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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.
Revd Dr Ayla Lepine met with curator and art historian Alayo Akinkugbe for a conversation about justice, beauty and hope expressed in Che Lovelace’s paintings and Cugoano’s memorial.
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
Elizabeth reflects on the importance of post-worship social connections, both in-person and online, highlighting how St James’s Piccadilly’s online Forum group has enriched her life by providing a space for meaningful discussion and community.
Photo caption: Last week on moor above Ilkley. First time I’ve managed this since acquired brain injury with encephalitis some years ago. Triumph!
When I attend a worship service in a new place, there are important questions. One big one, not particularly theological but important for the tastebuds, is whether there will be coffee afterwards. And what type of coffee? Instant? Lukewarm? Milky? Plastic cups? Linked with the coffee question is the people question. Will anyone speak to me? Should I start being sociable by smiling or by saying hello? How will it feel?
We had to leave St James’s Piccadilly and move north following retirement. We actually moved into Ilkley (Bradford) on the day of the Brexit vote – although I accept no link or responsibility for that outcome! Then came Covid and lockdown, which for me was extra locked-in as I was deemed extra-vulnerable.
That taught me a valuable lesson about how important other people are. How I missed those after-church chats and other get-togethers!
An unexpected ’plus’ for me and for lots of other people in groups, was the discovery of Zoom; for churches, the possibility of ‘remote’ worship and most surprising for me, the ‘Mute’ button for use if I disagreed with the preacher! The most important plus of all for me was the realisation that I could stray outside Ilkley and even return to St James’s. But I still missed the contact with people and the coffee chats.
Then, St James’s started a ‘Forum’ group for folk who wanted to get-together after worship, but online not actually at Piccadilly.
Over time, we have developed a steady membership with people joining from London who are not able to attend directly – often through illness. Others join from Wales, Scotland, Spain and Germany – just too far for a direct visit but still able to enjoy the catch-up and discussion. One special member, Vanessa, died last year. She was even able to join in contact with us from her bed in the hospice.
Like most groups, membership changes from week to week and over time. Just now, we’ve settled at about 8. It would be great to see more although, as with face-to-face coffee chats, small can be beautiful just like large!
So this article is simply a thank you to St Jame’s, for those with technical skills who make it possible; for those who create such fascinating and beautiful worship (not much need for my Mute button!) and for the members of this Forum group who make my life feel richer and deeper after our discussions each week.
And finally it’s an invitation to anyone who fancies an online chat after the worship to come along. Sadly no coffee – but we can each produce our own! The Zoom link is on the newsletter each week – usually towards the end in a dark grey paragraph.
