History of St. Stephen's

On Advent Sunday in 1956, a small group of people met at a home in Bloomfield Hills to discuss the establishment of an Episcopal mission. Most of the group were members of Christ Church, Cranbrook, and had become acquainted through neighborhood Bible study groups. With the help and encouragement of Christ Church, the Mission (initially known as North Adams Mission) became a reality in the form of St. Stephen’s, Troy. The first service was held on February 3 1957, in the “multi-purpose” room of Eastover School. At that time, Christ Church had three missions and employed a priest, the Reverend Barton M. Lloyd, to serve them. Within a year, St. Stephen’s called the Rev. Lloyd to be its vicar exclusively. The original members of St. Stephen’s were:

Betty Hotton Beall
Roger & Barbara Blackwood
Bill & Kitty Dewey
David & Mary Anne Dewitt
Roland & Ann Diemer
Bill & Mary Alice Heaton
Richard & Pat Jennings
Bill & Lorraine Martin
Bill & Ruth Potts
Luel & Marian Simmons
Sherrill & Magueritte Simpson
Sam & Charlotte Walker
Carl & Dorothea Zuber

Alice Brandon
Steve Brandon
Marge Dillon
David Eldon
Diane Eldon Kenefic
Alice Heaton Moss
Lucinda Heaton Mau Sabino
Donald Hotton
Kathy Hotton Raczkowski
Peggy Hotton Klempay
Helen Slater
Michael and Jane Wellman

The years of meeting in the school were a triumph of ingenuity, fellowship, and growth in spirituality. It was a true community effort to make this Mission succeed. All of the equipment – altar, altar rails, communion vessels, lectern, prayer books, hymnals, and various draperies used to conceal basketball hoops – was kept in a very old green Chevrolet panel truck with a leaky gas tank. Every Saturday, the couple on set-up duty re-filled the gas tank and drove the truck to the school where the “multi-purpose” room was transformed into a church. Sunday School was held in the halls of the school; the nursery was in a nearby home of one of the members.

This fledging church immediately started looking for property and purchased acreage on Adams Road in Troy. A building fund drive was held and ground was broken for the new church in the fall of 1960 –after only three and a half years as a Mission. In the middle of the construction work, the Rev. Lloyd accepted a teaching position at the Virginia Theological Seminary. The Reverend Carl Russell Sayers was called in 1960 and installed on January 1, 1961.

PALM SUNDAY MORNING IN 1961 was a glorious day for the congregation to meet at Eastover School. Then, led by a Salvation Army band, a crucifer, and clergy the congregation marched the quarter mile to the new church building. Babies and toddlers were either carried or pushed in strollers, while young children held their parents’ hands. Police stopped traffic on Adams Road for the palm waving parishioners singing “Onward Christian Soldiers.” What an exciting day!

St. Stephen’s then experienced strong growth in fellowship and spirituality of its members, as well as its size, shortly thereafter resulting in the addition of a Sunday School wing. The church became financially independent and was admitted to the Diocese in 1963. The mortgage on the church building was joyfully and enthusiastically burned in 1978. The Rev. Sayers retired at the end of 1983 and the Reverend Nancy Sargent McGrath served as Interim Rector from January to August, 1984. She was then called as our Rector, and installed the following spring. The Rev. McGrath was the first full-time female minister in an Episcopal Church in Michigan. Desiring to spend more time with her growing family, the Reverend McGrath retired in 1990. The Reverend Jonathan Carter Sams was called in September, 1991 and installed on November 1, 1991. In 1993-1994, plans to enhance the facility were formalized. A stewardship campaign entitled “Together we Build” raised funds for the ensuing addition and improvements to the buildings. The new entrance, offices and Narthex, remodeled kitchen, restroom and expanded sanctuary were dedicated by Bishop Wood during a very special service in June 1997. The completion of Phase I allowed St. Stephen’s to be inclusive, accessible and even more hospitable to all who enter.

Over the next several years the growing congregation became involved in “Building our Fellowship” to assure our facilities provided sufficient space to support all of our work, ministries and mission. Completed in 2000, the Phase II expansion of the Parish Hall and addition of the multi-purpose room are being greatly enjoyed by our current congregation. The mission created in 1957 by the founders of this church continues to be carried on by today’s families of St. Stephen’s. We are a vital, warm, giving and growing parish learning about our Lord and diligently striving to serve God – doing the work He gives us to do in our community and the world. On this journey, we find ourselves singing God’s praise and sharing fellowship as we work together in God’s service.

This growth necessitated having an associate minister to enhance our Church School programs, Caring Ministries, Saturday services, Bible Study, and other areas within our church. The Reverend Manisha Dostert was called to this position in September 2005. Pastor Dostert is a minister of the Evangelical Luthern Church of America (ELCA), and the first Lutheran minister to be an Associate in an Episcopal Church in Michigan.. It is within these walls of brick and glass that the mission of St. Stephen’s begins. It is here where our Christian family grows with each baptism. It is here where we learn of Jesus’ love for us and the world in which we live. It is here where we sing God’s praise for our blessings, sharing ourselves and our gifts with others in need. It is here where we console one another at each funeral and celebrate the joy of love with each marriage. It is here where we receive and share God’s Peace. It is here where we are given strength and courage, and from here, we go forth into the world to do the work God gives us to do.

As we continue to become a more visible community of faith, we are able to empower others for effective service throughout the community in which we live, work and worship. It is thus we continue Building Our Fellowship, and allowing St. Stephen’s to more fully carry out its mission, “…all in the name of Jesus Christ.”

History of St. Stephen’s

Past, Present, and Yet To Come