Results from Parish Self Reflection

        Hello and welcome to The Episcopal Church of St. Paul & St. James!  We are an open and affirming community of faith centered around the Eucharist, and grounded in compassion and generosity - for ourselves, each other, and those around us.
         Our FAITH is expressed in loving-kindness to all whom we encounter. Our openness creates a safe space for those with questions of faith or complicated relationships with church.  We manifest our faith through the rise of lay leadership who have answered new calls during this transitional period, and through our apostles who daily go out into the world to serve their neighbors. Our lay Pastoral Care team reaches out to those in our community who are homebound, or who may not be able to get to church every week.
         Our WORSHIP is enthusiastic, spirited, and creative while remaining reverent with respect for tradition.  Our jazz music is vibrant, inspirational and founded on Christian theology.  We value sermons from a diversity of voices that are both theologically imaginative and practical. In addition to Sunday services, we continue to worship in-person on Wednesdays for noonday prayer, and online on Tuesdays/Thursdays for Compline. Our embrace of openness and adaptability is embodied in our recent decision to remove our pews, creating a flexible worship space in our sanctuary that is ripe with possibility.    
         OUTREACH into the neighborhoods around us is most visible in our support of and participation in the weekly Loaves & Fishes food pantry and clothing closet which happens in our undercroft.  Parishioners also support and participate in the daily morning meal served by Sunrise Café in the same space.  We recently launched “The Square at St. PJ’s Church,”  opening our building and resources to the community-at-large for celebrations, cultural events, sacred events, co-working space, and more. Given these strengths, we also have areas for growth regarding outreach; for example we intend to lean into our history and responsibility around racial reparation and reconciliation with all of our local communities.
         Our CHALLENGES as a community include solving such mundane issues as parking availability, in addition to the more spiritual matters of empowering disciples into action and initiating Christian education for our young children.  We also look forward to increasing our visibility as a faithful worshiping community so that we may grow in body and spirit.    
        Our next PRIEST-IN-CHARGE will delight to stand with us and thrive among us  – we are on this journey with Jesus together.  We are hoping our next Priest-in-Charge will help us to support our growing lay ministry to expand their gifts in areas including preaching and leading small groups.  They will provide spiritual leadership and help us to make theological connections in all that we do. The Priest-in-Charge will share church duties with the laity, and introduce more Christian Formation sessions. They will encourage us to look outside ourselves and increase our meaningful involvement in the neighborhood and the world.