Serving: St. James Presbyterian Church in 2010 photo taken by Warren Johnson

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Connecting as a community of friendly, faithful pilgrims;
Believing the good news of redemption;
Serving all our neighbors;
Worshipping God with joyful music, grateful prayer, thoughtful words, and silent anticipation; and
Learning to listen to God's Word, to become Jesus' disciples, and to enjoy God forever.

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.):

Some of the missions which we currently support are:

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.

Stu Smith, Thomas Akompong, Kwaku Akompong, Charlotte Whitley, and Lee Lohman 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

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: providing education to American Indians and others who might be interested; Dr. Dorene Weise, President.
The Limina Institute: working with a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues providing services that span from therapy for depression and grief counseling to parenting support and couples counseling; Rev. Joellyn Hosler, Pastoral Counselor.
Living Well Ministries: creating safe spaces through classes, retreats and coaching for individuals and groups who are committed to living well; Rev. Jacki Belile, Director.
Horeb House of Worship: conducting Christian worship in English and in Telugu, the language of Andhra Pradesh, India; Rev. Kingsley J. Chettupally, Pastor.