About St. James

A new vision of Christianity

St. James United Church of Christ is an open and affirming community of faith that transcends any distinctions based on gender, sexual orientation, nationality, race, or religion. In our commitment to the spirit of progressive Christianity, we gather as an inclusive community, and our formal worship flows into a living worship of love and support for one another and the pursuit of ways in which we can reflect God’s mercy, justice, and peace in our community and throughout the world.

No matter who you are, or where you are in life’s journey, you are welcome at St. James.

Our Fellowship Hall is available to community groups by arrangement. To inquire about the use of this space, please contact council(at)stjamesucc-love.org or outreach(at)stjamesucc-love.org.

What we believe:

The UCC does not require adherence to a creed. At St. James, you will find people who don’t believe they have to check their brains at the door in order to fully and joyfully worship God; who believe that all people are made in God’s image and have inherent worth and purpose; that it is our responsibility to study and use discernment together to understand the meaning of God’s word in our lives; and that the Kingdom of God has to do with justice – how we care for each other in human community, here and now. You will find people from a variety of backgrounds, and although our faith tradition is firmly rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, you will also encounter people who find meaning in faith traditions other than Christianity. Mostly, you will find a welcoming and safe place to ask questions, share what you know, and be exactly who you are.

St. James has become an affiliate of The Center for Progressive Christianity, finding that our mission and identity are compatible with these 8 points:

  1. Have found an approach to God through the life and teachings of Jesus,
  2. Recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God’s realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us,
  3. Understand the sharing of bread and wine in Jesus’s name to be a representation of an ancient vision of God’s feast for all peoples,
  4. Invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to):
    • believers and agnostics,
    • conventional Christians and questioning skeptics,
    • women and men,
    • those of all sexual orientations and gender identities,
    • those of all races and cultures,
    • those of all classes and abilities,
    • those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope;
  5. Know that the way we behave toward one another and toward other people is the fullest expression of what we believe,
  6. Find more grace in the search for understanding than we do in dogmatic certainty – more value in questioning than in absolutes;
  7. Form ourselves into communities dedicated to equipping one another for the work we feel called to do: striving for peace and justice among all people, protecting and restoring the integrity of all God’s creation, and bringing hope to those Jesus called the least of his sisters and brothers; and
  8. Recognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of privilege.

We also have found affinity with The Phoenix Affirmations, twelve theological affirmations that refocus the Christian path on the principles of love, compassion and generosity taught by Jesus. These affirmations were articulated by Crosswalk America as a refusal to allow the voices of intolerance and exclusion speak for all Christians.

Contact our Pastor, the Rev. Don Prange, at pastor(at)stjamesucc-love.org or at 540.869.6517.
Contact our Council President, Cheryl Conrad, at council(at)stjamesucc-love.org
For questions about this website, contact webmaster(at)stjamesucc-love.org