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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.
We are delighted to announce that from 6 Jan until early Apr 2025, work will take place to reinstate the church’s South Door onto Jermyn Street, part of Sir Christopher Wren’s original design.
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 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.
The work of St James’s, it costs us £5,000 per day to enable us to keep our doors open to all who need us.
New walkways, a restored courtyard and re-landscaped gardens will provide fully accessible, beautiful spaces for everyone to enjoy as well as improving our environmental performance.
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
Directions on Google Maps
Head Verger, Chris Davies, talks to our security team and examines the nature of security in a church.
Even in our progressive society there are things we find difficult to discuss. In a perfect world, money, health and mental well- being or personal safety wouldn’t trouble us but, in a changing world, new challenges emerge that require changes to our patterns of behaviour. This is one reason why the presence of security officers in many places is something that we have come to accept. However, their presence in places of worship can raise eyebrows, although it has a long history: the oldest attested ‘policing’ service in Britian dates from the 11th century at Canterbury Cathedral. In scripture, the Levites were designated guardians, watchmen and gatekeepers during the time of the Exodus as the Israelites sought the Promised Land. Protection of the Tent of Meeting, the Temple, and the priests was paramount even then.
The 21st century is one of contrasts. Bright though the lights of technology, innovation, democracy and freedoms are, they could be said to amplify darknesses in the world. Darkness was always there, but the light of our modern age draws it out of the shadows. With the advance of digital interconnectedness, comes disproportionate growth of intolerance and prejudice, too often inflamed by rhetoric from public figures and social media. Anyone who dares to disagree with someone’s world view becomes their enemy. Sometimes, this is directed at the Church.
Security officers at church can trigger uncomfortable reactions. It’s a reminder that the world is unsafe; not as we would have it be. Some people have had traumatic experiences at the hands of those hiding behind a uniform or badge; some may feel that the world from which they are trying to escape or forget has intruded into their place of sanctuary. Such reactions are, of course, valid, and any decisions about increases in security measures at St James’s are never taken lightly. Our security partners, Right Guard, joined us in February of 2023 at a time of great change. We were developing our cultural and events programme to reach new audiences, especially those less familiar with church; we were moving forward with FEAST and Sunday Breakfast, developing a relationship with Redemption Roasters in the coffee shop; we were reaching out to the community around us and saying to them, ‘This is a place for you to belong and find peace.’ Our officers have, curiously, have an important role in projecting that message.
Tony, the Managing Director of Right Guard, and Hannah, our site-supervisor, work with us to find officers specifically suited to our kind of work. It’s important that they are part of this community, not on the periphery, standing on the fringes, keeping the ‘undesirables’ from our door. That is not our ethos or the message we want to convey. So, our officers must be part gatekeeper and part greeter. Not easy. We ask them to stand at the threshold as we invite everyone to come in and rest, while remaining ever vigilant. St James’s welcomes the vulnerable, suffering and needy, but sadly that means that it also attracts those who would prey on such people or seek to exploit the work that we do to help. Working alongside the staff and volunteers, our officers have helped apprehend pickpockets, reunited tourists with their passports, supported a vulnerable teenager who had run away from home and turned up at FEAST. They have provided first-aid and, despite injury to themselves, disrupted fights. They deal with people suffering from mental health challenges or, increasingly, addictions. They have prevented thefts from our collection boxes and challenged someone trying to leave a suitcase in the middle of the courtyard on a busy market day – a false alarm, but vigilance is key. They work with us to keep the site safe and accessible for all. During our pause in the Sunday Breakfast programme over the summer of 2024 it was interesting to learn, from a survey of guests, that many favoured more security, rather than less, to feel safe.
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I spoke with Mohammad, one of our regular security officers, and Tony about their experiences.
What does a good day look like?
Mohammad: A good day for us involves maintaining safety and security, clear communication with staff, and proactive monitoring of potential issues. We ensure smooth people management, resolve conflicts calmly, and foster positive interactions with the public, creating a peaceful and secure environment.
What about a bad day?
Tony: On a bad day our officers are frequently faced with racial abuse with the risk of physical assaults and violence. Sadly, with reduced police capacity, our officers take the brunt, often alone but maintaining their professional conduct. The roles and responsibilities for our security officers ranks customer service high on the agenda, however the morale for our officers inevitably takes a beating.
What struck you about SJP when you began working with us?
Tony: We were delighted excited to become the contractor for such a prestigious location in central London. We love the diversity and depths of the vast range of services that are provided by such dedicated people. After spending our initial week here, I soon realised that there was so much more to St James that I was unaware of, but I was very keen to learn especially for us to integrate as a security organisation. Over the past two years our relationship has developed with the management team, along with our wider understanding of the diversity present here.
Mohammad: I enjoy working at St. James because of the kind and supportive clergy, the strong teamwork among the vergers and the welcoming, family-like atmosphere created by the congregation.
What is it like to work as security in centre of busy city in the 21st century?
Mohammad: It’s challenging and rewarding. It involves constant vigilance and quick decision-making, managing large crowds, ensuring safety, and addressing potential risks. It requires strong communication skills, the ability to stay calm under pressure and, as cities become more digitally connected, security must adapt to new potential threats such as cyber-related ones, while maintaining physical presence, to ensure public safety. Overall, it’s a fast-paced job demanding a mix of physical, mental, and technological skill.
Tony: We operate in an extremely busy, diverse and, at times, challenging environment. Our uniformed officers are required to bring solutions to a vast mix of site related items and incident management. We must be many things and are expected to be able to solve everyone’s problems. Guards can become an anonymous face that people only want when things are difficult. But we are people too, we’re here to help. At St James’s our support goes far beyond of what the public see of our patrolling security officers, it includes sensitive planning & consultancy for specific events all are treated very differently from the day to day.
What do you feel are important qualities to have when working as a security guard in a place of worship and how does personal faith play a role?
Mohammad: I think the main qualities are patience, being supportive to people in need showing respect for their culture and handling all situations calmly. As a Muslim working at a church, my faith fosters respect, integrity, and professionalism. It encourages resolving conflicts peacefully, maintaining trust, and ensuring safety. My presence can also promote interfaith respect, demonstrating shared values of compassion and cooperation, whilst respecting my individual religious identity.
Tony: Our frontline team are from a mixture of backgrounds and faiths; all provide an equal and fair approach to resolving the daily challenges that they face. This includes being respectful and consistent with all people; this includes those that take umbrage at Christianity or the type of Christianity on display here. I am personally very proud that as Managing Director of Right Guard Security we continue to provide ongoing dedicated solutions to St James’s as we all continuously adjust as times continue to change at such pace with outside influences affecting so many.
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This sense of collaborative, community-centred working about which Mohammad and Tony speak is exactly what we seek to achieve with our security team, working together, ensuring that the site, staff and public, while disrupting the activity of those who try to cause harm or endanger the site and those who use it. Our interfaith experiences make for some fascinating conversations and help to build a wider sense of community. It can even help to teach us about our own faith and a sense of service to others. I long for an age when we won’t need security officers in churches or anywhere! However, until that’s a reality, I’m grateful to have a team who are hardworking, friendly and supportive in the mission of this church. We work hard to follow the words of St Paul to the Church in Corinth, ‘Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.’ – 1 Corinthians 16:13.
Barbara (Left) and Tony (Right)
Chris and Murtaza with, verger-in-training, James
Mohammad and Fakruddin with the vergers
Mohammad and Fakruddin
Mohammad, Hannah, Danish and Fakruddin
Murtaza and Mohammad with Lucy
Murtaza