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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.
Thur 24 Oct 6.30pm
Fact, fiction, faith: AI in an uncertain world – a conversation with Jocelyn Burnham, and Dr Shauna Concannon.
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
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St James’s aspires to be a place where all can belong, and where every person’s gifts and identities are welcome and celebrated. We are working to improve the experience at St James’s in the church building and the online community. We have step-free access from the courtyard to the church, and a toilet for disabled people. The courtyard and Redemption Roasters coffee shop are wheelchair accessible. If you have special access requirements (e.g. wheelchair users) please contact concerts@sjp.org.uk
As part of a new programme, Conversations Under Trees, St James’s is opening up conversations on big issues of heart, soul, mind and body for people of all faiths and none. Based in the conviction that having a conversation under a tree is different to having a conversation in a boardroom, across your dining table or on the internet. Some activities will take place under the beautiful trees around St James’s and others will take place beneath a metaphorical tree in the church.
We will launch Conversations Under Trees with a special event on Thursday 24 October, when Jocelyn Burnham and Dr Shauna Concannon will take part in an open conversation chaired by Revd Lucy Winkett, in which everyone is welcome to share their thoughts.
Our topic is Artificial Intelligence and its intersections with faith, truth, trust and creativity. This will not be a debate, or a Q&A, it will be a guided conversation, where new questions and contemplation are encouraged as much as answers.
Opening drink and nibbles will be available from 6pm with the discussion commencing at 6.30pm.
After the conversation, there will be food and drink for all those attending to share together.
Conversations Under Trees is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Dr Shauna Concannon is an interdisciplinary researcher and assistant professor in Computer Science and Digital Humanities at Durham University. Her work focuses on the societal and ethical implications of AI technologies, particularly in relation to human-machine interaction, biases in AI systems, and responsible AI. Shauna takes a human-centred approach, investigating how technology influences society and exploring ways to create more equitable and socially just AI systems. Her research includes the study of online information seeking practices and deliberation, empathy in AI, and the design of ethical AI systems. She co-leads the EquiAI network, which fosters collaboration across academia, third sector and industry to promote responsible AI practices.
Shauna began her academic journey in the humanities, with a master’s in modernist literature before completing a PhD in Media & Arts Technology at Queen Mary University of London. More recently, she has worked at the Universities of Cambridge, York, and Newcastle, conducting postdoctoral research on intersectional feminist approaches to data science, human-data interaction, and human-machine communication.
Jocelyn Burnham (AI for…) is one of the UK’s leading independent artificial intelligence consultants, trainers, and speakers, specialising in the culture and heritage sector while applying insights across diverse industries.
She has been commissioned by organisations including Arts Council England, Tate, Art Fund, Shakespeare’s Globe, RADA, Kew and Historic Royal Palaces to produce bespoke AI workshops and consultation projects. Her work has also been sought by industries and institutions beyond the cultural space, seeking to apply creative approaches to AI innovation. Jocelyn has spoken on AI and its cross-sector applications at conferences organised by the British Library, the Arts Marketing Association, the BFI, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and others. Her writing on artificial intelligence and its implications has been published in multiple sector titles, including Arts Professional and Clore Leadership.
Jocelyn was previously the Communications Manager of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, the Marketing Campaigns Manager of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, the Marketing and Communications Manager of Music Theatre Wales, the Publications Officer of Sadler’s Wells, and the Marketing Manager of Sheringham Little Theatre, among multiple freelance marketing projects. She also worked as a freelance journalist, publishing with Time Out (London) and USA Today.
