Acolytes

You may be more familiar with the quaint term, "Altar Boy." Acolytes are young men and women who assist the priests at the altar. They prepare the candles, carry the torches and crucifer (the tall cross which precedes the clergy procession), and assist with the offertory and sacraments.

All junior and senior high school students are invited to become Acolytes at St. James.

Altar Guild

The Altar Guild serves the Lord and the congregation by preparing the altar and all the vessels and candles for worship.  We polish wood, silver and brass, we clean and iron linens, we place flowers in the vases.  This is all for the glory of God and offered to Him in love.  If you would like to share this task with us, please contact the Dean.  Membership in this guild is by invitation from him.

Daughters of the King

This is an Order for women of the Episcopal, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Evangelical Lutheran Churches, organized in 1885. Every Daughter pledges herself to a lifelong program of prayer, service, and personal evangelism (communicating Christ's message and love), dedicated to the extension of Christ's kingdom and to the strengthening of the spiritual life of her parish. We do not raise money in the name of the Order, but rather seek to assist wherever possible with prayer and service.

By the reaffirmation of promises made at Confirmation, every Daughter undertakes a Rule of Life, incorporating the Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service. We are ordinary women, enabled by God's grace to do his work and building up his church. There are more than 14,000 of us in the United States and throughout the world.

The emblem of our Order is a silver Greek cross, which members wear at all times. Inscribed on the cross are the Latin words, "Magnanimiter Crucem Sustine," which broadly translates as, "With lofty heart, mind, and spirit, uphold the cross."

Anglican Church Women

All women of St. James are members of the ACW.  We get together for an Honored Woman's luncheon at our annual meeting in the early fall, and offer conferences, silent retreats, and other activities to help women in their spiritual journey.

Our fundraising activities and the contributions of our Thrift Shop allow us to support various types of outreach and the Cathedral Building Fund.

Lay Eucharistic Ministers

These are lay persons who serve at the altar, serve the chalice of wine at communion and assist the clergy in many ways on Sunday morning services.

Thrift Shop

Since 1973, the St. James Thrift Shop has been reselling donated clothing, furniture, toys and household items. Please consider bringing us those items that you find yourself stumbling over and re-packing away at home. Our purpose is to help fund the ACW, and by extension, all the outreach they initiate.

We're open Wednesdays through Fridays from 9:30 to 3:00, and Saturdays from 10:00 to 2:00.

Women's Retreat

Come with us to the ECCO campus in the Sierra's, for the St. James Women's Retreat every November as announced.

From Friday evening to late Sunday morning, we fill the forest with guitars, singing, bell ringing, nature walks, crafts, fellowship and lots of discussion and sharing. It's a festival of food, music and recharging our spiritual batteries. And it won't be the same without you.

Youth Groups

Teenagers need a place to escape the grind, the schools, the parents. Our Youth Groups offer a relaxing safe-zone where everyone's equal and valued, where there's no clíques, and where we're there each other.

We build Christ-centered friendships, talk about all kinds of stuff, and have fun. Our activities are things like going bowling, going to Wild Water or Camelot Park, snow trips, water balloon fights, jazz parties, going out for Mexican food.

There are several groups for elementary kids, middle school students, and three groups for high schoolers. Come check us out, on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 in the Community Hall at the northwest corner of the large parking lot.  We break into age groups for topical discussion on social issues, life issues, whatever is important. Sometimes we get a guest speaker. Then we get together for some games and team building, like playing volleyball, basketball , baseball or other games.

Our Bible based explorations of the Christian faith are plain spoken and direct. We let you know if you're straying off the mark, because you're loved and we don't want you to mess up. We support each other and learn from each other. And we'd like you to hang out with us.