A Neighborhood Parish on the Edge of Laurelhurst
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church sits at 4805 NE 45th Street on the southern edge of Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood, within walking distance of the University of Washington and the U-District. For more than a hundred years it has served this leafy residential pocket and the wider city of Seattle, and the building itself has gathered neighbors, musicians, and pilgrims from across the region. The parish describes its calling in plain words: to love and minister to neighbors, each other, and children. Worship, learning, and service are the three rhythms by which the congregation tries to live that mission.
The parish is part of the Episcopal tradition of following Jesus into loving, liberating, and life-giving relationships with God, with each other, and with creation. Members believe that God speaks through scripture, tradition, and reason, and the parish uses both intellect and the senses to explore faith and to discern how to share God's unconditional love and acceptance of all people and all creation.
Sunday Morning at Ten
Every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. the community gathers in the Nave for Holy Eucharist with Choir, the principal worship service of the week. The 10:00 a.m. service is livestreamed on YouTube and recordings are posted in the same channel for anyone who wants to follow along later. Bulletins are made available with the livestream link so that people watching from home can follow the readings, prayers, and order of service.
For newcomers, the parish offers a gentle reminder: anyone unfamiliar with Episcopal rituals and customs can simply relax with the liturgy and let the rest of the congregation carry them in worship. Wherever someone finds themselves on their spiritual journey, they are welcome at St. Stephen's. After the service the community moves to the Parish Hall and Parish Hall Kitchen for coffee hour, the weekly opportunity to greet one another and meet the clergy.
Preaching at St. Stephen's is shared among the clergy, the Minister of Music, and guest preachers. Recent Sunday sermons listed on the archive include "Unfinished Story," "Climate of Mercy," "Walk on Water," "Kingdom of Heaven," "Persistent Faith," and a sermon preached by the Associate Priest titled "You Cannot See Mount Rainier from There." Sermon texts and audio recordings are posted online.
The Nave, the Organ, and the Corona
The Nave is the central worship space of St. Stephen's and seats up to 590 with additional chairs. Behind the altar hangs the Bond organ, the largest instrument ever installed by Bond Organ Builders. It was built and installed in 1994 as a mechanical action organ in the style of nineteenth-century French instruments, particularly those of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, and was featured in the Organ Historical Society's 2008 National Convention. The organ has three manuals and a pedal division, with stops including a 16-foot Bourdon and Trompette on the Grand Orgue, a Voix Céleste and Hautbois on the Récit Expressif, and a 16-foot Bombarde in the Pedal.
Surrounding the organ pipes is the Book of Acts Corona, twenty-eight laser-carved panels designed to unite the otherwise freestanding instrument with the architecture of the original building. Light streams through the cut panels, drawing the eye toward the three central elements of the worship space: the Altar, the Ambo, and the Baptismal Font. Each panel carries a Christian symbol drawn from the Acts of the Apostles. They include the three intertwined fish of the Trinity, the victorious Lamb of God, the Chariot of Fire of the Ascension, the seven-fold flame of Pentecost, the sword of Paul and keys of Peter, the coat and crossed palms of St. Stephen, a sailing ship that doubles as a symbol of the Church and of the "nave" itself, and a grape vine that points to Holy Communion. Descriptions of every panel were originally written by the Rev. A. Scott Miller in a 1995 booklet and have been lightly edited.
In the chancel stands a Falcone Model 74 grand piano, a rare instrument designed by master piano technician Santi Falcone in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the late 1980s. Fewer than five hundred Model 61, 74, and 90 Falcone pianos were built before the line ended in 1989. The St. Stephen's piano is prized for its clear singing tone, deep bass, and agile keyboard action.
The Chapel, Parish Hall, and Great Hall
Behind the organ lies the Resurrection Chapel, the original 1930s building that served as the main church before the larger Nave was constructed. The chapel seats 275 and houses its own 1972 Gebrs. Vermeulen organ of nine ranks and 456 pipes, along with a Yamaha piano and a sound system. Its blonde wood and delicate windows make it well suited to small recitals, concerts, and services.
The Parish Hall is the parish's social center, holding up to eighty guests for club meetings, informal classes, friendly gatherings, and small plays or performances. It comes with a projector, screen, TV, and portable sound system, and its neighboring kitchen makes light refreshments easy to serve. The larger Great Hall is used for events that would not fit the Parish Hall, such as low-impact sporting games, classes, and receptions. The Vestry Room and Choir Room round out the building's interior spaces.
These rooms are not only for parish use. St. Stephen's welcomes outside groups and offers the Nave and Narthex, the Chapel, the Parish Hall, and the Great Hall for community events, gatherings, celebrations, and meetings. The Nave is wheelchair accessible, and inquiries go through the Director of Operations and Communications.
Clergy, Staff, and Vestry
The Rev. Jennifer King Daugherty serves as Rector, the parish's clergy leader since April 2024. She came to St. Stephen's from Saint Mark's Cathedral, where she spent nine and a half years as Canon for Community Life and Canon for Connection and Engagement. Her ministry interests include Celtic spirituality, inclusive liturgy, creative approaches to scripture study, and engaging the visual arts as a spiritual practice. She has served on diocesan commissions including the Standing Committee and the Commission on Ministry. She holds an MDiv from Seattle University and an MBA from NYU, and works as a Managing Director at Kaufman Hall. She is glad to be in mutual ministry with the congregation as it develops spiritual formation for all ages, an expanded music program, and a full-day preschool.
The Reverend Peter Snow serves as Associate Priest. He grew up in England during World War II, studied academic theology at St. John's College, Cambridge, and was ordained a priest of the Church of England in Birmingham. He moved to the United States in 1967 and worked in Southern California on alcohol treatment programs, protection and assistance for survivors of domestic violence, post-traumatic stress studies, and minority youth and youth ministries. He is the author of three books, including The Book of Sam: Putting Together a Spiritual Life Without a Lot of Belief.
John Terauds is Minister of Music and is also employed full-time as a hospice chaplain with Kline Galland. He spent thirty-seven years as a church music director and a long career as a writer and editor at the Toronto Star before moving to Seattle. David Baylor, an Assisting Lay Minister, has been a member of St. Stephen's since the mid-1970s and has served as both junior and senior warden, as a chorister, lay reader, eucharistic minister, preacher, and officiant for Morning Prayer. He previously served as Disaster Coordinator for the Diocese of Olympia and as a national Partner in Response and Recovery for the US Disaster Program of Episcopal Relief & Development. Claudia Basile, the Director of Operations and Communications, is a native Seattleite whose mother was a professional church organist and who graduated magna cum laude from Knox College with a degree in history.
The elected vestry is led by Senior Warden Chris Dorling and Junior Warden Anne Adams, with Temple Jorden as Clerk. Other members include Michael Bruen, Deborah Donnell, Marla Malone, Monty McGovern, Jennifer Gary, and Melissa Minas.
Weekday Rhythms of the Parish
Beyond Sunday morning, St. Stephen's keeps a steady weekly rhythm of prayer, study, and music.
- Tuesday mornings, 11:00 a.m., Vestry Room: Still Waters: Community, Contemplation, and Action, a weekly group led by Elizabeth Clark-Stern that blends gentle Tai Chi and ten minutes of Centering Prayer in the spirit of Richard Rohr's Contemplative Christianity program. The same group meets again on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom.
- Wednesday evenings, 6:30 p.m.: two parallel Bible studies. The Women's Bible Study meets in the Vestry Room using the Yale Bible Study curriculum. The Men's Bible Study meets in the Parish Hall. Both groups welcome newcomers.
- Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.: Choir Practice in the Nave, the weekly rehearsal that prepares the choir to lead worship on Sunday.
- Sunday afternoons, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.: the Youth Group Food Program in the Great Hall, a regular gathering of the parish's youth service ministry.
Girl Scout Troop 40196 also calls St. Stephen's home, using the building for its meetings.
Sunday Forums, Special Events, and the Women's Retreat
After church on select Sundays the parish gathers in the Parish Hall for a Sunday Forum. Recent forums have included Contemplative Spirituality 101 led by John Terauds and a conversation led by Senior Warden Chris Dorling on the mutual ministry goals of the parish. The parish also hosts seasonal celebrations such as the Blessing of Animals on the Feast of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, when the community gathers on the parish lawn to bless pets and welcome neighbors.
Each fall the parish holds its Women's Retreat at the Sacred Waters Center for Restoration and Retreat, the diocesan synthesis of St. Andrew's House, Harmony Hill, Multicultural Ministries, and Creation Care on Hood Canal. The retreat runs from Friday at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday at noon, with two nights' lodging, six meals, materials, and program for $300 per person, with scholarships available. The 2026 retreat features two art talks by a specialist in sacred art on the Annunciation and on gestures of compassion, with time for hiking, free time, prayer, and farm-to-table meals.
St. Stephen's also makes its music ministry a public gift. A parish member, Isaiah Ragland, has performed with the pop a cappella group Outpour at Sunset Serenade events around Seattle, and the choir regularly returns from its summer break to lead worship at a Homecoming Sunday brunch each September.
Supporting the Parish
One-time and recurring donations are processed online by credit or debit card, or by direct ACH transfer from a bank account. ACH gifts incur a 1% processing fee and credit card gifts incur a 2.9% fee. The Director of Operations and Communications assists donors with questions. A weekly newsletter keeps the parish informed of upcoming events, sermons, and seasonal activities, and subscriptions are free.
A Place at the Heart of Laurelhurst
St. Stephen's has been rooted in the same Laurelhurst block since the late 1930s. Ground was first broken in 1936 when the original address was still 4805 East 45th Street, before NE 45th Street had been laid out. The smaller building that first served as the main church is now used as the chapel, and a wall featuring a cross in 1959 photographs has since been replaced with stained glass. The parish once owned houses at 4823 and 4829 East 45th Street, which were moved in the mid-1950s to make room for the expanding church. A house once belonging to Dr. John F. Pritchard at 3368 E. Laurelhurst Drive was used as the "Pritchard Chapel," and a rectory on Ivanhoe Place served the parish from 1944 to 1952. Today the same campus hosts the Nave, the Chapel, the Parish Hall, the Great Hall, the Vestry Room, and the Choir Room, all within easy reach of the Laurelhurst Park paths Rector Jennifer Daugherty often walks.
For more than a century the parish has gathered to pray, sing, study, and serve in this corner of Seattle, and it continues to welcome anyone who walks through the doors at 4805 NE 45th Street on a Sunday morning or any day of the week.