understood
throughout the parish as the key to our long-term financial health. We recognize
that by devoting $142,000 per year to service the mortgage, we are limiting our
needed growth in staff and programs by a similar amount. Nevertheless, we
have laid the groundwork for retiring this debt, and many in the parish are eager
to undertake a major giving program to accomplish this and to grow our staff.
Sunday Worship Participation
Sense of God’s presence Director of Children’s Education—part time
Facility $111,645
0
What Newcomers Were
Seeking in a Church
Why They Return
2013 335
Worship and liturgy 55%
2014 345
Sense of belonging 17%
Sense of God’s presence 16%
Activities for self and family 12%
Length of Time Attending
Grace and St. Stephen’s
Less than one year 5%
1-5 years 26%
More than 5 years 63%
No response 6%
Sunday Service Participation
8:00 a.m. 22%
10:30 a.m. 68%
No response 10%
*Wee Worship participation has been included since 2012
Wee Worship Participation
2013 63
2014 74
Compline Participation
2012 70
2013 72
2014 83
Children and Youth
Education Participation
Nursery and Sunday School (0-11 years) 105
Middle school youth group (12-14 years) 18
High school youth group (15-18 years) 25
Sunday School Participation
20
2007 20
2008 33
2009 31
2010 64
2011 57
2012 69
2013 90
2014 105
21
COLORADO SPRINGS OVERVIEW
Since 2000, the population of Colorado Springs has increased at an annualized
rate of 1.26%; since 2010, 1.53%. That 2010 rate ranks the city as the 164th fastest
growing city out of the nation’s 726 largest cities.
The Springs features an economy anchored by more than thirty Fortune 500
firms. These firms and a large military retirement community are drawn in part
by the city’s low cost of living and low level of taxation. The cost of a typical
home in Colorado Springs is $209,100 with $1,000 in property taxes.
Grace and St. Stephen’s lies in the transitional area between the downtown and
the college neighborhood known as “The Old North End.” As such, we serve
a demographic that would likely exemplify the image cultivated by Forbes
Magazine’s description of Colorado Springs as the “8th Most Educated City in
America.” (2014)
Garden of the Gods is Colorado Springs’
premier city park.
The following links to websites will be helpful in learning more about
Colorado Springs and its environs.
Downtown Colorado Springs
http://downtowncs.com
Members of Grace and
St. Stephen’s Church exit
from worship on Sunday
into a vibrant downtown
area that bears continued
witness to the power and
majesty of God’s creation.
Located more than a mile
above sea level, our church
and neighborhood are
punctuated by the presence
of the most famous 14,000
foot peak of the Front
Range, Pike’s Peak.
22
For residents of Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak region is defined by its 300
days of sunshine, snow-capped mountains, nearby world-class trout streams,
rafting, and skiing, and dramatic summer afternoon thunderstorms. With
440,000 residents, Colorado Springs is the second largest city in the nation (after
Albuquerque) that directly abuts a United States National Forest
(the Pike Forest).
We are as proud of our city as we are of the natural beauty that surrounds it.
Many cultural, academic, and sports opportunities await residents of Outside
Magazine’s “Best American City” (2009). Among these strengths of our
community are Colorado College, one of our country’s top liberal arts
institutions; The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; a headquarters of
the Olympic Committee and an Olympic Training Center facility for thousands
of our nation’s top amateur athletes; five military installations including the
United States Air Force Academy; and the arts, boutique, and coffee shopfriendly neighborhoods of downtown Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs,
and Old Colorado City.
City of Colorado Springs
https://www.springsgov.com
Colorado Springs Visitors’ Bureau
http://www.visitcos.com
Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region
http://www.coppercolo.org
In 1893, Colorado College
visiting English professor,
Katharine Lee Bates, stood at
the top of Pikes Peak and was
awed by the scenic grandeur
of the surrounding mountains
and plains. The view from the
summit inspired her to write
the poem, “America the
Beautiful.”
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain.
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with
brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
In addition to this description of “place,” no account of life in Colorado Springs
would be complete without a description of who its residents are. Located in
El Paso County, Colorado Springs is a city of contrast, much like any other
metropolitan area. We appreciate the diversity of our population, civic groups,
radio stations, and newspapers, along with a rapidly shifting demographic that
has resulted in our being named the American city with “the fastest growing
millennial population” (Trulia, on-line real estate site, 2014).
23
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF COLORADO
Grace and St. Stephen’s
is a part of the Episcopal
Diocese of Colorado. The
114 congregations and
institutions in the diocese
are located throughout
the 105,000 square miles
of Colorado’s mountains,
valleys, and plains. The
diocese is led by the Right
Rev. Robert J. O’Neill, who
was installed in 2004 as the
thirteenth Bishop
of Colorado.
St. Francis statue stands in the
Memorial Garden of Grace and
St. Stephen’s.
Through the vision and leadership of Bishop O’Neill the diocese has been
committed to four areas of strategic focus:
Living Missionally at a Grassroots Level—continuing to expand our collective
engagement with our missional identity on every level;
Establishing Radical Generosity as a Core Pattern of Life—considering how
we can shift our mindset away from an inordinate preoccupation with
institutional maintenance and preservation to one of self-offering and
self-emptying, which is the mind of Christ, in the service of God’s kingdom;
Engaging Substantively with the Suffering of the World—bringing greater
depth and substance to our witness to the gospel by moving beyond the
practice of charity at arm’s length and living into the transformational embrace
of suffering which is what true love demands; and,
Committing Fully to Evangelizing with Young Adults—proclaiming the good
news (Love is here. It is who you are!) to a culture and a generation that is in fact
searching for a transcendent vision and that does in fact long to know the love
that is life.
Grace and St. Stephen’s enjoys a relationship with the diocese based on
mutual respect and appreciation for the support given to us. The parish hosted
the opening service for the 2009 Diocesan Convention, and the 2012 Diocesan
Convention, and will host the 2015 Diocesan Convention. Lay parishioners are
or have recently been:
2015 General Convention, Alternate Deputy
Diocesan Conventions, Delegates
Colorado Episcopal Foundation, Trustees
Members of the parish are or have recently served on the following committees:
Regional Steering Committee
Commission on Ministry
Finance Committee
Cathedral Ridge Steering Committee
Committee on Resolutions, Chair
Congregational Discernment Committee, Committee Trainer
Clergy Compensation Sub-Committee
Diocesan Convention Workshop Committee
Clergy Continuing Education Committee
Colorado-Episcopal Public Policy Network
24
25
THERE’S A WIDENESS IN GOD’S MERCY
- Fredrick William Faber (1857)
T
here’s a wideness in God’s mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
and more graces for the good;
there is mercy with the Savior;
there is healing in his blood.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than in heaven;
there is no place where earth’s failings
have such kind judgment given.
There is plentiful redemption
in the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members
in the sorrows of the Head.
SUBMITTED BY PARISH
PROFILE COMMITTEE:
Clelia deMoraes and Marianna
McJimsey, co-chairs, Claire
Anderson, Tanya Anderson,
Susan Bassett, Colin Campbell,
Chris Novak, Bonnie Price, Nick
Psarakis, Chuck Theobald, and
Mary Vandezande.
We thank Steve Starr and Nicole
Paulson for their photographs,
and Bob Rodgers for design.
We appreciate Fr. Andrew
Cooley, Interim Rector, for his
wisdom and guidance. We are
grateful for the clergy, staff,
vestry, and parishioners who
inspired this document.
For the love of God is broader
than the measure of man’s mind;
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful,
we should take him at his word;
and our life would be thanksgiving
for the goodness of the Lord.
26
Submitted May 15, 2015
GRACE AND ST. STEPHEN’S PARISH PROFILE 2015
Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
601 North Tejon Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Telephone: 719-328-1125
Website: www.gssepiscopal.org
Email: office@gssepiscopal.org