It’s been one year since we closed our church buildings because of COVID-19. A year where many of us (maybe most of us) have suffered from loss, loneliness and emotional pain. To mark this anniversary, the church will be holding the Faure Requiem this Sunday from 5 to 6pm, presented by the St. James’s Choir

The service will also include prayers written by St. James’s parishioners. If you would like to submit a prayer, please email it to Blake Singer or you can offer a live prayer during the chat portion of the service.

Register in advance for this Zoom service.

For tech support, reach out to Michael Smith

Link to Casual Coffee Chat Zoom 

A weekly reflection during Lent from our clergy.

This week’s Lenten Lesson is from our Lay Chaplain Blake Singer

I remember a meme surfacing on the internet towards the beginning of the pandemic that read, “This is the Lentiest Lent I’ve ever Lented.” Of course, the creator of the meme was pointing out the absurdity of observing Lent during a season when we were forced to give up significantly more than social media, chocolate, or meat. But here we are a year later, after over 500,000 people have died from COVID in our country alone, and we’ve found ourselves in Lent once again.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve started noticing, ..... (click here to read more)

This morning at the 10:00 am service we’ll be commissioning 9 new Stephen Ministers--all of whom have been through a rigorous 50-hour training in high-quality, one-to-one, Christ-centered care.

If you need someone to help you work through a crisis, you can request a Stephen Minister to meet with you weekly to listen, encourage, and set you on the path to healing and wholeness in a confidential setting. Our first group of Stephen Ministers will be ready to meet with care receivers beginning April 1.

To request a Stephen minister, please contact Jane Dowrick (dowhitz52@gmail.com) or Blake Singer. To learn more about Stephen Ministry, visit www.stephenministries.com 

If you haven’t worshipped online with us lately, you might not recognize it. More intimate. Easier to follow― and even sing along with. Better sound quality. And prayers and hymn lyrics right on the screen. It all adds up to an experience that’s more meaningful, more engaging and more enjoyable.

Worship online at doers.org/live, Facebook & YouTube on Sunday at 8:30 am and 10:00 pm.

For more than 40 years, Peter Paul Development Center (PPDC) has been committed to its East End neighborhood through education and community oriented programs. And St. James’s has been an enthusiastic partner for years. We’ve supported PPDC’s mission to educate the child, engage the family and empower the community. Even during the pandemic they’ve offered remote pre- and post-school classrooms for kids, virtual hangouts for parents, and a neighborhood food bank, among other essential services.  

If you want to become a supporter, you can learn more at their website. You can also donate or learn about volunteer opportunities from Michael Bledsoe.

It’s time once again for Holy PEEPS, when St. James’s children and youth create shoebox dioramas of a Bible Story or liturgical actions.

This has been an extremely popular--and super fun--activity for years. And once again we’re asking you to send pictures of your diorama to Weezie Beckley, subject line: HOLY PEEPS.

Go to Holy PEEPS for all the Project/Contest Rules. Can’t wait to see what you’ve created!

Shrine Mont Camps will be offering both in-person and online camp experiences this Summer. Camp leaders have been hard at work for many months, consulting with medical professionals and other camp professionals across the country to design experiences that will be fun and safe for all. And, building on the success of last summer, Shrine Mont Camps will again offer Light in the Valley, an online camp where campers can make friends, play and worship together from home.

Registration will open March 23 but you can check out camp dates today. SMC is also asking camper families to provide feedback via this survey, which will help inform ongoing plans and preparations for the 2021 summer camps. (For more details, click here.)

Please watch this video and hear directly from St. James’sers who have taken the course explain how powerful it was for them.

Register for Sacred Ground by March 25 here.

Shrine Mont and the University of Virginia Press have joined together to create the Virginia House Book Club. Each month a UVA Press Book will be selected that focuses on place, people, and ideas that affect all of us.

For more information--including each month’s book-- and to register, visit https://shrinemont.com/book-club/ 

March book is Journey Down the James—Three Weeks through the Heart of Virginia by Earl Swift. Click here to purchase the book through UVA Press and get a 30% discount by using promo code: 10club30.

For us to do even more, we need 1000 YouTube subscribers. Just go to YouTube.com, search for St. James’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, then click on the red Subscribe button.

Here’s the link. It will take less than 10 seconds. 

When you follow us on Facebook and Instagram, you see pics and news you won’t see elsewhere. Remember, we’re SJEC1205 on Instagram and St. James’s Episcopal Church on Facebook. Facebook & #sjec1205

You can always find the eChimes at doers.org/eChimes.