What difference can one person make? Some, for sure.
But add your voice and gifts to the gifts of others and the change can be breathtaking. St. James’ 200-year history is a testament to that truth, and a call to each of us for the future.

Never given? Here's how. And why.
Wish you could give more? You can.

In 1810, a handful of parishioners from city churches below 14th Street founded a summer chapel up in the country at Hamilton Square (now 69th Street and Lexington Avenue). By the end of the century, the parish’s growth had necessitated three moves, arriving at last at our present location. St. James’ had become a vital year-round parish, reaching out to neighbors, supporting church organizations providing care for orphans, young children and the elderly, and mounting national and international missions.

During the 1900s, burgeoning church school attendance, expanding choirs and growing guilds made an expanded facility necessary. In the midst of the Great Depression, St. James’ raised funds and built the Parish House. St. James’ Church School pioneered the use of a year-long curriculum. The Spring Festival raised monies for those in need. All were welcome as the parish eliminated pew rentals. The church’s committee system enabled parishioners to offer their gifts in ministry. St. James’ sponsored the first woman for ordination in the Diocese of New York.

Outreach and mission expanded with lunch and dinner programs and the establishment of the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter in response to the growing population of homeless New Yorkers. A partnership with churches helped create more than 400 single family homes in the blighted South Bronx. The parish befriended those from war-torn Northern Ireland and supported Desmond Mpilo Tutu in his fight against apartheid. The Church School and youth programs grew dramatically. A major renovation of the church and Parish House provided accessibility, many new classrooms and meeting spaces, and a columbarium.

As our bicentennial year begins, we’re growing still. A new Schoenstein organ supports our worship, and parishioners now staff a shelter in addition to serving meals. We travel to prisons, to Haiti and to Malawi, and have expanded ministries to support our own parishioners through difficult life changes. St. James’ continues to discover vital ways to fulfill our mission to share the love of Jesus Christ with each other, our city and the world.

All because our parishioners give their dreams, their skills and their resources to nurture the parish.

St. James’ own story makes clear the gift of this parish when we come together to do God’s work. Our parishioners and our neighbors have learned that they can count on St. James’.

Can we count you in?
Set up your weekly, monthly or quarterly commitment online
with a credit- or debit card or and e-check.

Read the Vestry's statement on stewardship

Contact Katherine Paul, Stewardship/Membership Coordinator, for help on establishing your 2009 commitment to St. James’

Did you know?
"I Give O∙N∙L∙I∙N∙E" cards are available at the entrances to the church on Sunday mornings. If your donations are made by credit card, bank debit, or e-check, you may drop these into the offering plates instead of a weekly giving envelope. In this way your gift is brought to the altar, and it shows that you support St. James’ through your online donations. The cards will be recycled each week.

For more information on stewardship and planned giving at St. James', contact Katherine Paul.

St. James' Church  865 Madison Avenue  New York,   NY  10021   (212) 288-4100   fax (212) 650-0304   www.stjames.org