Welcome to St. Stephen’s, and I hope you will join us at our Sunday or Thursday services for prayer through music. Most of our services start with two or more chants in the tradition of Taizé, which is often a simple, repeated mantra like "Come, Holy Spirit" -- the words are found in the small white books next to each seat if the chant is new to you. I think that starting the liturgy this way is a most effective way to find your voice and your spiritual center as well. As a group exercise I hope too that to pray this way helps us to each lose a sense of one's own self and connect as a common group, coming together to worship as one voice. The chants are purposefully simple so that there are no outsiders, and no need to bury yourself in printed materials.

We are blessed with a rich music tradition here for over 175 years and the high standards of those who came before us, and equally blessed to be in a parish not afraid of what is new and different. We are blessed to be in one of the geographical centers for some of the finest training institutions in the world for musicians, places like the Curtis Institute, Temple University and others, from which so many have left or are leaving their musical imprint within this sacred space. The service music on Sunday mornings is led by a quartet of professional singers who never cease to amaze me, not here to perform for you but here to help you to find your own voice inside and express it to the glory of God. On Sundays there is an anthem leaning toward the English cathedral tradition, while at the Thursday noon service the emphasis leans to a pop style. Each Saturday the Philadelphia Sinfonia youth orchestra rehearses here and their talent and commitment and glorious sound lingers here even after they are gone.

I hope that you will share my excitement and thanksgiving about St. Stephen's, and be a part of our group on Thursdays or Sundays, or both, or of the many special events here in this sacred space.

Mark Yurkanin (Music Director) has been a part of St. Stephen's Church since 1990. His work in the musical theatre community of the Philadelphia area has included shows for Act II Playhouse Ambler, Hedgerow Theatre, Bristol Riverside Theatre, the Walnut Street Theatre, and others. He is an honors graduate of Penn State university, a former intern of the Kennedy Center, Washington, and a participant in continuing studies at the Julliard School and Westminster Choir College.