Our Story, Our Faith
St Stephen's has served the Pillgwenlly community for generations, standing as a beacon of hope and faith in Newport's historic dockland area. Our story is woven into the fabric of this vibrant neighbourhood, adapting and growing with its people.
Today, we continue that legacy with a contemporary evangelical calling. We blend authentic Anglican tradition with lively worship and deep community engagement, sharing practical faith that makes a real difference in daily lives.
St Stephen’s is a church and community facility located in the heart of Pillgwenlly (Pill), one of Newport’s most deprived wards. While it remains an active place of worship, the building operates as a well-established community hub, providing a range of services and activities that respond directly to local needs and challenges.
Through this work, St Stephen’s supports residents of Pill by offering practical help, safe space and opportunities for social connection.The primary focus of activity at St Stephen’s is to support local families and young people, particularly those experiencing poverty, isolation or social disadvantage.
The facility is used by people from a wide range of faiths, cultures and backgrounds, and is intentionally operated as a shared space that fosters inclusion, mutual respect and community cohesion. This includes on going work with asylum seekers and members of the Sudanese community in Pill, alongside long-standing local residents and families.
The St Stepehen’s site is shared with our partner charity, The Pill Trust, and operates as a base for a wide range of regular community services. Together we deliver youth provision, parents and toddler groups and a weekly drop in café, alongside practical cost of living support including a clothes swap shop and community food provision. These activities are delivered collaboratively and make consistent use of the building throughout the week, ensuring it remains an accessible and trusted space of residents.
The site is in active use throughout the week and functions as a consistently busy community space. Activities take place across every day, including weekdays, evenings and weekends, with a wide range of user groups. A typical week at St Stephen’s includes the following regular activities:
Sunday: Morning and evening worship
Monday: Closed all day
Tuesday: Pill Trust Toddler group am Taekwondo group pm
Wednesday: Mustard Seed Women’s Group pm
Thursday: Pill Trust Play Café
Friday: Band practice
Saturday: Mustard Seed Family Church all day
During school holidays, when demand for support increases, youth and family provision at St Stepehen’s expands to provide a safe and welcoming space to play, learn and socialise.
In addition, the site is the base of our annual bags of hope project, through which approximately 1500 bags containing healthy food and snacks are distributed to local households.
This initiative not only addresses food insecurity during the festive period but also enables volunteers to engage directly with residents, helping to reduce social isolation and strengthen community connections.
Professional assessment shows that the roof of our building is in an advanced state of deterioration and requires urgent repair. Without intervention, there is a clear risk that the building will become unsafe, leading to full closure on safety grounds.
In the absence of a safe, watertight and warm facility, St Stephen’s would be unable to continue delivering its current range of community services. This would result in the loss of a well-used and trusted support hub for families and individuals in Pill who are already experiencing significant levels of poverty and deprivation.
We are embarking on an ambitious project to not only replace the roof, but also to remodel the interior of the building to better provide space, storage and facilities for all the projects and events we run now and in the future. You can donate to our Raise the Roof project here.
Part of the Heart of Newport Ministry Area
Part of the Anglican Church in Wales
We believe in the power of shared mission. St Stephen's works collaboratively with neighbouring parishes, strengthening our collective outreach and ensuring a broader impact across the city.
Meet Our Ministry Team
Our dedicated team of clergy, lay ministers, and community coordinators are committed to unpretentious service and fostering a welcoming environment for everyone.
Rev'd Canon Justin Groves
Eleanor Law
James, our Families Pastor, has wide experience and enthusiasm for teaching and is passionate about working with children and making a difference to their lives.
Lucy Groves
James Lawrence
Rev'd Kevin Hasler
As a Team Vicar, Justin leads our worship and guides our community vision. He is passionate about seeing lives transformed by practical faith.
Lucy leads our worship and teaches as well as being a key motivator for our outreach and mission.
Eleanor leads our sung worship and coordinates our team of musicians.
Although now retired, Kevin supports Justin in leading and preaching and in some of our practical projects.