St Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal

Ok. I need to start out this by stating that I am not a follower of any religious doctrine or belief. I am just a member of the greater community and an artistic type.
I went to St. Stephens this past week in order to work on a short film about it. My own spiritual background makes me a little bit uneasy whenever I am in a church, but this was a slightly different place.
It felt a lot more like a community center than a religious institution. Yes, there were beautiful stained glass windows and an altar and pews and all those things that make a church as house of worship. But the activities that were going around were not just about religion. It plays host to a number of community and artistic groups. I was there to witness rehearsals by a local Capitol Fringe show, a singing group, what appeared to be some sort of poetry writing group, and after talking with the pastor I learned about a lot more.
They have a wonderful space with a stage and lots of open space and make themselves available to the artistic community as well as the general community for events. Its clear that although for many people there is a spiritual element to what goes on there, for some people it is much more about the community than about following a specific belief.
I also got to learn a little bit about the history of the church. Including that they had involvement in a gay liturgical union back in the 1970’s, a full 40 years ago. Talk about being ahead of the curve and right on. They have a HUGE history of community involvement in some pretty amazing ways.
If you are looking for a church to worship at, I can’t really advise. Thats a very personal decision, but if you come here and talk to the pastor (who is exceedingly friendly and quite the awesome guy) you might figure out if you fit in.
If you are looking for a community center and support for your artistic endeavors this is most certainly the place to go. Everyone is very friendly and its already got a pretty sizable art community there. This is not your typical ‘church’ crowd. Check it out.