 | Click here to read our Weekly News Update including our Rooted in God's Earth series, Black Lives Matter Book Groups, our chamber music series: Piccadilly Piano Plus, and the APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting) on Sun 23rd May. |
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 Please join our friends at the North Lambeth Christian Aid Group by supporting their fundraising activities from 8th-16th May.
To donate to the group, please go to their justgiving page here. Get sponsored as you join in a VIRTUAL CAMINO WALK from Leon to Santiago, join a QUIZ NIGHT on Fri 14th or Sat 15th May, or support a BOOK AND FOOD SALE on Sat 15th May in Cleaver Square. All details on the poster (right). If you'd like to do your Camino challenge a week later, or for a shorter period of time, please let Carol Woollard know when you register your participation with her at cwoolard@talk21.com Each evening of 8th - 16th May, Carol will be sending out information and photos of the route walked or cycled (eg photos of scenery, ancient churches, hostel you will stay in), and a Zoom meeting will be held on 16th May, which will include a member of the Confraternity of St James who will be able to give folk information about books, maps, etc available at Christchurch Blackfriars, and support people who want to do a real Camino when travel restrictions are lifted.  In January this year, eight members of St James's congregation from different ethnic backgrounds, formed a group to meet and study Ben Lindsay’s book, We Need to Talk about Race: Understanding the Black Experience in White Majority Churches. We were Sylvia Ayo, Hermione Cameron, Carolyn Davies, Elizabeth Hall, Cornell Jackson, Tamya Kerr, Jayne Preest and Tony Sanchez.
As a pilot group we wanted to find a way to create a safe space to journey together and engage with the challenges raised in Ben’s book. We wanted to make sure that there was space for people to bring their personal reflections without discounting or dismissing others' experiences, acknowledging that between us we had varied backgrounds and positioning in relation to race and racism in the church. While the topics and issues raised in Ben’s book were often saddening and at times confronting, our journey together was a gentle, tender and respectful one supporting much needed awareness, validation and healing. With the overall purpose of the project being to create more inclusiveness at St James's, we have drawn on our journey together in the group and come up with some guidelines to support the wider congregation to support a safe and enriching experience in journeying with this important text together. Much of this will be covered in our orientation session on Thursday evening May 27th. (No reading of the book is required for this first session). We hope as many people as possible will join this initiative and find great value and healing in it as we did. We especially want to encourage those of us who are white to attend and commit to learning more about racism and the church. The series runs on Thursday evenings from 8pm-9pm: May 27th, June 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th. We will begin each online session together before moving into smaller breakout rooms for discussion. Contributors: Cornell Jackson, Joan Ishibashi, Tamya Kerr, Jane Preest and Carolyn Davies. Registrations: Ali Beck. Click here for more information and to register. Finally, we would like to acknowledge that this project is one of the initiatives of the St James's Diversity and Inclusion Team which is headed up by Ben Mariam and Wilson Wong and includes Monica Bashade, Jo Gowers, Raks Patel, Jane Preest, Carolyn Davies and clergy link The Revd Dr John Russell.  Click here to read our Weekly Update including the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), Piccadilly Piano Plus - Chamber Music Series, Black Lives Matter Book Groups, and recruitment for a new PCC Secretary.
Each year at the AMP, we elect/re-elect churchwardens, to serve for the next twelve months. There are two churchwarden positions. Both Deborah Colvin and Trevor Lines are standing for re-election. Should any other members of the electoral roll wish to stand for election, please either contact Lucy or email Graham, our PCC Secretary at pcc@sjp.org.uk. In most years, we also elect lay PCC members to vacancies that arise on the PCC. We elected/re-elected six members at the last APCM in October 2020, as well as four Deanery Synod representatives, all to serve for a term of office until the 2023 APCM. This year, as there are no members reaching the end of their term of office, there will be no elections at the APCM. To be eligible to vote in elections at the AMP and future APCMs, you will need to be on the electoral roll (or in the case of election of churchwardens, you may be a resident of the parish). Membership of the electoral roll is also important to our voice in the wider church, as it determines the number of Deanery Synod Representatives that we are eligible to appoint, which at the moment is four. f you are not currently on the electoral roll, but would like to join, enrolment forms are available from David secretary@sjp.org.uk. Papers for the meeting will be published on this page nearer the time of the meeting. Notice to convene Annual Meeting of Parishioners here Notice to convene Annual Parochial Church Meeting here PICCADILLY PIANO PLUS St James’s Church is delighted to present Piccadilly Piano Plus - a chamber music series, in which both established and emerging artists celebrate the many facets of the piano as a means of musical expression and education. Artists appearing in the season include Nicola Benedetti, Julian Joseph, Joanna MacGregor, and Melvyn Tan.
 Click here to read our Weekly Update including Soul at Saint James on 25th April, Actions for Earth Justice, the AFTERMATH project, and an invitation to review any personal data we hold for you on our new church database, ChurchSuite.
 Our Eco Contemplative Liturgy this month will be held on Sunday 25th April at 3pm on Zoom.
Please email ecochurch@sjp.org.uk in order to get the Zoom link and liturgy sheet. Those attending regularly will receive an email with the details. 'The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.' Thomas Berry If you are in the fortunate position of having some outside space, please do Zoom from outside, or from a window/door with a view. Alternatively, you might like to collect a leaf, flower, stone or shell before the liturgy. Participants will be invited to speak about their experience in their garden, view or object if they would like to. The session will be open from 2.50pm. Arriving before 3.00pm will enable any glitches with audio or video to be sorted. You are welcome to stay a while afterwards to chat with others. We are especially interested in more sustainable ways of living that you have adopted.  We've had a supportive listening and counselling service on site for over 30 years. The pandemic has meant that in-person counselling has been replaced by phone and Zoom sessions, and that the service is busier than ever.
This service is provided by the Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education. The Caravan Co-ordinator, Ian Burton, has kindly allowed us to share an article here that he wrote for the in house CCPE journal about the closure of the Caravan in the first lockdown and how the service has adapted. The Caravan phone counselling service is currently offered from Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, and Sat-Sun 10am-7pm on 020 7183 1802 and is open to all.  Click here to read our Weekly Update including two films celebrating St James's cultural heritage which will be launched at midday on Thursday 15th April. The Update also includes important information regarding migration to a new church database!
 We are deeply saddened to learn news of the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Many will stand today with their thoughts, prayers, and memories in deepest sympathy with Her Majesty The Queen, and with members of the Royal Family. There will be time to mark the occasion and offer our condolences formally. For now, we offer our prayers for the Royal Family and for the generation that will grieve the passing of His Royal Highness. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. A message from the Bishop of London Bishop Sarah has recorded a video message, which can be seen on the Diocesan website here. Service at St Paul’s cathedral A special Choral Evensong will be broadcast tomorrow (Saturday 10th April) at 5.00pm on BBC Radio 3. Bishop Sarah will give the Blessing. The Cathedral will be closed all day and there will be no congregation at the service. Condolence book The Church of England has opened an online condolence book here. This is open to any who wish to sign and record a message. 9th April 2021  We're delighted to announce the launch of two films celebrating the cultural heritage of St James's Church, Piccadilly. Featuring the work of woodcarver Grinling Gibbons and poet William Blake, the films have been made possible with support from the National Lottery Heritage fund. Click on the image (above) to view the film. The first film, Grinling Gibbons the Michelangelo of Woodcarving features the incomparable reredos at St James's along with the font and organ case. Gibbons is probably England’s most famous woodcarver of all time. From 1671 to 1721 he molded and shaped wood into the most memorable creations. His trademark baroque sculptures are instantly recognisable: a cascade of flowers, fruits, leaves, fish and birds that captivate the viewer with their intricacy. In an exceptional career, Gibbons was appointed as master carver to George I and William III and collaborated with Sir Christopher Wren on numerous projects focusing on architectural decoration. His work can be seen at Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, St Paul’s Cathedral, the National Trust’s Petworth House and St James’s Church, Piccadilly. Here at St James’s in central London, we have three unique examples of Gibbons’ work: a marble font (where William Blake was baptised), a limewood reredos and an organ case. To explore the power of these sculptures, St James’s has filmed curators, a sculptor, a woodcarver and a master carver discussing Gibbons' enduring legacy in the 21st century. Join leading curators from the Wallace Collection, Royal Academy and Victoria and Albert Museum for a film about England’s most eminent woodcarver. Contributors to the film: Ada de Wit Curator of Works of Art and Sculpture, the Wallace Collection and author of Grinling Gibbons and the Golden Age of Woodcarving Hugh Wedderburn Master carver and Master Carvers Association Honourable Secretary Rebecca Lyons Director of Learning and Collections at the Royal Academy Kira d’Alburquerque Sculptor Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum Gerry Judah Artist Sophie Sellu Woodcarver, Founder of Grain and Knot Nick Humphrey Furniture Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum  BLAKE NOW is a film about the radical and visionary poet William Blake, his city of London and his city of the imagination.
Blake was baptised at St James's Church, Piccadilly in 1757 and lived most of his life in nearby Soho. Click on the image (left) to view the film. Blake's poem London is still as shocking and visceral as ever. First published in Songs of Innocence and Experience over 200 years ago, Blake’s anger and outrage infuses every word and every image. Having lived in the capital most of his life, and at a time of great political and social upheaval, his poem is a damning portrayal of eighteenth century London. St James’s Church, in partnership with the Poetry Society, has invited five contemporary poets - Sophie Herxheimer, Joseph Coelho, Ankita Saxena, Ruth Awolola and Natalie Linh Bolderston – to reflect on Blake and his relevance now. The film will be launched here at midday on Thurs 15th April. St James’s Church, Piccadilly, is a space to reflect, debate and create in central London. We offer a cultural programme of talks, discussion, events and programmes that support the artists, creators and debaters of tomorrow.  Click here to read our Weekly News Update, including live streamed lunchtime recitals, our Eco Church series, Rooted in God's Earth, and an article written by the Caravan Counselling Service Co-ordinator, Ian Burton.
Rooted in God’s Earth Sunday 11th April 2021 at 3pm on Zoom Session Three: Water Led by Dr Lisa Barrott This is part of a series of monthly Eco Church events in the run up to the International Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November 2021 (COP26). These sessions will include short excerpts from talks by experts, opportunity for reflection and discussion, ideas for action and suggestions for follow-up. ‘In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans.’  Water is part of our daily lives and we interact with water in a multitude of ways: from rivers and puddles, clouds and oceans, taking a shower and boiling the kettle. We drink water every day and yet the world behind this everyday miracle goes on unobserved. This session will be an opportunity to reflect on how we interact with water in our lives and hear about how drinking water arrives at our taps. Plenty of links for us to follow up will be supplied. Email ecochurch@sjp.org.uk for the Zoom link for this session.  Dr Lisa Barrott works for Stantec, an engineering and environmental consultancy whose work covers the whole of the water cycle, from water resources to flooding and drainage to sewage treatment and networks.
Lisa works for water companies throughout the UK and is currently working on a project to transfer water to the south east, where demand for water is high. Lisa specialises in the processes used to treat water to make it safe to drink and in drinking water quality. Lisa started her career in academic research on water treatment for low income countries and can navigate her way around London by water treatment works. Join master carver, Hugh Wedderburn, in this online practical session on decorative woodcarving. Are you interested in developing a new hobby that is relaxing and fun? Woodcarving is one of our the oldest art forms. It absorbs the mind and can often develop into a life-long passion. Hugh Wedderburn, who is a master carver with over 40 years of experience, will be running a zoom session on decorative woodcarving. This practical pre-recorded one-hour zoom session will cover: Hugh’s rich career as a woodcarver The tools required for decorative woodcarving Methods for decorative woodcarving Hugh will be using Grinling Gibbons' work as a stimulus for this workshop. Gibbons is one of the most famous British woodcarvers in history and is celebrated here at St James's as the creator of our exquisite reredos (altar screen) as well as the organ casing and marble font. From 1671 to 1721 he crafted wood into the most memorable creations. His trademark baroque sculptures are instantly recognisable: a cascade of flowers, fruits, leaves, fish, birds, and shells that captivate the viewer with their intricacy. The Zoom session was recorded at St James's and will be available for unlimited viewing from 10am on 8th May. Click the eventbrite link here to book tickets. A zoom link will be sent to you prior to the workshop.   Click here to read our Weekly News Update, including Holy Week and Easter services, Soul at Saint James on Sunday 4th April, and our AFTERMATH: weeds & wilding project.
 Click here to read our Weekly Update, including Holy Week and Easter services, our AFTERMATH project, and live streamed lunchtime recitals.
 While community organising is most often associated with creating campaigns and actions aimed at power-holders outside member organisations, it is often most powerfully used within member organisations in developing new leaders, helping people discover and use their talents, and creating a relational culture where we develop deeper relationships with one another. Together with other Westminster Citizens organisations, St James's is taking part in further training about how to effectively use Citizens within our organisation. This will be a 5 session training course on Sunday afternoons from 4pm-5.30pm, once a month (with breaks in June and August) Dates: Sun 11 April; Sun 9 May; Sun 11 July; Sun 12 Sept and Sun 14 Nov We want to build a small team of people from St James's who will commit to starting and completing this course together. We will meet once a month for 90 minutes of training and reflection, and then agree how to put the tools we’ve learnt into practice at St James's.
Other Westminster member organisations are all joining the training, with their own teams. All of the training sessions will be on Zoom, except for 14 November, which we hope to be everyone together in person! Anyone is very welcome to register their interest in this course but please note that places are limited and we will give priority to people from the groups from which we are particularly keen to develop future leaders at St James's, which are younger people and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. If you're interested in this course, and you're available on each of the 5 dates, then please email John.  All Holy Week and Easter services and events will be live streamed on our YouTube channel here.
Although some restrictions are still in place, please do join us in-person if you can travel safely. Tickets must be booked in advance and please remember to wear a face-covering. ● Eucharist for Palm Sunday Sun 28th March at 11am Although we won’t have a procession or donkey this year, we’ll hear the Passion Gospel, and bless the palm crosses as usual. Book HERE ● Silence and Eucharist - Tues 30th March at 6pm – continuing on Zoom for the time being. Please email David at secretary@sjp.org.uk for a Zoom invitation. ● Music for Holy Week - Wed 31st March at 1.10pm. Michael Haslam (piano) St James's Director of Music presents a contemplative programme of works by JS Bach. Online only - click here from 1.10pm to watch the live stream on our YouTube channel ● Maundy Thursday Eucharist - Thurs 1st April at 6.30pm & Watch of Prayer until 10pm. Book HERE ● Good Friday The Three Hours - Fri 2nd April 12noon-3pm. Book HERE. Service sheet here. ● Holy Saturday Evening Prayer - Sat 3rd April at 6.30pm. Online only - click here for the live stream. Service sheet here. ● Easter Day Dawn Eucharist - Sun 4th April at 6.30am in the garden. Book HERE. Service sheet here ● Eucharist for Easter Day - Sun 4th April at 11am. Sorry, there's no availability for this service as we've reached our full capacity. Service sheet here.  Our Eco Contemplative Liturgy this month will be held on Sunday 28th March at 3pm on Zoom.
If you are in the fortunate position of having some outside space, please do Zoom from outside, or from a window/door with a view. Alternatively, you might like to collect a leaf, flower, stone or shell before the liturgy. Participants will be invited to speak about their experience in their garden, view or object if they would like to. The session will be open from 2.50pm. Arriving before 3.00pm will enable any glitches with audio or video to be sorted. You are welcome to stay a while afterwards to chat with others. We are especially interested in more sustainable ways of living that you have adopted. Please email ecochurch@sjp.org.uk in order to get the Zoom link and liturgy sheet. Those attending regularly will receive an email with the details.  Every Monday evening, we welcome guests to our new indoor socially-distanced FEAST for people going through homelessness or on low incomes (within strict Covid-protocols approved by Public Health England). Each week we serve over 30 guests a delicious 3-course meal in the beautiful surroundings of the church.
We still need plenty more enthusiastic volunteers to cook, to serve and to make our guests very welcome. If you'd like to get involved, and you feel safe to travel to church to volunteer, then please email our new food outreach coordinator Robin and let her know whether you have a preference to be in the kitchen team (3.30pm to 7.30pm) or the hospitality team (5.30pm to 9pm): foodoutreach@sjp.org.uk And if you're unable to volunteer in-person for whatever reason, how about providing the dessert course for FEAST? If this is something you might be able to do (whether by home-baking or financial donation) then please contact Robin.  Click here to read our Weekly Update, including Holy Week and Easter services, and a new weekly indoor socially-distanced meal called FEAST for people experiencing homelessness.
 Imploded, burnt, turned to ash, 2021'
Mon 15th March at 5pm This live streamed drawing and sound performance by the Syrian-born and Cambridge-based artist Issam Kourbaj marks the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising – a crisis that resulted in violent armed conflict and ongoing civil war. Kourbaj’s performance will take place on the 15th March, the first day of the unrest a decade ago. Please click here for a link to the live stream. The artist describes his project here: To mark the tenth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, which was sparked by teenage graffiti in March 2011, this drawing performance will pay homage to those young people who dared to speak their mind, the masses who protested publicly, as well as the many Syrian eyes that were, in the last ten years, burnt and brutally closed forever. I will draw fragments of Arabic words and eye idols on a large surface in layers, repeating and obscuring them beyond all legibility and recognition. It will become a palimpsest of these two elements, the first is inspired by the graffiti that was quickly erased even before it was completed, and the second is based on three Syrian eye idols from the collections of The Fitzwilliam Museum, made of alabaster and dating to around 3200 BC, excavated at Tell Brak, Syria, in a building now called the Eye Temple. I will then burn the final drawing and place the remaining ash in a glass box. This will be exhibited in a sacred space to memorialise every victim of the last decade, while also being dedicated to all Syrians lost, displaced and still suffering from this ongoing crisis. Towards the end of the performance, the viewer will hear words written by myself, set to music by renowned composer Richard Causton (Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge) and sung by soprano Jessica Summers. This project is a collaboration between the artist, Kettle’s Yard, The Heong Gallery and The Fitzwilliam Museum (all part of the University of Cambridge). A major exhibition of the artist’s work will be presented by Kettle’s Yard and The Heong Gallery in 2023. The three eye idols from the collections of The Fitzwilliam Museum can be seen in a display alongside 366 eye idols created by Issam Kourbaj from Aleppo Soap when the Museum reopens in May.  Click here to read our Weekly Update including the re-opening of the church for public worship on Sun 7th March.
 ‘For such a time as this’
Our Vision for St James's - Sun 28th Feb at 12noon Join us for a Special Sunday Forum after the 11am Eucharist on Sunday 28th February to hear more about the results of the ‘Unlock’ consultation 2020, the new vision statement, visual identity, what we are doing with the grants we’ve received and our plans for the future. There's plenty of time for a Q&A too. Everyone welcome! The Zoom meeting opens directly after the Sunday service has ended: Click here for the Zoom link. Meeting ID: 812 8848 2895 | Passcode: 297754. Find your local dial-in number here. |
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