Reaching Beyond Our Walls

St. James is a church that values extending our ministry beyond our building and our Sunday worship.  There are several ways that both corporately or as individuals we work to make the world a better place.  We hope that this list will continue to grow.

We support these major offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

• One Great Hour of Sharing
• Pentecost Offering
• Peacemaking Offering

We support the work of PCUSA mission workers around the world.  You can read some current newsletters from these folks below.

Some of the other missions which we currently support are:

• Café Pride
• Sarah's Circle
• The Night Ministry
• The Greater Chicago Food Depository
• Heifer International
• More Light Presbyterians
• The Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches
• That All May Freely Serve
• Church World Service and the Chicago C.R.O.P. Walk

Volunteering to Alleviate Suffering
 

The Greater Chicago Food Depository Once a month a group from St. James makes the hike to the The Greater Chicago Food Depository to repackage food for distribution through local shelters and food banks throughout the metropolitan area.  Folks from St. James join with members of other churches, synagogues, and mosques to move tons of produce, pasta, and canned goods from industrial pallets into family sized packages for hungry people.  Betty McCoy organizes the team which usually volunteers as a group on the fourth Saturday of the month.

Doretta Stier, Betty McCoy, and Charlotte Whitley from St. James regularly volunteer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository

The Knitters of St. James

This group comes together through their common interest in needlework to share patterns and techniques, to find causes to support, and to dream of the next big project.  They donate their handiwork and the proceeds of their sales to such charities as

• Afghans for Afghans
• Heifer International
• The Night Ministry
• Sarah's Circle
• The V.A. Hospital in Maywood, Illinois

In 2007 our knitters raised and donated over $900 to various charities.  To join this group, ask around on Sunday for one of the members and she'll be glad to tell you how to join.  They also teach knitting to men and women in the church who have no experience whatsoever!

The Night Ministry

On the third Sunday of the month after the service, a group collects at one of the tables in our dining room to package donated cookies for The Night Ministry's Health and Hospitality Outreach program.  These cookies are part of the hospitality offered from one of The Night Ministry's buses as it serves persons in the night time economies in various neighborhoods of Chicago: homeless persons, persons in prostitution, and others who are underserved by traditional social service programs.

Providing Space for Other Ministries

We share our building with these other ministries:

• The American Indian Association of Illinois
• The Limina Institute
  • Joellyn Hosler, Resident Therapist
• The St. James Counseling Center
  • Ann Brekke, LCPC
  • James Cosenza, LCSW
  • Rich Jentzen, LCSW
• Kindred Hearts
  • Providing a safe place for Women
• Horeb House of Worship
  • Conducting Christian worship in English and in Telugu, the language of Andhra Pradesh, India.