St. James Episcopal Church – A caring, Christian community

Sundays: 8:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m.

Welcome to St. James!

“Every person is welcome at God’s Table”—this is what we say every Sunday morning, and we truly mean it. It guides our lives and our ministries here at St. James, Kent. Whoever you are—whatever your story, your circumstances, your hopes, and your gifts—you are truly and completely welcome with us.

Come to explore God’s bounty with us through a variety of worship styles in the beautiful Episcopal tradition, through study and fellowship, and through community service. We hope you will feel at home here, and we know you will make us stronger with your presence. Have fun exploring our new website and reach out to make contact. Better yet, Come and visit us, and let’s experience God’s grace together.

What's New

The Voice of Preparation – welcoming Christ

Comfort ye! Comfort ye my people, saith your God . . . speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare . . is accomplished, that her…

What's New

Preparing a Mansion for Christ – Room for All

When I was pregnant with Ariana, my last child, our baby girl, I allowed myself to become, well, rawther large. There were some who wondered whether I was in fact…

What's New

Do not be Afraid – a New Song for All People

We come together this Christmas Eve - perhaps not from as far away as Nazareth would have been from Bethlehem -- but still, from different…

Pinocchio!

Playing Feb. 15th & 16th and Feb. 22nd & 23rd
A play for all ages! A unique production of the original folktale in the tradition of Commedia dell'arte.

Sundays at

8:30 a.m.

Contemplative Eucharist

Choral Eucharist with Organ the 4th Sunday of the month

Coffee hour follows

Sundays at

11:00 a.m.

Choral Eucharist with Organ

Contemporary Eucharist with Radiance Band the 4th Sunday of the month

Childcare available
(0-48 months)

Coffee hour follows in the Parish Hall

Wednesdays at

9:00 a.m.

Contemplative Eucharist with Special Blessings for Healing

Get Involved

Adult Education

The Sunday Morning Adult Education Offerings are intended to enhance our spiritual transformation. This class meets in the Parish Hall between Sunday services, and meets between Labor Day and Father’s Day. This class is taught by a variety of people, including The Rev. Joyce Parry-Moore , Val Brustad, D. Bracher, and Tovi Harris. Classes for adults begin 9:30 a.m., except during the summer months.

Contact

Joyce Parry-Moore
Rector

253-852-4100
jparrymoore@stjameskent.org

Nursery

Nursery

Ages Newborn to 2 years old

Our large and peaceful room is perfectly set up for children ages newborn to two years old. Nursery care is available during the 11:00 a.m. church service. There are many loving and caring adults that volunteer to take care of the children. Nursery care is open for various parish events with advanced planning. The children enjoy their play and story time with each other and the caregivers.

Contacts

Karen Fisher fisherfam4@comcast.net

Jacque Alvernaz jalvernaz@comcast.net

Preschool

Ages 3 to 4 years old

(children must be 3 and potty trained by August 31.)

The Preschool Class is available during the 11:00 am service (unless otherwise specified). The children will meet in the classroom across the hall from the Godly Play Room. The class will begin with the children sitting in a circle for an opening prayer, then they will hear a Lectionary based Bible story and have a response/discussion time that is appropriate for their age. After that they will have a simple activity related to the story. The activities will grow as the children get familiar with the routines. These routines are similar to what they will be doing in the Godly Play Class.

Contacts

Karen Fisher fisherfam4@comcast.net

Jacque Alvernaz jalvernaz@comcast.net

Godly Play

Ages Kindergarten through 5th Grade

(children must be 5 by August 31 and currently enrolled in kindergarten.)

The Godly Play Class is available during the 11:00 service. The class is designed for children kindergarten through 5^th grade. They are invited to “wonder” in Godly Play. Godly Play is a Montessori-based approach to guiding children in their faith development. Each child is welcomed into the Godly Play classroom. Then they are invited to join the circle of other children on the floor. An adult storyteller shares a story from the Bible or from our faith traditions. When the story is finished, the children are encouraged to “wonder” about the story. Then the children have time on their own to explore the materials to retell the story, work on a self-guided craft that relates to the story, read a story, or enjoy some quiet time. Sometimes, a feast is shared. The children join the church after the confession. Godly Play does not meet during the summer months. For more information about Godly Play, visit the Godly Play Foundation website here: http://www.godlyplayfoundation.org

Contacts

Karen Fisher fisherfam4@comcast.net

Jacque Alvernaz jalvernaz@comcast.net

Youth Group

St. James’ Youth Group meets youth where they are and guides them closer to Christ. The youth stay active all year long, with events like the Seattle Inner City Mission Trip, 30-Hour Famine, pancake suppers, helping at VBS, the summer mission trip, BBQs, corn mazes, Tacoma Rainiers’ baseball games, the diocese’s JYC and HYC, and so on.

Contact

Paul Alvernaz
palvernaz@hotmail.com

Young Adults & Young Families

Young Adults & Young Family Fellowship is the group of 18-35 year olds at St. James. We meet each month, for fellowship that is family friendly. Past events have included pool parties, pumpkin carving, mystery dinners & gingerbread house building. We also do events for adults only, like camping in the summer. Please come join us

Contact

Brandon Wheeler

Ministries for Young Adults
lifetree.bdw@gmail.com

Melinda Schmeising

Ministries for Young Families

minserra36@hotmail.com

Choir

Our choir sings every Sunday at the 8:30 a.m. service. We come together for practice on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. With hundreds of years of liturgical music available, we’ll never run out of repertoire, that’s for sure! Our choir also participates and periodically hosts the annual Kent Choral Night on the first Sunday of May. New members are always welcome!

Contact

James Jelasic
Minister of Music

jjelasic@stjameskent.org

Contemporary Band

Our contemporary band, Radiance, is comprised of youth and adult musicians who love to play for the Lord! They play a mix of praise and worship music from contemporary Christian artists and original work. The band plays at the Contemporary Service every Sunday at 11:00am. In addition, Radiance provides worship support to a variety of specialty services, such as the Christmas pick-up pageant and Stations of Advent.

Contact

Dave Brumbaugh
Radiance Band leader

253-217-1883
e3dave@yahoo.com

Men's Fellowship

Men’s Fellowship

The monthly meeting is held in the church’s Parish Hall on the second Saturday of each month starting at 8:00 a.m. and is approximately one hour in length. We open with a brief prayer, offering up our thanksgivings, dine on a dish provided by one of the participants, have a discussion of a Biblical offering by one of the participants, and close with intercessory prayers that are offered up for friends and family.

Contact

Norm Harris

(253) 852-4003
harris4003@hotmail.com

Women's Fellowship

Women’s Fellowship

We want to help every girl and woman of all ages discover her inner self and unfading beauty. We meet monthly for breakfast on the third Saturday of every month to share our stories and learn from our sisters in Christ. We typically have a weekend retreat in the Fall and we arrange other events throughout the year. We would love to meet you and hear your story—join us!

Contact

Tisha Stril

425-766-2961
tishastril@gmail.com

Pastoral Care

Caring for others is an important part of who we are. St. James is committed to the well-being of its members through caring relationships and kind actions, intentionally meeting both the spiritual and life needs of the congregation.

The Pastoral Care Ministry provides warmth and support both in and beyond the Sunday church service. Membership offers an opportunity to fulfill the role that Jesus gave us, to love and serve our neighbors whoever and wherever they might be. Members of the Pastoral Care team might be called upon to provide short-term assistance with transportation, food/meals, shopping, visits, both at home or the hospital, and/or serving on one of the prayer teams.

If you are interested in being part of the Pastoral Care Team contact Tovi Harris

Contact

Linda Hagen
ljhagen1@comcast.net

Little Sisters of St. Clare

The Little Sisters of St. Clare is a community of faithful women who seek to live a contemplative life of prayer, study, and service, in the tradition of St. Clare and St. Francis.

Contact

D Bracher, LSSC
Mother Guardian

253-569-4759
LLSCMotherGuardian@gmail.com

Society of St. Anna and St. Simeon

The purpose of the society is as an honorary community of elders, serving to acknowledge their role as mentors and tradition bearers, as well as to ask for their prayers for the local, Diocesan, and worldwide Episcopal Church, and for wisdom when needed in matters of our congregation. The society, from its inception, was meant as a model for Christian living, to encourage all persons in the Diocese to look toward these elders for images of life lived in the imitation of Christ.

Contact

Mother Joyce
(253) 852-4450
info@stjameskent.org

Health Ministries

Health Ministry

The St. James Health Ministry is coordinated by Parish Nurse, Debbie Danioth, RN, and was started in 2000. The group has met monthly in the past to focus on current health issues relevant to the St. James parish, and to support the Parish Nurse with events such as monthly blood pressure checks, blood drives coordinated with LDS church and the Puget Sound Blood Center, and CPR/First Aid courses.

Contact

Debbie Danioth, RN

dldanioth@gmail.com

Social Justice

Outreach Ministry

The Outreach Ministry provides low-income Kent residents and the homeless with food, water, clothing, utility shut-off assistance, drivers licenses and IDs, referral information, and prayer always. We also provide school supplies and household furnishings, when they are available.

Sharing Garden

Our Sharing Garden connects at-risk families and children with the spiritual, nutritional and creative enrichment of learning to garden and compost in their homes and community.

Missions

One of the goals of Missions is to be a presence for Christ in the world. We provide opportunities for mission work locally, nationally, and internationally. Trips are for junior high, senior high/young adults, and adults.

Thrift Shop

The Thrift Shop is located in the gymnasium next to St. James Episcopal Church 24447 94th Avenue South Kent, WA 98030 We are accepting donations of gently used items 9 am to 12 noon on Mondays & Tuesdays and 1:30 to 4 pm on Wednesdays, and on our sale days, or by appointment by calling (253) 854-5165 or (253) 852-4450.