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We offer daily services and a creative programme of talks, events and concerts. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate.
Book tickets for Black History Month, Tue 8 Oct, 7.30pm, conversation with Revd Dr Ayla Lepine about history, racial justice today and the complexity and challenge of St James’s parish history.
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 doors open to all who need us
Your donation will help us restore our garden in Piccadilly as part of The Wren Project, making it possible for us to welcome over 300,000 people from all faiths and walks of life seeking tranquillity and inspiration each year.
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
Directions on Google Maps
The Revd Peter Thompson, visiting from St Bart’s NYC, shares some of the connections with St James’s as we form a friendship and link parishes.
In 1905, a young British musician with Polish heritage was serving as Organist and Choirmaster at St James’s when an upstart congregation from New York—only seventy years old!—poached him to become their Director of Music. Leopold Stokowski’s move from London to New York is likely the first documented connection between St James’s, Piccadilly and St. Bart’s, Manhattan. I might be inclined to apologize for stealing Stokowski from you, but he didn’t stay with us for very long either. In 1908, he departed St. Bart’s for non-church endeavors, eventually becoming the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and one of the most famous conductors in the world.
We were surprised to learn of the Stokowski connection several months into us envisioning a link between St James’s and St. Bart’s, but perhaps we shouldn’t have been. There are many connections between St James’s and St. Bart’s; we seem to be natural fits with one another. Like us, you occupy an architecturally significant building that is located at a prominent address in the center of a major city. Like us, you have historical ties to the established elite but also a strong commitment to welcoming all. Like us, you take important stands on the issues of the day. Like us, you are intellectually inclined, appreciate the arts, and care deeply for those in need. Over the last two weeks, I’ve been struck again and again by how much we have in common.
What’s next? We’re still figuring out what to do with this link or partnership or friendship. At my presentation after this past Sunday’s service, we talked about setting up some kind of joint online gathering for the two congregations to meet. We might read a book together or hear from a speaker. There will likely be more trips between London and New York—both official and unofficial. (Please know that you are welcome anytime!) Our Garden Committee and your Food for the Ecozoic initiative are already talking about ways we can collaborate.
Whatever happens, I’m excited. You all have embraced, educated, and inspired me during my short time with you this September. I look forward to sharing what I’ve experienced here with St. Bart’s—and to what’s next for both of our communities!
Leopold Stokowski
St. Barts
