We first came to St Stephen’s one Sunday in August 1978, and were pleasantly surprised to find a full church even during the holiday season. St Stephen’s had been recommended by friends in Manchester, and the welcome here was warm. Over the 40+ years we have been part of the church, we have been richly blessed by great Bible teaching, warm fellowship and a commitment to local and global mission. Our children have all been nurtured in the faith through the Sunday School, Pathfinders and Cross Section – such a blessing to our family. The fact that our children are all continuing to follow the Lord (and our son now in ordained ministry) is largely due to this faithful work. The people of St Stephen’s supported us as a family in practical ways during Pamela’s long hospitalisation before Thomas was born, and during Nick’s many overseas trips. The church graciously supported us when we spent 3.5 years working with “returnees” in China – and the Vicar even came and visited us! It has been a joy to belong to this church and to serve in it.
One happy memory was the birthday party in the Dain Room for Thomas Devas and Alan Chettle which they celebrated with their friend Charlie Butler in 1989. 30 years on, each of these boys is now serving in full-time Christian ministry (Alan with UVCF in Canada).
Throughout our time here, we are constantly reminded that: “All this is from God, who reconciled the world to himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5: 18)
