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About Us
We are your friends and neighbors in the Tustin/Irvine area! St. Stephen's is a Christian
church in the Anglican Tradition. We affirm that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and that following him gives
our lives meaning and purpose.
We began our ministry together in 2006, and have grown steadily ever since. St. Stephen's is affiliated with the
Association of Western Anglican Congregations, The Anglican Communion Network, and the Worldwide Anglican Communion.
In March, 2008 we were formally admitted to full parish status in our diocese. |
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| We worship according to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, using both traditional and
contemporary music. We believe that worship should always be reverent, but never stuffy. All of our Sunday Services
include readings from Scripture, a Biblically-based sermon, and Holy Communion. We also enjoy a lively after-service
time for fellowship and refreshments. |
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Welcome to St. Stephen's. I'm Linda Crowder, the rector. The rector is the senior pastor of an Anglican
Church. I'm responsible for leading worship and managing activities in the office during the week. Call me to talk
or to schedule an appointment. I'm usually in the office Tuesday through Friday between 10:00 and 2:00. I'm available
by appointment in the evenings and on Saturday.
Before becoming the rector of St. Stephen's, I served in other churches as an assistant to the rector. |
I developed educational programs for children and adults, and have always loved preaching, teaching,
leading worship, and visiting the sick. St. Stephen's is, without a doubt, my favorite of the churches that I have
served. It is filled with warm, welcoming people who love the Lord and who want to work together to build His church.
I love my work!
I love my family, too. My husband, Charles, and I celebrated our thirty-second wedding anniversary in 2011. We
have two grown daughters, two young granddaughters, and a varied assortment of dogs and cats.
I grew up in Southern California, and I can't imagine living anywhere else. I earned a BA in math from Pomona College
in 1977 and a Masters of Divinity from the Claremont School of Theology in 1997. |
Hello, I am Nick Howk, and I am the Music Minister at St. Stephen's. I direct our choir and oversee
the musical events at our Parish. I love my work, St. Stephen's is very open to all things musical, and I get to
work with some very creative and gifted people. I can be seen on Sunday morning's joyfully leading hymns and worship
songs at our 10:00 service. I can also be found with a classical guitar at Wednesday Morning Eucharist, beginning
the day with worship and song.
I believe I was made to worship. From a young age, I was attracted to music and learned to play the accordion and
later the trombone. But when I heard the Beatles on Ed Sullivan….. I had to play the guitar! |
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Christmas came and there was a guitar under the tree, but now I needed a teacher. A local church
was having an outreach with free guitar lessons. I went, and I met a great teacher who continued to teach me for
several years. Later on in High School, my Roman Catholic Priest sent me to a weeklong retreat for youth leaders.
I heard nuns singing praise songs with the guitar for the first time. This was great! I learned the songs and returned
home. I soon discovered that my priest had set me up. He wanted me to bring guitar worship to our church and within
a few weeks, that was what I was doing. Soon I was playing at another Roman Catholic church and an Episcopal Church
as well. As a senior in high school I was a traveling worship leader and I have been involved in worship ever since.
Even after all these years, I still love to worship, there's nothing like it!
My other passion is helping people. I am a Clinical Pastoral Counselor with BreakThru Counseling Center. In my
practice, I help people with relational and behavioral problems. I especially like working with couples. I do both
pre-marital and marriage counseling. I have a BS in psychology from Vanguard University and an MS in Marriage and
Family Therapy from CSU Dominguez Hills.
I have the joy of working with my wife, Deacon Kep. Besides her role as Deacon, she is also a Marriage and Family
Therapist, and Director of BreakThru Counseling. We live in Cypress and while we haven't been blessed with children,
we have a full life, serving our clients and loving the church. We also have fun, riding our bikes, sharing a good
book, playing with our dogs, or just relaxing over a good cup of coffee.
I feel that we have really found a home here at St. Stephen's. The people are friendly and really have a heart
to serve. They serve each other but they also reach out in love to our local neighborhoods. I feel like I am leading
a worshipping community, a community who worships with their lives as well as their songs. I invite you to come
worship with us. |
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Hi! I am Deacon Kep and I am excited about what God is doing through St Stephen's Anglican Church.
I find that my journey to St Stephen's has been an interesting one. I was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic
and have always loved the beauty of the liturgy and the Mass. However, when I received the infilling of the Holy
Spirit in my mid-twenties, I began attending a non-denominational church. This lasted about ten years as I became
well grounded in the Word of God.
During this period of my life, I was an LPGA golf professional teaching at Los Coyotes County Club in Buena Park.
Though I loved my job as a golf pro, I felt a call to return to school and get a Master of Arts in Marriage and
Family Counseling. |
After graduate school, I co-founded an organization called BreakThru Ministries and have been doing
counseling through this ministry since 1988. As time went on, I noticed that my heart was yearning for the liturgical
setting where I could experience more of the mystery and wonder of Christ. Being led back into this setting, Christ
became alive. As I began to experience more of Him, I found myself drawn into serving in the various ministry opportunities
during the Eucharistic service; Lector, Lay Eucharistic Minister; and Acolyte. Over the next several years, I realized
God was calling me to become ordained and I took a step of faith by going back to school at Azusa Pacific University,
where I completed a Masters in Divinity. As I continued to explore this call, my path led me into the Anglican
Church where I found St Stephen's and eventually became a deacon.
Being a deacon at St Stephens is very special to me. People are warm and welcoming: easy to be with. I have found
that St Stephen's is a place where you can be yourself and meet new friends. It is also a place where you can be
with God and know that you are loved by Him.
My ministry at St Stephen's has taken on several roles. Being the deacon, it is important for me to know what is
going on in Tustin and our surrounding communities, so that we, as a church, can stay informed on how to minister
to the culture. I also support our Pastor, Linda, through prayer and assisting her in the many tasks it takes to
run a church. One of my areas of strength is putting together liturgical programs in a way that creates a special
experience of Biblical truth. I also enjoy teaching some of the spiritual formation classes that are held throughout
the year.
Oh, I cannot leave out the best part of my life. I am married to my wonderful husband, Nick Howk, who is our music
minister. It is always a joy to work with him on putting together special worship evenings for St Stephen's. However,
we do like to do other things too! We love to go to Starbucks and chat or take a bicycle ride down the riverbed
trail. We have done a variety of seminars together at various churches across Southern California for the purpose
of helping people develop closer relationships to one another and God. But I must say my favorite thing is Thursday
nights where we gather with other believers in our home in what I would describe as an "Acts Chapter 2"
fellowship time (dinner and all). The Lord is an awesome and great God who loves to meet with His people...and
I would have to say that is a ditto for me! |
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Janet Gillum Office Manager
Welcome to St. Stephen's Church office! Dropin and say hello!
I was born, raised and lived in Bakersfield CA for 70 years where I was a member of St. Paul's Anglican Church
and served on the Altar Guild. I also gave over 45 years of volunteer service to my community by serving in many
capacities with the United Way and other human needs charities.
After high school, I attended the University of Arizona and in 1954 married my high school sweetheart Jim. We had
2 children, a boy and a girl who gave us 4 grandsons, 1 granddaughter and one great granddaughter.
In 2004, as a widow, I moved to Irvine to be closer to my daughter and her family and several years later I became
affiliated with my wonderful St. Stephen's family. Besides my numerous office duties I am the assistant Altar Guild
Directress and serve as a Lector. I love my job and It is truly a blessing and a joy to me to be able to serve
my Lord in all ways. |
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