Rev. Stephanie Shepard

In an effort to present different members of our community, I interviewed Rev. Stephanie Shepard of St. Timothy Anglican church on Kitchener Street in Burnaby.

1.  Tell us a little about yourself. 

I grew up in the lower mainland, in North Vancouver. From an early age I thought coming to God made me more fully human.  Before starting at St. Timothy's ten years ago, I served at St. Paul’s in the west end of Vancouver.
I am married to a teacher and have two daughters, one in high school.

2. Tell us a bit about your congregation.

When I came to this church the congregation was mostly older people who were well established in this community. They had been here a very long time. Now we have a lot more younger families, we still have the older people, but now there are a lot more young families.
We have about 60-70 people at the church. We also have around 40 children. We seem to have the older and younger segments of the community well covered. What is missing from our congregation is the 40-60 year olds—the boomers. They are really busy and perhaps have memories of Sunday school being boring. They remember being bored in stiff clothes. That isn't what the church is about anymore. We think of it as a time to recharge. Church is what happens out there in the world. All Sunday is, is a gathering.  It is a base camp.

3.  Beyond gathering on Sundays, what does your church do in the community?

Everywhere I go I get into conversations with people. That is what church is too. We also do a lot of pastoral visiting. For the church, helping people is not just a matter of giving out a loaf of bread. It is a continuum of care. 

Some specific examples of what we do—we are the north Burnaby depot for the food bank. We don't just offer people in need food. We also feed people's emotional and spiritual hunger. 

We also have "Free-cycling" where we share resources with each other. Everyone in the congregation goes through their closets and homes and brings in what they want to donate. We set up tables and everyone takes what they need. Whatever is left over at the end we donate to agencies. We support Burnaby Family Life and the Progressive Housing Society among other charities. 

4. What would you like people who don't come to your church to know?

That the church is very engaged in the community and in issues. We care about the environment and social justice. 

Reverend Shepard also spoke to us about the issue of youth and volunteering with the church. The raw video is here.