A South Hills Congregation on Forsythe Road
St Stephen Lutheran Church sits on Forsythe Road in Scott Township, just south of Pittsburgh, where the suburbs of Green Tree, Mount Lebanon, and Carnegie meet. The congregation takes its name from Saint Stephen, the first deacon and first martyr of the Christian church, and lives out a simple motto: "Bearing Witness. Serving Others." Every Lord's Day, around the table in the church nave, that motto becomes the rhythm of prayer, preaching, and the Holy Communion.
The parish draws worshipers from across the South Hills of Pittsburgh, and its location in Scott Township places it within easy reach of the surrounding communities. The building itself is the center of the parish's life, but the work of the parish reaches well beyond the walls: the church hosts a site of Christian Counseling Associates of Western Pennsylvania, supports the St. Andrew Lutheran Church food pantry in East Carnegie, and partners with the wider North American Lutheran Church in mission and disaster response.
The Name Chosen in 1952
The name "St Stephen" was submitted by Betty Rupprecht and selected for the congregation on November 2, 1952. From its earliest days, the parish has understood itself in the image of the church's first deacon, the man "filled with the Holy Spirit" who, in Acts 7, "gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" and bore witness to what he saw even at the cost of his life. The parish's description of its patron captures its self-understanding: "Like our namesake, we seek to serve and bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ in all that we say and do."
The Holy Scriptures preserve Stephen's witness in a single verse. The Acts account reads: "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" That confession, the kind of bold, costly speaking that shapes a Christian community, is the model for the parish's preaching and life.
A Lutheran Identity in the North American Lutheran Church
St Stephen is a member congregation of the North American Lutheran Church, or NALC. The denomination describes itself as "centered on the unique Gospel of Jesus Christ, animated by missions and evangelism, grounded in the 2,000-year history of Christian faith, and organized chiefly to serve its congregations." St Stephen sits within the Mid-Northeast Mission District of the NALC, and the parish's preaching and sacramental life draws on the Lutheran Confessions found in the Book of Concord, the catholic creeds, and the great tradition of Western liturgy.
The Lutheran character of the parish shows up in the rhythm of the year. The church follows the historic lectionary, observes the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, and marks the major feasts of the Christian year: the Presentation of Our Lord, the Annunciation, Holy Cross Day, All Saints, Christ the King, and the Feasts of the Apostles. Worship is centered on the Word preached and the Sacraments administered, with Holy Communion celebrated at nearly every service. The pastor is a guest Instructor in Liturgy for the North American Lutheran Seminary, and the parish takes its liturgical inheritance seriously.
The parish's theological and devotional life is rooted in the Lutheran confessional tradition. The Book of Concord, the collected confessions of the Lutheran church, sits at the center of the parish's recommended reading, along with the Oremus Bible Browser for daily Scripture study. The parish's ties to the wider Lutheran world include Trinity School for Ministry, a seminary with significant Lutheran faculty, and Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, the regional cooperative body of the Lutheran and Episcopal churches in the area.
The Pastor: Rev. Maurice C. Frontz, III
St Stephen has been led since June 1, 2012 by the Reverend Maurice C. Frontz, III. A native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Pastor Frontz received a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 2002 and was ordained to the Holy Ministry on June 2, 2002. Before his call to St Stephen, he served as associate pastor and then as senior pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Pastor Frontz has been published in Forum Letter and in Lutheran Forum online, and was the worship leader for the 2013 NALC Convocation. He is a guest Instructor in Liturgy for the North American Lutheran Seminary, and serves the wider church through his writing and teaching. His interests outside of the parish include birding, reading, listening to classical and jazz music, working the New York Times crossword, and following Penn State and Pittsburgh's professional sports teams. He and his wife Rebecka were married at St Stephen in March 2020, and he is the father of six children.
The pastor can be reached at pastor@ststephenpittsburgh.org, and the parish office at office@ststephenpittsburgh.org. He also hosts a regular feature called "Your Questions Please!" in which he answers questions submitted by the congregation and visitors about the Bible, theology, Lutheranism, liturgy, church history, and current religious issues. The questions and his answers are shared in print and online, and submissions are kept confidential.
Saturday Evening and Sunday Morning Worship
Worship is offered twice each week on a regular schedule. On Saturday evening, the community gathers at 6:30 p.m. for a spoken service of Holy Communion. On Sunday morning, the principal service of the week is offered at 10:30 a.m. During the summer months of June, July, and August, the Sunday service moves to 9:30 a.m.
The Saturday service is a quieter, more contemplative form of the parish's liturgical prayer. The Sunday morning liturgy is the gathering point of the week, with sung congregational hymnody drawn from the rich Lutheran tradition: hymns by Martin Luther himself, settings from the Lutheran Book of Worship, and classic tunes, as well as choral and instrumental music at the great feasts. Each Sunday the order of worship is made available in advance, and a livestream is offered on the parish's Facebook page for those who cannot be present in person.
The Liturgical Year at St Stephen
The parish's life is shaped by the seasons of the church year, and the calendar is full of additional services for the great feasts. The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, observed on February 2, includes the blessing of candles, remembering Simeon's exaltation of Jesus as "a light to reveal God to the nations." Holy Cross Day, on September 14, opens with the Great Litany before the liturgy. The Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, is observed on September 21, and the parish honors its patron with Evening Prayer on the feast of St. Stephen. The patronal hymnody of the parish includes classic Lutheran settings, and on the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels the parish sings, "Ye watchers and ye holy ones, bright seraphs, cherubim and thrones, raise the glad strain, Alleluia."
For the major festivals, the parish offers services at additional times. Ash Wednesday is marked with two services, at 12:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Holy Week brings the rich round of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil of Easter, with the Triduum forming one service of worship that continues across three days. Thanksgiving Eve, the Feast of the Ascension (which the parish transfers to the following Sunday), Christmas, and the patronal Feast of St. Stephen each bring their own services. The parish also maintains a daily readings practice, posting a Prayer of the Day and appointed Scripture for each day of the year to help shape the devotional life of the people.
The Holy Communion Each Lord's Day
The Holy Communion is celebrated at each Lord's Day service. The parish teaches that admission to the Sacrament is "by invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to those who are baptized." Baptized Christians who commune in their home churches and who believe that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present in, with, and under the forms of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are welcomed to receive the Lord's body and blood.
The parish takes the reverent handling of the consecrated elements seriously. The "leftover" elements of the Eucharist are not simply discarded. Because the body and blood of Christ are present in, with, and under the bread and wine, the consecrated wafers are kept in the host box on the altar, and the unused wine is poured down the piscina, a special drain in the sacristy that leads directly into the earth. Pastor Frontz has written that this practice is "in opposition to some other places," reflecting the parish's rootedness in the Lutheran sacramental tradition.
The pastor's preaching regularly takes the form of an extended reflection on the lectionary readings of the day. On the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, for example, he wrote: "Jesus shows us the shape of the blessed life - imitation of the Father's constant and consistent mercy towards human beings. It is 'only human' when people love those who benefit or delight them. Love that is of God loves even enemies and does good to them. Such love is only possible in and by the Spirit of God." On Reformation Sunday the pastor quotes Luther: "A Christian heart stands upon roses even when it walks among thorns!"
The Great and Holy Week
Holy Week is the most dramatic week of the church's year at St Stephen, and the parish enters into the Three Days with full liturgies.
Palm Sunday and the Sunday of the Passion are observed together, with the Blessing of the Palms and the reading of the Passion according to Saint Matthew. The pastor's notes for these services emphasize the meaning of the entry into Jerusalem and the unfolding of the Passion.
Maundy Thursday, at 7:30 p.m., includes Confession and Forgiveness, the Gospel of the Footwashing, the Institution of the Lord's Supper, and the Stripping of the Altar. The pastor describes the evening as a service in which the community is reconciled with God and one another, the Sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated, and the people are led into contemplation of the Passion as the altar is stripped and Psalm 22 is sung. The service ends in silence as the people go out into the darkness.
Good Friday is observed with two liturgies, at 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The afternoon and evening services include the Passion according to St. John, the Bidding Prayer, and the Adoration of the Crucified. The pastor reminds the people that on Good Friday, the Crucified One is put forward as the sign of God's victory over sin, death, and evil. "Isaiah's depiction of Jesus as the 'suffering servant,' so important to the early Christians as they sought to understand the events of Good Friday, is read as the prelude to the Passion according to St John, who presents Jesus as the one whose glory is revealed on the Cross."
The Great Vigil of Easter, on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m., is the ancient baptismal feast of the church. The pastor's notes for the Vigil explain: "From the ashes of Good Friday, a fire awakens, and from the new fire the Paschal candle is lit, symbol of Christ's risen presence among us." At the Vigil, the people hear the Easter Proclamation, readings from salvation history, renew their baptismal vows, and celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter. On Easter Sunday morning, an Easter Breakfast is offered from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., and the Holy Communion is celebrated at 10:30 a.m.
Christmas at St Stephen
Christmas is observed with the same care. On Christmas Eve, the Holy Communion, the Mass of the Angels and Shepherds, is offered with candle-lighting. Christmas Day brings the Holy Communion, the Christ-Mass, with pre-service music before the liturgy. The parish flyer for Christmas reads simply: "The Word of God became flesh and lived among us." A Spoken Service of Holy Communion is offered on the Saturday after Christmas, and the First Sunday after Christmas follows. New Year's Eve is marked with a Service of the Word, and the Epiphany of Our Lord is observed on the first weekend of January, with the traditional blessing of candles and the gospel of the Magi.
Children Welcome in Worship
Children of any age are welcome in the church's worship. Activity bulletins and soft, quiet bags of religious objects, books, and coloring pages are available at the bookshelves by the stairs and may be returned after worship. The pastor's homilies, drawn from the historic lectionary, regularly use the language of children and families: at the wedding at Cana, with the visit of the Magi, and at the Baptism of Our Lord, the readings invite the youngest members of the assembly into the story. The pastor has also written thoughtfully about the questions of children, on subjects as varied as the Lord's Prayer and the proper handling of a worn Bible, in the "Your Questions Please!" feature.
Christian Counseling on Site
The church building hosts a site of Christian Counseling Associates of Western Pennsylvania. The counseling center offers appointments to anyone in the community, and a 24/7 Crisis Call Center is available. The center's phone number is 724-396-1510, and the crisis line is 1-866-482-LIFE (5433). The pastor has highlighted the work of the center in his preaching, including a series of podcast conversations on questions of forgiveness and healing, recognizing that the work of the church happens not only at the altar but also in the counseling room.
Mission Partners Beyond the Walls
The parish supports a small constellation of mission partners outside its walls. The St. Andrew Lutheran Church food pantry ministers to the neighborhood of East Carnegie in the city of Pittsburgh, and St Stephen encourages donations to be sent to St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 218 Alter Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. The parish also supports Water Mission, a Christian engineering organization that provides access to safe water in the developing world, and NALC Disaster Response, the relief arm of the North American Lutheran Church. Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, the regional cooperative body of the Lutheran and Episcopal churches, is among the parish's closest partners, and the parish recommends the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute as a local resource for clergy and congregations.
The Livestream and Sermon Archive
For those who cannot be present in person, the parish livestreams its services on its Facebook page, including the Sunday morning liturgy and special services like the Ash Wednesday liturgy at 7:00 p.m. and the services of Holy Week. A new St Stephen YouTube channel has been added to share video content with a wider audience. A weekly sermon and post archive extends back over a decade, with materials from each Sunday's service as well as seasonal reflections on the lectionary, the church fathers, and the Lutheran tradition.
The pastor has long supplemented the Sunday preaching with a written reflection on the day. His sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent, for example, began: "We can be happy when our fortunes are favorable. But oftentimes even this doesn't do enough to make us joyful... Our joy cannot be tied to our momentary circumstances, or it will not be lasting. It must be based upon something solid, stable, sure." The written sermons are available in the archive alongside the audio and the weekly bulletins.
Spaghetti Dinners and Parish Life
A Spaghetti Dinner has become an annual parish tradition, held in late November each year, drawing members and friends together for an evening of food and fellowship. The parish has also hosted parish picnics and Election Day gatherings as part of its rhythm of common life. The events are organized by members of the congregation, and they provide a way for newcomers to meet the people of the parish in a relaxed setting. Beyond the food and the conversation, these gatherings are a way the parish puts into practice its motto of bearing witness and serving others.
The Building and Accessibility
The church building on Forsythe Road includes a nave, a narthex, an undercroft, and a sacristy. A handicapped-accessible restroom is located in the narthex, and additional restrooms are available in the undercroft. The building is single-floor at the public level, with the chancel elevated above the nave. Worship bulletins and large-print materials are made available, and the quiet bags of activity materials for children are kept at the bookshelves by the stairs. The piscina in the sacristy is used for the reverent disposal of the consecrated wine after the Eucharist, a sign of the parish's careful sacramental practice.
A Place to Ask Questions
The pastor's "Your Questions Please!" feature is one of the more distinctive offerings of the parish. Anyone may send a question to pastor@ststephenpittsburgh.org, hand the pastor a note, or otherwise communicate with him. The pastor publishes answers to questions about the Bible, theology, Lutheranism, liturgy, church history, or current religious issues. Recent installments have included thoughtful answers to questions about whether one can heal without forgiving, the difference between Lutheran and Roman Catholic practice in saying the Lord's Prayer, and how a Christian ought to retire an old Bible.
In his answer to a question about the parable of the talents, the pastor summed up the parish's understanding of stewardship: "Jesus does not tell parables to make us feel guilty about the past and doubtful about whether God will forgive or accept us - that we might be haunted by the idea that it is too late for us. Jesus tells the parables to exhort and motivate us to make choices and adopt behaviors that glorify God... But by telling his parable, Jesus wants us to hear the Word so that we recommit ourselves each day to seek as best we can to be wise stewards of what God has given to us."
St Stephen Lutheran Church, a NALC congregation in the South Hills, opens its doors each week to anyone who wishes to join in the prayer, the preaching, the Holy Communion, and the life of a community that, like its patron, seeks to bear witness and to serve.