|
OUR HISTORY . . .
 IN THE BEGINNING - When St. James Church was organized in 1923, the membership consisted of the members of the Church of the Epiphany and a number of communicants of St. John's parish who resided in North Knoxville. The Haynes property on North Broadway, (our present day location), was acquired by exchanging the Church of the Epiphany, (located downtown), and a house & lot on Wells Avenue owned by St. John's parish. The congregation grew so rapidly a campaign for subscriptions to a fund to erect a new church was authorized by the vestry August 10, 1926. The members enthusiastically pledged their financial support and a building committee was formed. The firm of Barber and McMurray was chosen as architects and work on the new building was started on January 9, 1927. On Sunday afternoon, March 13, 1927, the corner stone was laid by Bishop Gailor with Rev. Eugene Hopper assisting and a large congregation present.
 865-357-0703 - Your interest in this publication demonstrates your affection for St. James and our mission. As we prepare to celebrate our centennial, we want to hear some of the reasons you love St. James and/or brief stories you can share about some of the wonderful ways you have seen our ministries perform God's work.
Please consider taking a moment to call 865-357-0703 and share your sentiments. A recorded greeting will invite you to share them over the phone. Each recording will be saved and added to a special centennial celebration audio collection. Please call more than once to share your stories!
|
|
|
THE PRESENT . . .
 MEMORIAL DAY - Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.
Accordingly, the office at St. James will be closed for official business in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 30. We hope everyone enjoys a reverent and relaxing Memorial Day weekend.
 PRIDE MASS - The Episcopal Church in East Tennessee has announced this year’s Pride Mass will return to St. James on Friday, June 3, (6:30 pm - 8 pm), to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ siblings. All are welcome to attend! This year’s guest preacher is The Rev. Kim Jackson, Episcopal Priest and Georgia State Senator. In addition to serving in her political capacities, Rev. Jackson serves as the Vicar of the Episcopal Church of the Common Ground, an innovative and creative community without walls serving the unhoused in the heart of Atlanta. This year’s recipient of the offering collection and donations is Bryant’s Bridge Gender Affirming Care fund. Bryant’s Bridge envisions a world where all youth have access to full acceptance, safety, honor and understanding of self, and freedom to develop into the individuals they are meant to be, regardless of societal structures that marginalize and present obstacles to that end. Bryant’s Bridge offers a range of support options for LGBTQIA+ youth in Knoxville.
 PRAYER FOR GLBT MONTH - The St. James Praying the Rosary group would like to invite everyone to join us on Zoom during the month of June to support and celebrate our LGBTQIA+ siblings. The Rosary group meets online every Thursday at 7 pm and lasts about 30 minutes. [Zoom Meeting ID: 836 8961 2206 password: rosary] Anglican Rosaries are available upon request. Click THIS LINK to read the prayers that will be shared. Please contact Cynthia Thornburg for more information - cynthia.thornburg16@gmail.com
 ORDINATION DATE CHANGE - Ashton Sims will be ordained a priest on Friday, May 27 at 7 pm at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Oak Ridge. Your prayers and presence are requested.
DIOCESAN EVANGELICAL FACILITATOR - St. James is proud to announce the Diocesan Licensing of Drew Jeske-Polyak as a Diocesan Evangelical Facilitator. For the last year, Drew has worked with Fr. John Mark through a period of discernment. With his work on the Audio/Visual Team, making sure the virtual world hears the good news of Christ, Neighbor Day Team, making sure our business neighbors know the outreach work we do and passion for letting people know what God wants, Evangelism was a natural fit. The Diocese accepted Drew’s call and enrolled him in Bexley Seabury Seminary to complete a 6 week Evangelical Leadership program. Upon graduating, the Diocese granted Drew a full license to spread the good news of God the way Jesus taught us.
To begin practicing his evangelism, Drew has decided to look inward to St. James, and is planning story sharing classes as a base for teaching what evangelism is. Additionally, he is making himself available to the Daughters of the King, and Christian Formation classes. Drew now enjoys being named to the Diocesan Task Force for Evangelism and is working with the Chair, Brother Andrew Morehead to begin work beyond St. James in spreading the stories of Christ.
 EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY - Did you know there are parts of the Orthodox Church that consider the Holy Spirit to be female? Or that there were thriving Christian communities in China in the seventh century? Have you ever read a whole gospel in one sitting, and felt the growing suspense and emotion of the story as it progresses? Education for Ministry (EfM) helps the faithful encounter the breadth and depth of the Christian tradition and bring it into conversation with our experiences of the world as we study, worship, and engage in theological reflection together. The program provides a four-year curriculum: Year 1 is a study of the Old Testament; Year 2, the New Testament; Year 3 the history of Christianity; and Year 4, theology. We meet weekly online on Sunday evenings (5-7 p.m.), beginning the Sunday after Labor Day and ending in early June. Currently, we are seeking new members for this fall. Contact Patricia Hammer (pchammerwv@gmail.com) or Mark Abell (mabell3368@sbcglobal.net) for more information.
 DOORSTEP MINISTRY - Last week, a woman who came for a lunch requested a copy of “The Daily Bread” devotional. She was told we didn’t have that, but we had something similar. After looking over a copy of “Forward Day by Day,” she smiled and thanked us. Another neighbor told us that a while back our lunches “kept her going” when she didn’t have anything else. The St. James Doorstep Ministry currently has an opening for a volunteer on Monday afternoons (noon - 4 pm). This is an opportunity to distribute bagged lunches and cold bottled water to our less fortunate neighbors, answer the office telephone, and perform other light office work at the reception desk in the church. If you think you might be interested in volunteering for Doorstep, please contact Pam Strickland at pamstrickland@mac.com or 865-386-0805.
 STRUGGLING WITH POVERTY - Poverty is a complex problem that often seems impossible to get out of. The constant pressure of simply living through each day results in a cycle of endless struggle. St. James works to pull many resources together with the love of God to address this multifaceted problem. Besides Doorstep Ministry providing lunches, Helping Hands providing groceries, and Justice Knox advocating for Justice, we will now be offering financial literacy sessions to neighbors struggling with poverty. Helping Hands clients, Love Towers residents, and Doorstep guests will be invited to participate in a 5-session series of 1-hour classes in June & July. Presented by Susan Bradford, MSSW, (Training & Education Manager, CAC), and Drew Jeske-Polyak, the series will be hosted at St. James in the Parish Hall on Wednesdays at 1 pm. The course material will explain basics on budgeting and goal making, dealing with bills, starting to save, meal planning, and how to use other community resources. Access a flier at THIS LINK. Space is limited. Contact Drew to register jeskepolyak@gmail.com.
 WORKING WITH CHILDREN - The Nursery and Children's Chapel are looking for anyone interested in helping with the kids of St. James. If you can spare a Sunday, we have many age groups that could use your help. Our Children's Nursery is provided every week for kids ages 0-5 that just love to play. Our Children's Chapel meets every other week providing spiritual growth opportunities for kids ages 5-12. We do crafts along with the lessons in the younger kids class. With the older kids ages 9-12, we talk about what the parents are hearing in church service that day, how they can relate to the scripture and how they can apply it in their everyday life? If you are interested please email Theresa at tde444@yahoo.com and type "Volunteer" in the subject line. No experience is needed and all materials are provided.
|
|
|
OUR FUTURE . . .
 CAPITAL CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF - The official kickoff for the St. James Centennial Capital Campaign will take place immediately following the 10:30 worship service on Sunday, June 19th. Join us in the Parish Hall for ice cream, coffee, and exhibits highlighting many of the major elements of the project. Despite the challenges we have faced with the pandemic, much work has been accomplished since the centennial exploratory committee first met in February 2021. This has included facilitation of a parish wide focus group study and administration of an opinion & interest survey, prioritization of identified project elements, selection of a project manager & design team, coordination of facility tours & engineering studies, creation of preliminary architectural drawings & budgets, and planning for the actual fundraising capital campaign. Come see what it's all about in the Parish Hall immediately following the 10:30 worship service on Sunday, June 19th
 HEAD COACH NAMED - We are pleased to announce Mark Abell has been named Head Coach of our team known as the St. James "Centennial Centipedes". This enthusiastic squad of St. James volunteers will operate a concessions stand in the shade of Neyland Stadium at 7 home games during the upcoming football season. St. James will receive 10% of ALL SALES generated through our concession stand and the payout will occur at the end of each game! PLUS, we will be permitted to have a vessel to collect additional donations for our centennial capital campaign! Hence, the name - Centennial Centipedes. Click THIS LINK to view a brochure that provides a description of the opportunity for fellowship. Kickoffs for each game are generally scheduled at noon, 3 pm, or 7 pm, but the exact time is not known until about 2 or 3 weeks ahead. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact kevin@stjamesknox.org or contact Coach Abell directly at Mabell3368@sbcglobal.net. Even if you cannot commit to working all 7 games, your availability for a good number of them would be extremely helpful.
 REAL MINISTRY - Realm is our cloud-based "members only" church networking platform that helps us perform real ministry by working as a catalyst for engagement - 24/7. Realm helps our ministry leaders organize their communications, share content, and distribute task assignments within their groups. It also helps new members by providing the resources they need to be put on pathways to achieve spiritual fulfillment. If you have only heard about Realm, but you have not activated your free Realm account, reach out to the Realm Orientation Crew at realm@stjamesknox.org
|
|
|
|
REGULAR HAPPENINGS . . .
Fr. John Mark's Blog https://stjamesknox.org/rector/
featuring insights and comment on various topics.
THURSDAYS
Thursday Study Group (Parish Hall and Zoom) 10 am - 11:30 pm
Studying the weekly lectionary readings at lectionarypage.net each week through May 29th.
Contact: nepullen@gmail.com or call 415-722-0139 for the link.
Praying the Rosary (Zoom) 7 pm - 8 pm
Cynthia Thornburg hosts 1 hour of praying the rosary on Thursday evenings. All are welcome!
Meeting ID: 836 8961 2206 | rosary
Contact: Cynthia Thornburg or Margaret Bickley
SUNDAYS
Sunday Morning Adult Formation (Conference Room A or Zoom) 9:15 am - 10:15 am
Discussions about resurrection appearances in scripture, the witnesses to them,
and what those stories have to do with us. Each week through May 29th.
Zoom Link Meeting ID: 882 1887 6476
MONDAYS
Centering Prayer (Zoom or Library, on fourth Monday) 6 pm - 7 pm
Studying Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology by Beverly J. Lanzetta.
Zoom Link Meeting ID: 813 3584 8679 | Pray
TUESDAYS
Tuesday Morning Book Discussion Group (Zoom) 11 am - 12 pm
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
About a conversation between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama
Contact: mbick7@gmail.com, or call 865-384-7422 for link.
Tuesday Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Zoom Link Meeting ID: 884 2912 1929 Password: Pray
The Soul of the Indian (Zoom) 6 pm - 7 pm
"Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt - the story of Black Elk,
an Oglala Lakota medicine man.
Contact: rondmorton@gmail.com for link.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Friends, 
