Dear Friends,

An exciting season of Pentecost will soon launch for us. New baptisms, new adult and teen members, and renewed discipleship through the Daughters of the King will all be celebrated on May 24^th and 31^st.

The 250^th Parish Potluck Celebration happens after church on May 31^st (Trinity Sunday), when we will celebrate how our colonial forebears in this parish helped shape our city, our nation and our church. Sign up, bring a dish and join the all-age party with delicious historic dessert recipes from a recently -gifted parish cookbook from 18th & 19th-century parishioner kitchens, made by our new parish bakers club! Costumed actors will tell of our history, and a churchyard scavenger hunt will delight the children.

A multiyear churchyard renewal project begins next week, during which we will make changes each season to help ensure our churchyard remains a place of beauty, remembrance, contemplation, hospitality and biodiversity. The first phase involves “meadowing” a stretch of the churchyard along the Cherry Street wall. The grass will be removed, and the ground will be prepared for meadow seeds of indigenous grasses and plants to attract insects and pollinators. Eventually, a mowed path will make it an unpaved summer pathway. The garden design professionals at Colorgarden, whose team includes some who cross-pollinate as Saint James parishioners, have extensive experience and will be part of the ongoing project that will ultimately create new pathways and lighting to make the space more inviting and welcoming for the city and parish.

MIND YOUR STEP into Church and the Parish House as scaffolding and repairs take place on entrance steps and façade stonework. This work will be completed in a couple of weeks, and entry into the Parish House will still be possible from both the front and back.

Yours in Christ,

David +

Thursday, May 14 | 6:15 - 7:45 PM

Spring Renewal Yoga Series Continues

This 4-week introductory yoga series is designed for both new and returning students seeking a thoughtful, supportive way to reconnect with their bodies. Together, we’ll explore yoga as a practice of whole-person care through movement, breathwork, reflection and gentle wellness education.

Each session offers a different entry point into renewal while building on the previous session in a way that feels accessible, grounded and practical for everyday life. For more information and to register, click here.

Saturday, May 16 | 8:30 - 10:30 AM

Upper Room Men's Group

Join us this Saturday for a discussion led by Berkley Latimer, on the parable of The Good Samaritan. We'll also delve into other parables from various perspectives, including audience/context, content, format, pedagogy, and purpose. As always, we'll have time for questions, insights and the sharing of favorite parables and personal 'parable moments.'

Our morning menu will feature pancakes in various flavors, sausage, coffee and juice, so come hungry and bring a friend!

Saturday, May 16 | 11:00 AM

Intergenerational Hike & Picnic

Lancaster County Park,

Pavilion # 3

All are welcome to enjoy a day of fellowship, food, and time in nature! Our potluck picnic is open to everyone!

The Hike has a limit of 25 spots. Confirmed hikers will set off with a park naturalist from Pavilion #3 at approximately 11:00 AM. Picnic-only attendees will stay in the pavilion and enjoy a presentation by The Grange on agricultural practices 250 years ago to the present, what we have learned and what we can do better.

The picnic is open to all and is unlimited! You do not have to bring food to attend, just come and enjoy; held rain or shine.

Pavilion #3 is located at 1098 Rockford Rd, Lancaster, PA 17602. Click here to let us know you'll be attending.

Saturday, May 16 | 7:30 PM

Susquehanna Chorale at Saint James

Come and hear the award-winning Susquehanna Chorale as it makes its Lancaster debut at Saint James at 7:30 PM on Saturday, May 16th! Based in Central PA, the group is a nationally recognized ensemble comprising 40 auditioned singers, including four from Saint James: Brian and Anne Moul and Phil and Nicolette Norris.

The spring concert series celebrates artistic director and founder Linda Tedford’s incredible 45-year leadership of the Chorale as she steps down at the end of this season. The all-American lineup of choral classics in honor of our nation’s 250th birthday includes Morten Lauridsen’s “Sure on this Shining Night,” selections from Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, and beloved works from Dan Forrest, Leonard Bernstein, Shawn Kirchner and Mack Wilberg. Tickets at susquehannachorale.org and at the door.

Sunday, May 17 | 9:30 AM

Women's Bible Study

In the Parish House Library

Join the women of our parish for a transformative journey of Bible study, prayer and fellowship in the parish house library. This gathering is an opportunity to deepen your relationships, share your experiences, and grow in faith together. Let’s lift each other up and spark inspiration in our hearts as we explore the Word of God. Women's Bible study meets on the 3rd Sunday of every month. Come, and be a part of this uplifting community! Have questions? Click here to email Kristy Clark.

Women's Bible Study is on holiday over the summer and will resume in the fall.

Sunday, May 17 | 9:30 AM

Forum Hour with Randall Zachman

Religious and Civil Freedom in the Revolutionary Era

This Sunday, we will consider religious arguments in support of civic freedom. Jonathan Mayhew (1720-1766) was a Congregational preacher in the Old West Church in Boston, who was one of the best-known preachers of his day. In 1750, he preached a sermon on Romans 13, which he hoped would "keep up a spirit of civil and religious liberty among us." In it, he argued that the apostle Paul taught that Christians have a duty to resist tyrannical rulers, leading John Adams to call him "the spark that ignited the American Revolution." In his highly influential pamphlet Common Sense (1776), Thomas Paine claimed that the division of human beings into kings and subjects has no natural or religious justification. He argues that in the Bible, Israel's request for a king was seen as an idolatrous denial of the kingship of God. Join us this Sunday as we explore the religious arguments Mayhew and Paine develop against tyranny and monarchy.

Available in person and via Zoom.

Click here to join via Zoom.

Sunday, May 17 | 5:00 PM

Evening Vespers at the Urban Well

In the Chapel

Join us this week at Vespers for monthly Holy Eucharist, followed by a simple potluck meal in the Narthex/Courtyard as weather allows. Main dishes for the potluck are covered, so bring a side to share or just bring yourself! In-person only at the Chapel.

Vespers Summer Schedule

During the summer months, Vespers will meet on the following Sunday evenings:

June 21
July 26
August 23

Celebrating America's 250th Anniversary

~ Upcoming Events ~

Sunday, May 17 | 5:00 – 6:30 PM

Youth Group & A Walk Through History

Join us for a fun and thoughtful evening as we kick things off with dinner and listening to music from the groundbreaking Hamilton soundtrack. Then we’ll head out into Lancaster City for a short historic walking tour around Saint James.

In honor of our country’s 250th anniversary, we’ll explore nearby sites that have shaped both Lancaster’s story and the wider story of our nation. Along the way, we’ll reflect on how Saint James is called to rejoice, repair and renew as people of faith and as citizens in our community.

Bring a friend and join us for a night that brings together history, music and conversation. Click here to let StephJo know you'll be attending! Please RSVP by May 15^th.

Tuesday, May 19 | 7:00 PM

Contemplative Tuesdays

with Mission and Justice

In the Chapel and via Zoom

Through June 16th

In this series, we are exploring what Walter Isaacson calls "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written"—the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

We will read alongside three imperfect men who labored over every word of a revolutionary document, and in doing so, we'll ask what it means to draft our own lives with the same painstaking attention. We'll practice noticing the gaps between these men's ideals and reality, and our ideals and our reality—not as failures, but as invitations from God to grow deeper in relationship with God, ourselves, and the world.

We are all drafting our lives, is the contemplative practice of this series. Our spiritual lives, our understanding of justice, our capacity for love—all of it is draft work. We write a version of ourselves today, and tomorrow we have the opportunity to revise, to cross out what doesn't serve, to add what we've newly discovered.

Copies of the book are now available ($16) in the Parish House Office. Click here to register.

Sunday, May 31 | 11:30 AM

Parish Potluck Celebration

Parish House Forum Room

Join us for a grand celebration of our parish's life and history with fun for all ages as we begin a summer of marking our country's 250th Anniversary!

There will be fun activities for all ages, including a scavenger hunt and appearances by historic Saint James parishioners. We will also have several baked goods available for sampling from the cookbook of Mary Ross, the great-granddaughter of George Ross, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Mary must have enjoyed potluck dinners, as last year, one of her descendants gifted Mary's recipe book to Saint James. It includes not only her family recipes from the colonial era but also those she collected from other parishioners.

Click here to let us know you'll be attending.

Click here to let us know what dish you'll be bringing.

Sunday, June 14 | 11:30 AM

Sunday Brunch Revolutionary

Texts Lecture Series

Parish House Forum Room

Catered by the Hamilton Club

Many texts containing “revolutionary ideas” have shaped American history and identity, not just one. Our Christian calling as citizens of this great country is to help Rejoice, Repair and Renew our national life. In a special Sunday Brunch Lectures series in honor of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, thought-leading social historians and theologians will reflect on a range of radical texts that challenge, expand or declare unfulfilled the rights and aspirations set forth in the Declaration of Independence.

Registration is required for catering, with a suggested donation of $25 for adults. Click here for more information and registration.

Sunday, May 24, 9:00 AM

Saint James Voices

Calling all Singers for May 24th!

Led by Kate Umble Smucker, the ensemble is open to anyone ages nine and above, with no experience required. The group will rehearse at 9:00 AM and then sing at the 10:30 AM service. If you'd like your music in advance, click here to email Kate.

Celebrating Our

2026 Graduates

Do you have a high school or college graduate in your family this year? We’d love to honor them in an upcoming Saint James service. Please let us know if you or a loved one is graduating in 2025!

Please click here to email StephJo Wise, Director of Children, Youth & Families, and share your graduate’s name and details.

Now Accepting Applications through

Friday, May 29th

Saint James Scholarship

We are happy to announce that scholarship applications for the 2026 –2027 academic year are now open.

Thanks to the generosity of our endowment fund, Saint James Episcopal Church is honored to support parishioners pursuing post-secondary education, whether full-time or part-time. Eligibility also includes immediate family members of Saint James staff, including children and grandchildren.

Deadline to Apply: Friday, May 29, 2026, by 12:00 PM (noon)

Decisions Announced: July 3, 2025. Click here to get started in the application process.

Pastoral Care at

Saint James

Pastoral care ministries at Saint James support parishioners at life’s major turning points, as well as during extended periods of disability and recovery. A team of clergy and lay persons provide timely, professional pastoral care in an intimate and confidential manner. Our team respects parishioners’ rights to privacy and keeps strictly confidential all information about anyone receiving pastoral care. Click here for more information about pastoral care, or click here to email Kristle Evans, Pastoral Care Coordinator