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.
SACRED EXPERIENCES
Worshiping together is the center of life at St. James’. We come together, raise our voices to praise God, hear the word of God, pray for the needs of the community and the world, and join in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The liturgy feeds our souls.
Some comments from our parish survey:
"A sudden blast of joy came upon me during worship. Heaviness and depression disappeared!"
"There are times when the energy in the worship service is noticeably very high, where the message, the music and the movement from one thing to the next works perfectly."
"[I like] watching the young people of the church perform the worship service."
Music
Music
For many, music lifts our hearts and souls to God. Our Minister of Music serves as both organist and choir director. We have a well maintained 40-rank Carlson pipe organ and a digital piano to accompany hymns and those choir anthems not sung a cappella. The organist participates in all Sunday services, Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and Easter, playing hymns, anthems, and service music, preludes, and postludes. The congregation sings from both The 1982 Hymnal and Wonder, Love, and Praise. Service music varies through the year to match the liturgical season. Click here to watch a video of the choir performing at our church picnic.
The adult choir of 15-20 voices sings to the glory of God almost every Sunday from Labor Day through June. The Psalm is usually sung, in a variety of forms ranging from cantor or choir verses with congregational antiphons to fully choral settings, including simplified Anglican Chant and Ionian Psalter. The choir’s weekly offerings reflect a variety of styles from 16th- and 17th-century a cappella music, to elaborate anthems, to simple arrangements of hymns, to original compositions by our Minister of Music.
St. James’ youth choir, for ages 9-14, and children’s choir, for younger voices ages 4-9, also sing at Sunday services a few times every season, as they finish preparing their anthems. Click here to see a video of the youth choir performing.
Worship Services
Our weekend services are on Saturdays at 4pm and Sundays at 9:30am and normally follow Rite II in the Book of Common Prayer. We occasionally enjoy other services from the Book of Common Prayer, including Morning or Evening Prayer led by one of our lay worship leaders. We welcome alternatives such as services from Enriching Our Worship, U2Charist, and New Zealand rites. The eucharist often ends with sending out eucharistic visitors to bring communion to the sick and shut-ins of the parish.
St. James’ celebrates services on Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, during Holy Week, and on Easter. Special mid-week vesper services are held during Advent and are coordinated by our Minister of Music. The churches of Clinton often join in ecumenical services on Thanksgiving, Good Friday, Easter sunrise, and at the end of the summer on the Village Green.
Formation
St. James' encourages faith formation for all age groups. Children are offered the Godly Play curriculum. This approach emphasizes exploring faith through story telling and play experiences.
St. James' also provides opportunities for adults and teens to explore and deepen their faith through Confirm Not Conform. This approach emphasizes discovering, in a deepened sense, their true beliefs in order to build a firm foundation of faith.
Other adult formation has included small group discussions covering a variety of topics that we hope to continue in the future.
