Diocese: Diocese of the Midwest
Deanery: Indianapolis Deanery
Address
802 Whitlock Ave
Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933
Mailing address:
210 Morgan St
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
Website: sstfm.org
Office: 765-267-1410
Parish Contacts
Directions
From interstate 74 heading east
Go South on 43 and 231 to 32. Turn left (east) on 32. Go thru 3 stop lights, over a railroad crossing, go 2 more blocks and turn right (north) on Whitlock Ave. Go 5 blocks. St. Stephen
Church is located on the corner of Whitlock Ave and 8th street.
From interstate 74 heading east
Exit to 32 west and follow to town. Go thru one stop light, over one railroad crossing, to a stop sign. Turn right at stop sign and go 3 blocks and turn right (north) on Whitlock Ave. St. Stephen Church is located on the corner of Whitlock Ave and 8th street.
From Route 231
43 heading north - Go thru town until you come to Market St. and turn right. Go thru 3 stop lights, over a railroad crossing, go 2 more blocks and turn right (north) on Whitlock Ave. Go 5 blocks. St. Stephen Church is located on the corner of Whitlock Ave and 8th street
Schedule of Services
7:00 PM Vespers
Saturday Evening
9:30 AM Divine Liturgy followed by coffee hour.
Sunday Morning
7:00 AM Matins
Monday Morning
7:00 PM Small Compline and Adult Education Class
Wednesday Evening
6:00 PM Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
Wednesday & Friday Evenings During Great Lent
Please check our website at www.sstfm.org for a schedule of other services and activities.
Parish Background
We began our journey into Orthodoxy in 1983 as Protestants. We were encouraged along the way by a thirst for truth and a mysterious knowledge that the Church was real and is physically manifest now. What nourished us on our trek were the many English-speaking Orthodox writers who could speak to the Western culture.
We entered the Evangelical Orthodox Church and began doing liturgical services, using Justin Martyr, John Chrysostom and others. Over time, authenticity issues became increasingly apparent. We were mentored by the monks of New Skete Monastery. “Friends” in the canonical church advised us, Orthodox books informed us, but, ultimately, the services formed us. There were opportunities to ‘go canonical’ but, from our perspective, they involved a degree of acculturaton with attendant loss of our Western identity. This attitude was naïve; Orthodoxy transcends culture. Again, the services taught us this. How can one read the Fathers, venerate icons, lead the hymns and not be in communion with the Orthodox Church?
We experienced a growing desire to be under authority, to be accountable, to have a sense of authenticity. We needed a real Bishop.
The climax of our journey was the jurisdictional maze called American Orthodoxy. God is good, in that He provided us with a guide - a man who led us to a pastoral bishop who simply loved us into the Church and, grace upon grace, provided us with a pastoral Dean who helped illumine the real Church.
