St. Stephen's Episcopal Church has long been a small but steady Episcopal presence in Billings, and the parish now gathers for its principal service in a partnership that sets it apart. Each Sunday at 9:30 am, the congregation worships jointly with Bethlehem Lutheran Church (ELCA), meeting at Bethlehem's building at 40 Tenth Street West in the heart of Billings. That shared liturgy - Episcopal and Lutheran, using the same language of Scripture, sermon, and Holy Communion - is the rhythm around which the rest of parish life turns.
Sunday Morning at Bethlehem Lutheran
The Sunday service is a celebration of Holy Eucharist, the family meal of Christians that the parish describes as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. All who have been baptized, whatever their church background, are welcome at the table to receive the bread and wine and to be in communion with God and with one another. The service follows the Book of Common Prayer, with roughly seventy percent of the Prayer's language drawn directly from Scripture. Readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary, the three-year cycle of Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle, and Gospel passages shared across many mainline denominations.
For those who cannot attend in person, the Sunday liturgy is also available online, and the parish's YouTube channel carries video of services and other content. Paper bulletins are posted alongside the recordings, and a Google calendar embedded in the parish's online presence keeps members and visitors oriented to the week ahead.
Parish office hours run Monday through Wednesday from 9 am to noon, with the office phone - (406) 248-6427 - answered during that window. Messages and email reach the parish at ststephensmt@gmail.com.
What Episcopalians Believe Here
The parish states its mission plainly: "We are called with old friends, welcome new ones, and to share with all the good news of Jesus Christ." That mission flows out of the Baptismal Covenant, the question-and-answer summary of faith recited at baptisms and on great feast days. The Covenant opens with the Apostles' Creed and adds five questions about how Christians are called to live - continuing in the apostles' teaching, breaking bread, resisting evil, proclaiming the Good News, and serving Christ in all persons.
St. Stephen's teaches that the Bible is the church's foundation, understood through tradition and reason, and that it contains all things necessary for salvation. The parish holds that the Book of Common Prayer is both a devotional treasure and the primary symbol of Episcopal unity, gathering many and diverse people into one common worship. The Catechism at the back of the Prayer Book, set in the same question-and-answer form, is offered as a starting point for teaching the foundational truths of the Christian faith.
The parish names itself Christ-focused: as followers of Jesus, Episcopalians find that the nature of God is love, and that through baptism, Christians share in Christ's victory over sin and death. The two foundational statements of faith - the Apostles' Creed at baptism and the Nicene Creed at communion - anchor the parish alongside Christians across the ages.
The Episcopal Church recognizes seven sacraments as outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace. Two - Holy Baptism and Holy Communion (the Eucharist) - are considered the great sacraments of the gospel. The other five round out the sacramental life: Confirmation, the adult affirmation of baptismal vows; Reconciliation of a Penitent, or private confession; Matrimony; Holy Orders, the ordination of deacons, priests, and bishops; and Unction, the anointing of the sick or dying. In baptism, the parish teaches, Christians are made part of what the Prayer Book calls the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church" - one family that spans the centuries and the globe.
Parish Life and Ministries
St. Stephen's runs on the quiet labor of its members, and a number of small ministries keep the Sunday liturgy and the wider life of the parish running. The Altar Guild, open to both men and women, sets up and takes down the altar for regular services, holy days, weddings, funerals, and other celebrations - filling the decanters with water and wine, counting the wafers, filling the candles, and caring for the priest's vestments and altar linens. Twice a year the guild gathers to polish the brass so the crosses and candleholders shine. The parish invites new helpers to consider this work as a special way of serving.
Acolytes, lay readers, and greeters round out the Sunday team, with schedules posted online so members can see when they are scheduled to serve. The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 10 am in the Guild Room, opening with their own prayer: "Almighty God, bless, we pray, our work in mission and ministry in the world; and make us so thankful for the precious gift to us of your beloved Son, that we may pray fervently, labor diligently, and give liberally to make known throughout the world the redeeming love of our Savior." The ECW's particular focus is supporting the parish, especially its youth, whenever and wherever a need arises, and the group welcomes the women of the church to join in fellowship and projects.
Adult Bible Study gathers on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am, ahead of the service. A Sunday School for younger children has been part of the parish's life, though the program is currently suspended; the parish's online calendar is the place to look for the resumption of children's programming.
Outreach in the Billings Community
St. Stephen's extends its life beyond its own walls through three named outreach partnerships. The parish is involved with a local food bank activity, helping to provide food and supplies to those less fortunate in the Billings area. Members also support Tumbleweed, a program serving at-risk and homeless youth, and partner with the Salvation Army, preparing monthly sandwiches and other necessities for people without housing. These efforts are folded into the parish's identity as "a church which is loving, growing, vibrant, relevant, and effective," extending the love of Christ through the sacraments, through relationships, and through the wider Billings community.
Camp Marshall and the Diocese of Montana
St. Stephen's sits within the Episcopal Diocese of Montana, and the parish maintains an active connection to Camp Marshall, the camp and conference center of the diocese. Members and families draw on Camp Marshall for summer programming, retreats, and formation opportunities for young people and adults across the state.
Father Stephen's Daily Reflections
A distinctive feature of parish life is the long-running devotional series written by the priest, Rev. Stephen Day. Under the title "News from the Father," Father Stephen posts short reflections tied to the Episcopal Church's calendar of commemorations - lesser feasts that include ancient bishops and martyrs, monastics and mystics, teachers and deaconesses, reformers and modern witnesses. Recent entries have included Lancelot Andrewes, Sergius of Radonezh, Anna Ellison Butler Alexander, Thecla of Iconium, Philander Chase, John Coleridge Patteson, Theodore of Tarsus, Edward Bouverie Pusey, Hildegard of Bingen, Ninian, Catherine of Genoa, Cyprian of Carthage, John Henry Hobart, Alexander Crummell, Hannah More, the Martyrs of Memphis, Aidan of Lindisfarne, Margaret Ward, Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line, Augustine of Hippo, Bernard of Clairvaux, Jonathan Myrick Daniels, and Thomas Gallaudet with Henry Winter Syle. Each reflection pairs a brief biography with the collect - the set prayer appointed for that commemoration - giving the parish a year-round rhythm of remembering the wider communion of saints.
Giving, Records, and Practical Notes
Online giving to St. Stephen's is set up through PayPal, and the parish has a long archive of bulletins, sermon notes, and reflections from Father Stephen going back several years. The archive has been a steady resource for the parish, especially during seasons when in-person gatherings were restricted, and it remains a place where members and friends of the parish can find the prayers, readings, and reflections from previous weeks.
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Montana, a member congregation of The Episcopal Church, and a friendly neighbor in the shared life of Billings - gathered around the Book of Common Prayer, around the Eucharist, and around the work of extending Christ's love to the people of this Montana city.