All About Us

Welcome to St. James' Episcopal Church

All About Us

Welcome
We are glad to have each worshiper among us and encourage you to be here on a regular basis. Thank you for your presence. Be sure to sign our guest register in the narthex. For families, the area opposite the choir (the transcept) has been furnished especially for those with infants and small children.

Communion
All baptized Christians who truly believe that Christ is present in the Sacrament of Holy Communion are welcome at the Lord's Table, and are invited to receive communion.

To recieve communion, come to the rail at the front of the church and kneel or stand. You may eat the bread when it is given to you and sip from the cup or you may hold the bread and dip it in the communion wine.

Our church directory is available online. Click the picture to be redirected to the Olan Mills site.

Church Leadership - The Vestry

The Vestry members, along with the rector as their presiding officer, are leaders of the parish and trustees of the parish resources (ie finances, property and buildings). They are also spiritual leaders who are committed to building up the Body of Christ. The Vestry, an elected body, is made up of confirmed members of the church, (18 years of age or older) who exemplify members in good standing by their presence and financial commitment. Members of the Vestry are elected for staggered terms of three years.

Vestry Meetings are open to all members of the Parish. You are invited to listen and have voice when a resolution is discussed. If you wish to address the Vestry with a concern or proposal to be placed on the agenda, please contact either the Rector or the Senior Warden by the Monday preceding the meeting.

Following Holy Eucharist at 6:00 pm in the Little Church, meetings are regularly held in the Conference Room of the Parish Hall on the second Wednesday of each month

Please note the vestry minutes are posted in the Parish Hall and a few copies are available in the back of the church.

Church Buildings & Grounds

Help Us Remember! There is a check list on the bulletin board in the kitchen. If you see items needed in the kitchen or bathrooms or in church, please check them off. Each month items noted on the list will be purchased. There is scrap paper beside the check list for any notes of other concerns you may have about our buildings and grounds.

Keeping our buildings clean and inviting is one of many ways to welcome people to St. James.

Church History

St. James, A History

Old Postcard of St. James at old location

St. James the Greater

Two of the twelve apostles were named James. St. James the Greater is the brother of the apostle St. John and son of Zebedee and Mary Salome. He is "the Greater" because he was called to the apostolate earlier than St. James the Less, the "Brother of Jesus" who led the Christians of Jerusalem until that city's destruction in 70 AD. A tradition in late antiquity held that the apostles divided up the world into territories to be evangelized, with Spain falling to St. James. In the ninth century a Galician monk announced that a star had led him to a field where he found the remains of the saint. This "field of the star" became the city of Compostela, one of the most important medieval pilgrimage destinations.

The scallop shell is a symbol of St. James, the Greater, our patron saint. There are two versions of the legend surrounding the use of this shell as symbolic of St. James. One legend claims that after James' death, his disciples shipped his body to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. Off the coast of Spain a heavy storm hit the ship, and the body was lost to the ocean. After some time, however, the body washed ashore undamaged, covered in scallops.

The second legend recounts that after James' death his body was mysteriously transported by a ship with no crew back to the Iberian Peninsula to be buried in what is now Santiago. As James' ship approached land, a wedding was taking place on the shore. The young bridegroom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, his horse got spooked, and the horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse and rider emerged from the water alive, covered in sea-shells.

Special Request

John Lovett, Jim and Peg Phillips’ son-in-law, has had PKD, a kidney disease, since he was 25. He is now in need of a kidney transplant.

Jim and Peg are asking for two things:

+ that you pray for John and Patty
and the family

+ you prayerfully consider if you would be
tested as a possible kidney donor.

If you are considering the possibility of being tested as a potential donor, please contact the Emory University Transplant Center in Atlanta, GA, at 1-866-727-3250 for a brief first interview. John Lovett’s health insurance the cost of testing for a match.

For more details, talk with Jim, Peg, John or Patty at 755-5396 or call the church office at 752-2218.

Jazz on the Lake Results Through the hard work and participation of so many, St. James was able to give John Lovett a check for $3728.00 raised by the Jazz on the Lake event. Thank you from the Steuarts for everyone who helped and a huge thank you from Patti and John Lovett.

Saving Gracie

Our Amazing Gracie...
This is Gracie White, daughter of Jimmy & Sarah (Kelly) White. To stay updated on her progress or to get information on her condition, please click on her picture to be redirected to her website.