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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.
Come and celebrate the hope and light that Christmas brings each winter
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 creative 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
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Following her trip to St Bart’s in New York, Revd Dr Ayla Lepine the Associate Rector of St James’s reflects on her experiences with the congregation and the developing relationship between the two churches.
St Bart’s Church is in the heart of New York in Midtown Manhattan. It’s vast, and looks very unusual amongst all its skyscraper neighbours. It is a place of peace, hope, and prayer, and entering its doors one of the first things visitors see is a sign saying ‘All are welcome. No exceptions.’ In January I spent a week at St Bart’s and it was a privilege and joy to be alongside the clergy, staff, and congregation. There are many similarities with St James’s especially in the liturgy, their focus on music, their commitment to radical welcome and community and outreach, and their engagement with social justice. More than once I heard the church referred to as a place with a particular connection to LGBTQIA+ folks in New York and beyond.
On Sunday 14 January we celebrated and honoured The Revd Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and Monday 15 January was a national holiday. To preach on an occasion like this, and to share the story of Quobna Ottobah Cugoano’s baptism 250 years ago at St James’s Piccadilly, was a profound experience and a deep responsibility too. In addition to Cugoano’s abolitionist and theological writing, I also focused on Cole Arthur Riley’s new book, Black Liturgies. You can watch the sermon here. On MLK Day, the composer Mark Miller (who also visited St James’s last autumn) led an inspiring service deepening our connections with King’s vision in the context of song and praise. Throughout the week I had opportunities to meet may New York clergy, get to know the Episcopal Church in new ways, and talk with folks in the congregation at St Bart’s about what matters most to them in their lives and in their church.
While at St Bart’s I also gave a talk about the church’s architect, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, and highlighted the mosaics and stained glass by Hildreth Meiere, an American artist who deserves far greater recognition. The Transfiguration mosaic within Goodhue’s Neo-Byzantine apse is a real highlight of the building’s spectacular interior. The congregation joined me for a tour of art and theology at the nearby Museum of Modern Art, and I also had an opportunity to share more about St James’s and the Wren Project. Many in the congregation were also inspired by St James’s new paintings by Che Lovelace, which celebrate baptism, liberation, and Cugoano’s story. You can watch my talk about Lovelace’s paintings and racial justice here.
It was a pleasure to be so warmly welcomed by the St Bart’s team, with a packed itinerary coordinated by their Vicar, The Revd Peter Thompson, who visited us at St James’s in September 2023. Together with all at St Bart’s, he was a fantastic host throughout my time in New York. Many in the congregation have connected with St James’s online and in person, just as St James’s members have visited St Bart’s too. It was evident that there is huge potential in this partnership between our two churches across the Atlantic. Long may this new and growing relationship between communities flourish, as we seek justice, peace, and hope together in the beauty of holiness and in the broken-hearted, open-hearted reality of the Eucharist in these sacred places and in our world.