St Stephen’s, Hull

photo of main entrance to St Stephen's Church & Neighbourhood Centre

FAITH THAT DOES JUSTICE

Two sisters live and work on a marginalised estate in East Hull – an area of multiple deprivation according to national statistics;

They support a small Catholic Faith Community- St Stephen’s, which no longer has a resident priest, and its aims are: -

· To keep alive its own faith through good liturgy and other spiritual activities, including a ‘Journey in Faith’ process and ‘Godly Play’ and other weekly prayerful opportunities.

· To maintain its longstanding outreach to elderly people across the city of Hull.

· To share its premises with the local community to meet some of the needs of residents- this has led to the setting up of St Stephen’s Neighbourhood Centre with its own legal and financial structure and the employment of key staff to fund and fulfil the aims of the Centre:-

§ To maintain a warm and welcoming building for all;

§ To provide activities for 0 -90 year olds with a broad educational/remedial slant. This includes work with ‘Adults with Learning Difficulties’ to gain greater independence and be better integrated into the local community.

One sister is a founder member of Hull East of the River Credit Union and works to enable people to save and borrow from its low interest rate system, rather than from crippling door step lenders.

St Stephen’s is part of the Diocese of Middlesbrough; it has links to Sacred Heart and St Bede’s Churches and strong ecumenical links, especially with its local Anglican Church. It also networks with other groups including GRIN – ‘Greatfield Residents Improving their Neighbourhood’ and with voluntary and statutory bodies.

St Stephen’s aims to be a pro-active sign of hope in its surroundings and to witness to its faith in a loving compassionate God for all people.