A Brief History
Saint Stephen's originated in the home of a family in Waretown in the early 1930's.
The Holy Innocents Chapel at Waretown was born as requests were made of a retired Priest from the Diocese of Long Island named Reverend Colin Walker, to baptize people in the area. Evening prayer services were held at a home and with growth a mission was organized. When permission was received from the Bishop, the group, with assistance from Reverend Walker and Holy Innocents, Beach Haven, rented a building that was converted into a Chapel and here regular services were held. Funds were soon raised to build a church and St. Stephen's first church was dedicated on January 4, 1937. Reverend Walker continued his ministry in Waretown until 1940.
From 1940 until 1955 St. Stephen's was served by Reverends J. Mervin Pettit, Samuel E. Purdy and Clarence Scholl. In 1955 it was necessary to move to a larger building and the church bought the property where it resides today. In 1961 The Reverend Canon William H. Paul came to serve St. Stephen's. St. Stephen's became a parish in 1965. A new church was erected in 1965 and the old church became the parish hall.
The Rev. Canon Paul served as Rector until 1987. During his time at St. Stephen's the church grew and the parish practiced much outreach into the community. Our Thrift Store and Food Bank are two examples still thriving and a third is our Good Samaritan House, a small house on the property that houses men in transition in their lives. We also have a thriving Sunday school program. A Memorial Garden and Columbarium were built to provide a place of final rest for the parishioners. During Canon Paul's tenure St. Stephen's , Waretown shared the ministry of Holy Spirit, Tuckerton and in the founding of Saint Stephen's, Whiting.
In 1988 The Reverend Austin B. Murray was called as Rector. A building program was begun and the walls of the church were expanded, seating was increased and a new parish hall was constructed, including office space, a large kitchen and classrooms. The old parish hall became the Thrift Store and was relocated to the southwest corner of the property. Reverend Murray served as Rector until 2008. One of his last acts before leaving was burning our mortgage.
In September 2010, St Stephens welcomed the Reverend Terry Martin as Rector. Over his 10 years of shepherding St. Stephens, he brought a passion for serving the poor, the homeless and hungry to St. Stephens and the wider church. He helped grow the parish food pantry and worked tirelessly to improve the good Sam house for men. During his tenure, Terry instituted the much-loved Garden Eucharist and designed and planted the Chapel Garden which supports the Good Sam house and the food pantry. He retired from ministry in 2020 and died on Pentecost Sunday two years later.
During the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, St. Stephen's conducted online worship using Zoom technology. Our virtual live Sunday worship service was conducted by the Rev. Mantel Bradley for 13 weeks when we returned to in-person worship.
In October of 2020, St. Stephen's entered into an autonomous affiliation agreement with The Church of the Holy Spirit in Tuckerton, for the purpose of sharing clergy. Together, in April of 2022, we called our current Co-Priests-in-Charge. The Rev. Dr. Chip Graves and The Rev Lisa Graves (Husband and Wife).
The windows of saint stephen's
The windows along the side aisles of the Church present an expanse of glass 55 feet long and is divided into 23 windows. The artist’s conception is of twenty 23 separate windows, each with a border and a shield bearing a symbol with a religious motif. The total of 46 designs include the apostles, other Saints, the seasons of the Church year and the seven Sacraments of the Episcopal Church.
The 23 windows are tied into one long design by flowing ribbons of colored bands, undulating for the entire 55 feet. The ribbons lead the eye from the lower corner at the rear of the Church to rise at the Altar and toward the Cross. The significance is that, while we are each a person with strong individual characteristics, we are all tied together in God’s love for us.
The undulating ribbons also suggest the motions of the sea, so close at hand. All the lines in the windows, except the borders, are freehand curves. This is in direct contract with the architecture of the building .
The glass itself was hand-blown in England, Germany, France and the United states. It is cut and leaded without the benefit of paint. The design of the shield, however, is painted on, then the glass is fired to a high degree of heat, baking the color into the glass permanently. This is true “stained glass.”
The predominating color is red, representing God’s love for man and the blood of the martyred Saints. The colors above the red are sky colors, light pastels, blues and whites and the reds of sunrise and sunset, of storms and rainbows. The colors below are earth colors, darker blues and greens, oranges and yellows, water and earth.
Purple stands for royalty, green for spring and triumph of live over death, blue for heavenly love, white for innocence of soul, yellow and orange for the warmth of the sun.
Window No. 1—St. Stephen
Given to the Glory of God by Father Paul
Window No. 2—St. Mark
Given in Memory of Teller M. Seeland (1882-1962),
by Chaplain & Mrs. A.D. Seeland & Family
Window No. 3—St. Luke
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by The Rebele and Fitzpatrick Families
Window No. 4—St. Paul
Given in Prayerful Thought of my wife, Alice, by John E. Selser
Window No. 5—St. Peter
Given in Memory of Peter & Henriette Rose by Mr. and Mrs. George L. Rose
Window No. 6—St. Mary
Given to the Glory of God by Father Paul
Window No. 7—Agnus Dei
Given in Memory of Anna Dolecki, Catherine & Lester Nahrebre,
by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Nahrebne
Window No. 8—St. Andrew
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by Mr & Mrs. Morris A. Hulsizer
Window No. 9—Baptism
Given in Memory of Mr. & Mrs. Oscar Letts and Children,
by Ruth L. and LeRoy Corliss
Window No. 10—Trinity
Given in Memory of Their Parents by Lela and William Chandler
Window No. 11—St. James
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by Grace and Robert Martin Jr. & Robert III,
by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Nahrebne
Window No. 12—Confirmation
Given in Memory of Betty Strong (1918-1919) by Mr. & Mrs. William Strong.
Window No. 13—Cross & Crown
Given in Memory of Their Beloved Parents by Shirley & Vernon Sohner
Window No. 14—St. John
Given in Memory of J. Mervin Pettit, Priest by Rhonda & Edward Pettit
Window No. 15—Marriage
Given in Memory of Frederick W. Jenkin by Ruth Jenkin
Window No. 16—Alpha & Omega
Given in Memory of Frank Matthew Uehlein & Eleanor Christie Uehlein,
by Mr. & Mrs. Donald Uehlein
Window No. 17—St. Philip
Given in Memory of Calvin Charles Hoffman by the Hoffman Family
Window No. 18—St. Barnabas
Given to the Glory of God by Mr. & Mrs. Laurence Walsh
Window No. 19—St. John Baptist
Given in Memory of Beloved Parents, Caroline and Charles Ulrich,
by Edna and James Druiett
Window No. 20—St. Bartholomew
Given with Thanksgiving by Emily & Ronald Matthews
Window No. 21—St. Michael
Given in Memory of Herman, Ida and Bertha Weiblen,
by Eugene & Pauline Weiblen
Window No. 22—All Saints
Given in Loving Memory of her beloved husband, William Henry King,
by his wife, Eleanor.
Window No. 23—St. Cecelia
Given in Thanksgiving by Olga Paul
Window No. 24—St. Francis
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by Mr & Mrs. Morris A. Hulsizer
Window No. 25—Advent
Given in Memory of Fletcher & Lela Stillwell,
by Grace & Forrest Reifsneider and Craig Stillwell.
Window No. 26—Christmas
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by the Harwood Eric Fish Family.
Window No. 27—St. Thomas
Given in Memory of John H. S. Thomas, Jr. and Anna A. Dust Thomas,
by Dorothea A. Thomas Seeland and T. Arthur Seeland.
Window No. 28—Epiphany
Given to the Glory of God by the John J. Baita Family
Window No. 29—Holy Unction
Given in Memory of Mary (Mae) Kozak by Anthony & Richard Kozak
Window No. 30—St. Matthew
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by Leon J. Racioppi Family
Window No. 31—Lent
Given in Memory of Mr. & Mrs. M. J. Hayden and Mr. & Mrs. John Kirkpatrick,
by Helene and Andrew Kirkpatrick
Window No. 32—Holy Week
Given in Memory of Abbie E. Welles & Peter L. McIntyre, USN Ret,
by Robert L. Hanson, Sr. son of Abbie and Mary, Daughter of Peter
Window No. 33—St. James
Given in Memory of Loved Ones by James and Marye Sonia
Window No. 34—Good Friday
Given in Memory of Bette T. Harvey by William and Family
Window No. 35—Easter
Given in Memory of the Letts & Brown Families by Floyd & Evelyn Brown
Window No. 36—St. Jude
Given in Memory of Alexander McDade by his daughter, Margaret Ward
Window No. 37—Ascension
Given in Memory of Frederick Schulmeister & Elizabeth Vajada
By Margaret Schulmeister & Gloria Davis.
Window No. 38—Pentecost
Given in Memory of her husband, Oscar A. Olson by his wife, Anna L. Olson
Window No. 39—St. Simon
Given in Memory o Mr. & Mrs. William B. Ward by their son, David Ward.
Window No. 40—Holy Orders
Given in Memory of Gladys Mae Parsons by Helen & Osborne Budd
Window No. 41—Penance
Given in Thanksgiving and in Memory of Parents, Louis Charles & Meta Gerken,
by Helen Louise Maria
Window No. 42—St. Matthias
Given in Memory of her husband, Joseph Herrmann by Helena Herrmann
Window No. 43—Holy Eucharist
Given in Loving Memory of Theodore & Pauline Schifflin ,
by Eugene & Pauline Weiblen
Window No. 44—Prayer Book
Given in Loving Memory of Martha Southgate by Husband and Children
Window No. 45—St. Vincent
Given in Memory of Margaret E. & Isaac King and Harriet & Robert Strong,
by Mr. & Mrs. William Strong, Sr.
Window No. 46—Hand Of God
Given in Memory of Alberta & Robert H. Roan by their Daughters & Grandson