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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
Under the theme ‘Imagine the World to be Different’, our garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show encourages visitors to cherish the earth and one another.
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. This is a place for everyone who’s wondering about life’s big questions and striving for a better world.
We host a year-round cultural programme encompassing music, visual art and spoken word, drawing on St James’s rich cultural history including artists, writers and musicians Mary Beale, Mary Delany, William Blake, Ottobah Cugoano and Leopold Stokowski.
We try to put our faith into action by educating ourselves and speaking out on issues of injustice, especially concerning refugees, asylum, earth and racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues.
We aspire to be a home where everyone can belong. We’re known locally and globally for our unique history and beauty, as well as faith in action, creativity and the arts, and a commitment to social and environmental justice.
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 us £3,500 per day to enable us to keep our door open to all who need us
We know that spiritual sustenance comes in many forms: we hope you enjoy this one. £12 from the sale of each bottle will go directly to St James’s, Charity No. 1133048
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
Directions on Google Maps
‘As a form of ministry, fund-raising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry.’ (Henri Nouwen, The Spirituality of Fundraising)
To keep St James’s open, active and creative means that we need around £1.3m a year. This works out at about £3,500 per day.
We raise all this ourselves: we don’t receive any funding from the national church or government. Everything we do during the week is in the name of the church, but core to our life is our Eucharistic community, who gather at the altar on a Sunday.
Each time we gather, we affirm that all we have comes from God, so our giving is in response to all we’ve been given.
Within the c.£1.3m St James’s needs to raise annually, the congregation’s share is c.£450 000. Congregational giving, especially planned giving through Churchsuite, is a vital part of this. In 2023, the congregation’s goal is to raise c.£12 000 per month through planned giving, so that St James’s can grow and thrive.
This funding is mostly for people: covering the costs of our pastoral assistant, asylum and refugee worker, a proportion of our verger team, administrative costs, security for our outreach projects and clergy stipends. It also helps to ensure that our church building is open for worship and prayer every day, lit, staffed, safe and warm.
Autumn is a good time to reflect on and celebrate all that’s been achieved at St James’s so far this year. Financially, it has been a challenging time for everyone and St James’s is doing all we can to help the church and the community, especially people who are in urgent need. It costs £3500 per day to keep St James’s open, staffed, safe and warm every day for prayer and services, together with our arts and social outreach programmes too. Monthly congregational giving is 11% of the overall 2023 budget.
The congregation’s share of the budget goes towards supporting the cost of services, church staff (including clergy and musicians), earth justice (including the Ecozoic project), and social justice (Feast, Sunday Breakfast, the Caravan free counselling centre, and asylum seeker support).
Other St James’s departments and teams (Development, Creative, Operations) pay for themselves through activities including fundraising and income from events.
The average monthly amount for regular congregational giving is c.£12k/month. To meet our target for 2023, the congregation needs to raise £40k by the end of December. That may sound like a big amount, but every donation makes a huge difference. If the congregation raises their giving overall by £1400/month, we can meet our target. Based on the number of people who come to the Eucharist on Sundays, each person in the congregation would need to donate an average of £10 a month more. That’s £2.50 per week – for the price of a coffee we can make a huge difference together.
Everyone’s circumstances are different. Some people might be able to afford more than £10 a month. Others might be able to afford less. Any amount that is possible is deeply appreciated. Every penny goes towards making our community a place of prayer, hope, justice, and belonging. If you would like to set up a regular donation, or review your existing donation, click the Give today button. By coming together and giving as a community we can help to ensure St James is a creative, open-hearted church.
Watch Ayla’s short video on how to set up congregational giving on ChurchSuite. If you are not signed up to ChurchSuite click on the button below.
