Our Ministry
Mission
St James is a welcoming community striving to share God’s love with all, through worship, fellowship and service.
Holy Eucharist
All are welcome to Holy Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion or Mass. If you wish not to receive communion you may come to the altar for a blessing. To receive a blessing, simply cross your arms across your chest at the altar rail. Children are welcome to receive as well; if you are not sure about your child and the Eucharist, Pastor Janet will be glad to speak with you. Gluten free wafers and grape juice are available.
Baptism
Holy Baptism, welcomes both children and adults into new life in Christ. Please speak with Pastor Janet to make arrangements.
Marriage
Pastor Janet is happy to speak with couples who would like to be married in the church. Please contact her for further information about scheduling.
Funerals and Memorial Services
St. James offers this service to both members of the congregation and to those in the community at large. The parish hall is available for receptions following the service. Please call the church office to make arrangements.
Get Involved
Join Us
Choir
Do you like music? Do you like to sing with other folks? Our choir is composed of members of St. James and Good Shepherd, with rehearsals on Sunday mornings before the service. Our choir director would love to have you join the group making “a joyful noise unto the Lord”! The office can provide you with more information.
Not much of a singer? How about handbells? The handbell choir plays periodically for our Sunday services as well as on major feast days, such as Christmas and Easter. You don’t have to read music, and you definitely don’t have to sing! Contact the office for more information.
Altar Guild
Membership on the Altar Guild is an important way to serve at St. James. The member assigned for the week is responsible for the sacred vessels used during services, setting them up beforehand and reverently caring for them after the service is dismissed.
Adult Christian Formation
St. James currently offers a weekly ZOOM Lectionary Study which is attended by members of Saint James, Good Shepherd and members of other congregations. Traditionally, Sunday worship includes a reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, a Psalm, a selection from one of the Epistles and a passage from one of the Gospels.
The facilitator for the group does background research focusing on the context of those Sunday readings- when, where, and for whom were the selections written? How were they understood by the original audience? What were the social, political and economic circumstances of that group? That work is summarized and emailed to participants prior to the Wednesday morning meeting.
Reactions and comments to the readings themselves are then discussed, along with how the passages speak to us today. Quite often, discussion veers into comments on current events and how we are – or are not- like those who preceded us. It is always a lively discussion, and “outside the box” thoughts often arise for consideration.
Outreach
An important tradition at St. James has been the donation of 10% of the annual revenues to non- profit organizations in the Lakes Region.
Recently a sizable gift was made to Episcopal Relief and Development with the direction that it be applied to the earthquake affected regions in Turkey and Syria.
Additional donations from St. James focus in two major areas:
Got lunch! Laconia provides food to families of school age children during the summer recess; parishioners aid in packing and delivering the food bags. At Isaiah 61 Café, which offers lunch to anyone in need of a hot meal along with other support services, we partner with Good Shepherd to make and serve a monthly meal at the Café. HATT (hands Across the Table) provides a weekly free hot meal to the community.
The other major recipients of outreach funds are those offering mental health services – Lakes Region Mental Health Center and Navigating Recovery (substance abuse recovery). We also support Belknap House whose mission is to supply temporary housing for homeless families in Belknap families; a place to call “home”, even temporarily, is particularly important to children. Belknap House offers educational programs and referral to local resources for families as they seek to move on with their lives. Additionally, we are part of a consortium of local churches that comprise Love Inc. of the Lakes Region, a church based organization reaching out to families with a variety of needs from food to household goods.
Smaller donations support summer camp scholarships, the New Hampshire Council of Churches, the Episcopal chaplaincy at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and David’s House, which supplies a home-away-from-home for those with children being treated at CHAD. In 2021 we also donated to a new church plant, the Episcopal Mission of Franklin NH, St. Jude’s.
New this Year!
We offer an intergenerational service which meets (unpredictably) monthly on Sundays at 5:30 PM. Our youngest members are the focus of the evening, which includes a short lesson, singing, supper and a seasonally appropriate craft for those who wish to participate. “Older” folks enjoy the worship and companionship as well. Please contact the office for the date of the next meeting.
On the third Thursday of the month, members of Saint James and Good Shepherd join together for a Meet ‘n Eat lunch at a local restaurant. Contact the office to sign up!
For more information about either group, please contact the office for the Zoom meeting codes.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Good Shepherd, our sister congregation, meets with Saint James for worship on Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Their website is goodshepherdnh.org
Episcopal Church of NH
St. James is one of the 46 parishes that comprise the Diocese of New Hampshire. The Diocese of New Hampshire is, in turn, one of the 9 provinces that compose the Episcopal Church, USA. Our Bishop, Rob Hirschfeld, has been our presiding officer since 2012. The Mission of the Diocese is to “renew the faithful, revitalize the church and reconcile the world.”