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We offer daily services and a cultural programme of talks, events and concerts. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate
Saturday 7 February 11am
This programme for solo piano weaves together music inspired by the elegance and clarity of the Baroque era.
Wednesday 4 – 7 February 7.30pm
Baroque and roll meets gospel and soul in a funny, heart breaking and ultimately joyous new musical about two musical icons.
St James’s hosts inclusive services and a cultural programme. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate.
St James’s is a place to explore, reflect, pray, and support all who are in need. We are a Church of England parish in the Anglican Communion.
We host a year-round creative programme encompassing music, visual art and spoken word.
We offer hospitality to people going through homelessness and speak out on issues of injustice, especially concerning refugees, asylum, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues.
St James’s strives to advocate for earth justice and to develop deeper connections with nature.
We aim to be a place where you can belong. We have a unique history, and the beauty of our building is widely known. Our community commits to faith in action: social and environmental justice; creativity. and the arts
We strive to be a Eucharist-centred, diverse and inclusive Christian community promoting life in abundance, wellbeing and dignity for all.
St James’s Piccadilly has been at the heart of its community since 1684. We invite you to play your part in securing this historic place for generations to come.
It costs £5,000 each day to keep the doors of St James’s open to all who already need us.
A reimagined St James’s realised. A redesigned garden, courtyard and new building capacity—all fully accessible— will provide beautiful spaces for all as well as improving our environmental performance.
Whether shooting a blockbuster TV series or creating a unique corporate event, every hire at St James’s helps our works within the community.
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
Directions on Google Maps
Rosamin reflects on her journey from refugee to volunteer, and how food, faith, and generosity have shaped her sense of belonging and service at St James’s.
The question I am asked most is, “how did you come to volunteer at St James?” I was born in Kamuli, Uganda. My wonderful Ugandan popa, Mansur, married Banu born in Palitana, the Gujerat, India over 65 years ago. They had my sister in India, but returned by ship to Kenya, and by train to Uganda as my popa missed Africa too much. We left Uganda due to the Dictator Idid Amin throwing us out of our homes, and I vaguely remember the fear of fleeing, but this was surpassed by the adventure of our first time in an aeroplane. We arrived at Stansted Mountfitchet RAF base (now Stansted Airport) in November 1972 in cotton clothes in freezing weather and deep snow. We were legally allowed into England because Uganda had been a British colony, but we were still taken to a detention camp Gaydon, to an ex-Army Barracks in Warwickshire. From there, popa got a job in a metal casting factory in Worcester and mummy and the 5 children followed about 6 months later.
I believe that life sends you where you are meant to be. I came to St James’s accidentally twice, first volunteering for the Lord Mayor of London as a London Ambassador – the meeting room was our welcome point during the Queen’s funeral, and for Refugee Tales, where I remember Lucy with others giving us cake and tea during a fundraising walk. A sign read, “Volunteer wanted for Feast,” and I applied to volunteer at St James, not quite sure what it entailed.
My parents were generous feeders, food was a binding force for us, and everyone was welcome for tea, snacks or a meal in our Council house. My mummy was a marvel, somehow she could feed any number of people delicious food from the very little we had. I was never hungry as a child. My memories are of kindness and hospitality. I cook in St James as a legacy of my parents’ kind-heartedness and generosity. I have fond memories of them travelling with 5 children to a church hall in Birmingham in a tiny car, bowls of salad and Indian sweets, home-made by mummy, on our laps, and huge saucepans of meat curry and rice in the boot wrapped in a blanket to keep warm. We always had meals when we Muslims met for prayers. Families coming from around the Midlands to worship together and share a meal. Today, Indian Muslims cook for between 200-1000 people, at least 4 times a week. In Ramadam dinner is provided free every day for 30 days. So cooking in St James’s feels normal and what is expected of me.
I love serving at the tables and eating with our guests, but my happy place is in the kitchen. I like that I can come in and make a cup of tea, then create a main meal and dessert from donated food. I love the creativity, I like colours and flavours. Guests complain of too much heat and spices, so I experiment with herbs and mild spices. Sometimes, I bring my own condiments when my family or I return from a visit to India. Apart from St James’s, I cook in community gardens and community centres.
Preparing Feast on a Monday afternoon with Jackie.
Occasionally, I bring excess spinach for the meals and take away excess unwanted vegetables to share with other groups. I take home peelings and green waste for home compost. I like that we waste nothing and share our abundance.
I also help with Sunday Breakfast. I started when we had queues of guests in the church entrance from 7am. We, volunteers, would walk miles bringing up hot water in flasks for hot drinks, then carrying up trays of breakfast, to order, in take-away containers. I prefer serving breakfast in the church hall as it is on tables in a warmer space. I then started to cook Sunday Breakfast. I had never eaten a “full English” and was nervous, but I really enjoy preparing it. It is easier than cooking for Feast as the menu is set: sausages; hash Browns; baked beans; and scrambled eggs in fresh rolls. There are always 2 cooks in the kitchen, and I love this camaraderie. I am very social, and I like people, so service comes naturally to me. Having been classed as refugees, I think I understand our guests, their plight and hardships. I remember feeling so very cold as a child, and I am sad that people live like they do today in such a wealthy country. People helped my family when needed, so it is only right that I give back what I can.
A community meal, learning to make Somosas, then sharing a meal in the community garden.
