St. James' is a community where we come together in Christ to develop spiritually; find opportunities for outreach; receive comfort when in need; and engage in sacred experiences through our liturgy, music, fellowship, and mutual ministry.
More about our outreach missions
A few of our parishioners have travelled to Haiti and we have formed a close working relationship with Pere Frederic Mendeles and St. Paul’s school in Beaudin Jean Pierre, which he administers. We currently sell Haitian free trade coffee at St. James’ with the proceeds being returned to help support St. Paul’s. We have had Lenten giving drives with proceeds being directed to St. Paul’s to provide lunches for students and salaries for teachers. Pere Frederic visited St. James’ in June 2015 and we undertook a larger scale drive to support the purchase of a larger/safer school/church. We are planning a trip to visit the village and school in the fall of 2016.
Our local outreach is an area of ever increasing parish participation. We have greatly expanded our assistance to the Country Pantry, the local food pantry which serves nearly 200 families in the greater Clinton area. St. James’ collects nonperishable food items and participates in Thanksgiving and summer food drives. The Youth Group led a Souper Bowl Sunday drive benefitting the Country Pantry. Currently, approximately a dozen parishioners volunteer time at the pantry, stocking, filling orders and making deliveries to homebound clients.
A number of our parishioners also volunteer at the Utica Hope House and we prepare and serve two dinners each summer for the clients. In June, 135 meals were prepared and apportioned by parishioners for Your Neighbors Inc, to be frozen and distributed to their needy clients.
As a parish, we encourage groups to use our parish hall and adjoining meeting spaces. Alcoholics Anonymous, Girl Scouts, book clubs, the A Better Chance Board, the Foothills Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild, Families for Adoption, and many other groups benefit from this outreach.
Finally, a significant form of outreach is the St. James’ Day School, a pre-school program for four year olds that meets Monday through Thursday mornings during the school year in classrooms on the lower level of the church. Although St. James’ sponsors the school, it is independently administered and does not include religious education. The Day School welcomes children of all faiths; approximately twenty children are enrolled annually. Over the past ten years, St. James’ has provided scholarships for families in need so their children can attend.
