St. Stephen’s congregation processes to their new church on Palm Sunday 1961
Monday, March 16, 2015
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church congratulates the City of Troy on its 60th Anniversary and is pleased to be an active member of the Troy community since 1957.
St. Stephen’s began as a mission of Christ Church, Cranbrook in 1957 with services at Eastover School. The years of meeting in the school were a triumph of ingenuity, fellowship, and community effort. Worshipers brought in everything needed and disguised the basketball hoops with draperies. Sunday School met in the hallways.
In 1960, a former riding stable was purchased on Adams Road and construction began. On Palm Sunday, 1961, members and guests and marched the quarter mile from Eastover School to their new church. They were led by a Salvation Army Band, colorfully-vested clergy, and parishioners waving palms, carrying babies, and pushing toddlers in strollers. The police stopped traffic, and many neighbors came out to watch!
That spirit still thrives at St. Stephen’s, where the motto is “You are welcome here!” The church is known for its multigenerational inclusiveness, strong youth programs, interfaith activities, vibrant worship, and service to those in need — nearby and around the world. For more information go to www.ststephenstroy.org
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
