St. Stephen’s has for many years included animal welfare among its many concerns. St. Stephen’s Rector, Fr. Jamie Parsley, has been a long-time vegan and is an outspoken advocate for animal rights.
Ron Richard (1950-2009), a very faithful and committed parishioner of St. Stephen’s, was truly a man ahead of his time. Ron was a passionate environmentalist and animal rights activist. He was especially committed to the work of PETA. He took great pride in the simple, Earth-friendly, vegan life that he and his animal family lived, and often commented that they had brought Isaiah’s vision to reality. In August of 2006, he founded FMVeg, a local community of Vegans and Vegetarians. We are all so grateful to Ron and for all he did in his short lifetime.
Because of Ron and our own commitment to “Isaiah’s vision,” we are grateful to host the FM Veg group on occasion at St. Stephen’s, especially for its annual “Gentle Thanksgiving,” the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
We also regularly offer vegetarian and vegan options at our coffee hour following Eucharist on Sundays and other events like our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper which we do on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent each year.
If you are Vegan or vegetarian or are just curious about exploring a more compassionate or maybe a healthier lifestyle know that everyone is welcome at FMVeg! FM Veg has monthly vegan potlucks, goes out to vegan friendly restaurants, as well as informational meetings, cooking classes, an annual VegFest, and recipe swaps!
