A Parish on East Douglas
St. James Episcopal Church stands on East Douglas Avenue at the eastern edge of Wichita's College Hill neighborhood, between the city's older east-side residential streets and the busy commercial corridor that bears the same name. The building, dedicated in 1926 and consecrated in 1937, has welcomed worshipers for more than a century. Bishop Cathleen Bascom joined the parish on November 14, 2021, to celebrate the centennial - a service that included confirmations and receptions, followed by a champagne reception in the Guild Hall.
St. James is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its mission, as the parish states it, is to worship and glorify God, to proclaim the Gospel through word and deed, and to serve the community and the world as disciples of Christ. Members describe their community with words that recur across the parish's own writing: inclusive, welcoming, curious, and committed to serving Wichita through the Gospel. The motto that runs across the website says it simply: "Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith, you are welcome here."
From a Mother's Silver Toys: The Founding of St. James
The story of St. James begins with three women. Mrs. EE Bleckley, Mrs. Frances B. Keck, and Mrs. Frances Keck Ross dreamed of an Episcopal parish in College Hill. Nine men joined their effort, and on June 4, 1920, a unanimous vote at the Wichita Club launched a permanent church in the neighborhood. Bishop James Wise appointed the Reverend Otis Gray to come from Topeka to lead the new work.
The parish was named for St. James the brother of our Lord, and in memory of James Llewellyn Wise, Bishop Wise's young son, who had died at age eight during the influenza epidemic earlier that year. Mrs. Wise had little Jimmy's silver toys melted into a chalice, and she and Bishop Wise melted their own wedding bands to add a gold trim around it. That chalice is still used at Sunday morning services.
The first St. James service was held on July 18, 1920, in the former St. Stephen's building at East First Street and New York. The parish was admitted to parish status on May 8, 1921. Building plans began in 1923; the groundbreaking came on July 19, 1925, and the cornerstone was laid on November 1, 1925. The building was dedicated on May 30, 1926, and consecrated on January 9, 1937. The whole history of the parish rests against the longer history of Episcopalians in Kansas, who trace their presence in the state to a service held in Fort Leavenworth on November 24, 1837.
Holy Eucharist on Saturday and Sunday
The parish's central rhythm is the weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Services are held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday evenings and at 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings at 3750 E. Douglas Avenue. Each follows the Rite II liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer. The 10:45 a.m. Sunday service is livestreamed on the parish's YouTube channel so that members who are homebound or traveling can worship with St. James in real time. For those who live nearby but cannot come inside, the audio is also broadcast on 89.5 FM in the parking lot.
On the third Sunday of each month, the 10:45 a.m. service becomes a Family Service. The format is intentionally playful and creative - designed for children, youth, and families. It includes space for children's homilies, gathering close to the altar, children's music, and other creative offerings. The aim, as the parish describes it, is for children to know they are welcome with all their energy, excitement, and wonder.
Evensong is offered as a regular time to offer thanks for the day, to seek spiritual peace for the evening, and to provide a space of time to contemplate through music and scripture. The parish's online archive includes bulletins for recent Sundays, available as PDFs, alongside the recorded services.
Clergy, Deacons, and Lay Leaders
St. James is currently in a rector search, with the Reverend Audrey Miskelley serving as Interim Rector. Miskelley is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary and has spent much of her ministry in transition parishes, including service as Canon Evangelist at the Cathedral in Lexington, Kentucky. She and her husband Ray live in the San Francisco Bay area between assignments; their three children and their spouses are scattered along the East Coast.
The Reverend Andy Houltberg serves as Associating Priest. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Breakthrough Episcopal Social Services in Wichita, where his work focuses on expanding mental health support, recovery opportunities, and pathways to stable housing for people impacted by mental illness, homelessness, and poverty. He previously served as Executive Director of Ashby House and as an Assisting Priest at Christ Cathedral in Salina.
Archdeacon Jeff Roper was ordained an Episcopal deacon on January 8, 2011, after completing Education for Ministry at the University of the South and the Kansas School for Ministry. He teaches junior and senior English at Andover High School, has served as a board member of the Winfield Correctional Facility Spiritual Life Center since 2018, and received the Deacon's Cross award in October 2014. Deacon Deedee Evans serves as Deacon Emerita; she has been an ordained deacon for more than twenty years and facilitates two grief support groups, one at St. James and one at Larksfield Place, a local retirement community.
Lay leadership includes Senior Warden Dana Stelter, Junior Warden Danny Blair, Treasurer Clay Bastian, and Clerk Deb Bagby. Chelsea Whipple, the parish's Director of Programs, coordinates children's ministries and pastoral care. She holds a doctorate of ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary, a master's degree in New Testament studies from Bangor Theological Seminary, and a bachelor's in education from Wichita State University. Dakota Bennett, the Music Director since 2023, holds a bachelor's degree in organ performance from Wichita State University, where he studied under Lynne Davis, and also works with Headley Organ Company.
The Sacraments Observed Here
St. James observes all the sacraments of the Episcopal Church. Holy Baptism is celebrated as full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. The water may be administered by immersion or affusion, the candidates are marked with the sign of the cross, and chrism may be used. Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship in the covenant, with parents or sponsors making the baptismal promises on their behalf.
Confirmation is described as a mature public reaffirmation of Christian commitment, accompanied by the laying on of hands by a bishop. The parish also welcomes those who have been members of other Christian fellowships through the rite of Reception, and offers Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows for those returning from a period of religious inactivity or who wish to renew their Christian commitment. The Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship, is open to all who wish to receive it. Marriage is offered as a sacramental rite in which two persons enter into a lifelong union and receive the grace and blessing of God; at least one party must be a baptized Christian and the ceremony must conform to the laws of Kansas and the canons of the church. Reconciliation of a Penitent - confession - may be heard at any time or place, and only a bishop or priest may pronounce absolution.
Learning for Adults
The Adult Formation program at St. James offers a number of ongoing options for adults who want to study, pray, and serve. The Adult Forum meets on Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Guild Hall and takes the lectionary as its starting point, with a different speaker each week exploring the readings through history, language, culture, short films, and other angles. Breakfast Sunday, held on the second Sunday of each month, is the exception.
Education for Ministry, known as EfM, is a four-year small-group formation program from the University of the South that has served more than 120,000 participants since 1975. The St. James EfM group meets on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the church library under the leadership of trained mentors LoWaine Robison and Deb Bagby. A Graduate EfM group continues for those who have completed the standard curriculum and meets on Zoom.
Basic A is a six-week introduction to the Episcopal Church, open to anyone age twelve and above. Each session is taught by clergy and laity together; the recent summer run was led by the Reverend Audrey Miskelley and Elizabeth Wenger. A Contemplative Prayer Group meets on Monday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the lounge under the leadership of Dave McDonald. Past studies at St. James have included topics such as "What is the Bible?" by Rob Bell, "Half-Truths" by Adam Hamilton, "The Theology of John Shelby Spong," "Spiritual Companion," and a Wednesday evening Bible study on forgiveness in the Gospels.
Children, Youth, and the Family Service
The children's program at St. James is known as Kidz Zone, and it is built around the conviction that children belong in worship - not separated from it. Children's worship bags are available at the entrance to the sanctuary, filled with coloring pages, Bible story books, tracing cards, and pipe cleaners for creating. The parish encourages parents to relax, sit toward the front, sing the hymns, and quietly explain the parts of the service to their children.
Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m. on the first and third Sundays of the month from mid-September through August. Classes use the Godly Play curriculum and are organized into three age groups: Fishers (preschool through kindergarten), Seekers (first through third grade), and Disciples (fourth and fifth grade). Each year the children take part in a service project to learn about helping those in need. Children's Chapel follows the first-Sunday school session from October through August and is open to all children ages three and up. It is a hands-on time to ask questions about the service, the colors of the church year, the readings, and the prayers.
The nursery is available for children newborn through age five during Sunday services and special events. Trained staff and volunteers who work with children and youth have completed Safeguarding God's Children training; guardians must sign a yearly safety form. The Family Service on the third Sunday at 10:45 a.m. extends the same spirit to the whole congregation.
Youth in grades six through twelve meet on Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., September through May, with the exception of the fourth Sundays when the parish gathers for a potluck lunch at 11:30 a.m. Youth serve as acolytes, assistants to the clergy, ushers, and bearers of the bread and wine at the offertory. They participate in outreach projects in Wichita and across the Diocese of Kansas. Confirmation classes for youth are taught in the fall by Archdeacon Jeff Roper. The youth choir and bell choir welcome all ages; rehearsals are held on Wednesday evenings from September through May in the music room.
Spiritual Direction Companions
St. James maintains a small group of trained spiritual directors who offer one-on-one spiritual companionship to anyone seeking a deeper relationship with God. Terry Anderson, who trained through Stillpoint in Pasadena, California, and Chelsea Whipple are the parish's listed spiritual directors. The parish also points seekers to the Spiritual Directors International website for finding additional companions throughout the region.
Outreach and the Pocket Change Project
The Outreach Committee at St. James meets the first Tuesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. in the library. The committee sponsors projects benefiting community charities, encourages volunteerism, provides funding for several Wichita agencies that serve families and children, and sends prayer cards to ill or grieving parishioners. Members regularly hear from leaders of community organizations; recent speakers have come from KCSL, Breakthrough ESS, St. Francis Ministries, and United Way. Tours have taken the group to the Wichita Children's Home, the Urban League, the Wichita Crisis Center, and KCSL.
The Pocket Change Project is one of the committee's most successful ongoing efforts. Small printed envelopes in the church pews collect coins and dollars, and the committee rotates gifts of $500 each to four Wichita charities: Breakthrough ESS, KCSL, the Wichita Children's Home, and The Pando Initiative. Since its founding in 2015 by Gary Thudium, Pocket Change has given more than $35,000 to the Wichita community. Additional product drives collect diapers and underwear for the Wichita Children's Home, school supplies for public schools through The Pando Initiative, hygiene products for the Hygiene Pantry, Christmas food baskets and gifts for families in need, and blankets.
The committee has worked closely with Justice Together on community projects addressing mental health, affordable housing, and gun violence prevention. Fundraising dinners - including a free-offering Bingo Dinner in support of the partnership - help fund the work.
Racial Justice
Racial justice is a major area of parish life at St. James, with an extensive online catalogue of resources and an active program of congregational study. The parish hosts an annual Congregational Book Read and has worked through books such as "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo, "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi, and "The Color of Law" by Richard Rothstein. Recent video series have included "The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song" by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., with weekly discussion sessions on Zoom. A lending library makes dozens of titles on racial justice available to parishioners.
The Racial Justice page frames the work in pastoral language: white members of the congregation are encouraged to recognize the ways they benefit from being white, to put away long-lived ways of building community, to listen to Black and Brown voices, and to work for proportional representation in government and leadership. The materials are explicit that this is not a question of being a good person by birth, but of taking responsibility for ongoing inequity. The work is paired with the parish's commitment to becoming what the Episcopal Church calls Beloved Community.
Creation Care and Bishop Cathleen's Challenge
The Creation Care committee at St. James describes its work as loving formation, liberating advocacy, and life-giving conservation for God's creation. The parish conducts an annual energy audit of the building and shares the results publicly. Members are encouraged to reduce consumption, plant native species, walk and bike when possible, choose sustainable seafood, and look for non-toxic cleaners.
While Cathleen Bascom was Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, she challenged the parish to reduce its carbon footprint through the Sustain Island Home program, a tool originally developed by the Diocese of California. Members can register individually or as a congregation, measure their footprint, and take measurable actions. The Creation Care committee also follows legislation in Topeka and shares updates through the parish's eTower newsletter.
Olde English Tea and the Oyster Dinner
Two annual events have become traditions in their own right. The Olde English Tea traces its origins to 1921, when Bishop Wise asked the women of the parish to help raise $300; what began as an occasional event has grown into what is often called Kansas' Biggest Tea Party. Held on the first Saturday in May, the tea features two seatings - a morning seating and an afternoon seating geared for families - with tickets for adults and for children ages five to twelve. Proceeds go to Wichita-area nonprofit agencies, with beneficiaries announced when ticket sales open.
The Oyster Dinner began in 1959 as the Men's Shrove Tuesday Supper, when tickets cost a dollar, and was originally open only to men as part of the mission of The King's Men. The name changed to the St. James Men's Ale and Oyster Dinner in 1960, the dinner was paused for some time, and Richard Bowman revived it in 1979. The dinner is now open to the whole community, with proceeds supporting the Wichita Children's Home, Breakthrough Episcopal Social Services, and other local nonprofits. The menu includes oysters on the half-shell, breaded and fried oysters, oyster stew, beer, and wine.
The Guild Hall Players
The Guild Hall Players are St. James' in-house theater company, performing several productions each season in the parish's Guild Hall. The recent season opened with Kaufman and Hart's "The Man Who Came to Dinner," followed by a stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby," Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," and Jerry Herman's "Dear World." Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and military, and reservations can be made through the parish office.
Kansas to Kenya
The Kansas to Kenya (K2K) Medical Team is one of the parish's longest-running mission partnerships. Each year, a team of roughly forty-seven volunteers - drawn from both the United States and Kenya - travels to provide free medical and dental care to underserved populations. Nahirony Sánchez, the team director, described a recent trip: "this trip taught me that a team can come together in the blink of an eye, that God is always listening to our prayers and guides us through difficult times, and that it takes a village to make this trip a success." The parish's Vacation Bible School students have helped support the work in past years, including raising money for fruit purchases for children at Humble Hearts School.
Wichita Minster Partnerships
St. James is one of several parishes in the Wichita Minster, a regional grouping within the Diocese of Kansas designed for mutual support, shared resources, and shared sacramental care. Through the Minster, the parish participates in ShowerUp ICT, a shower ministry held at St. John's on Thursday evenings; in Sandwich Saturdays, a food ministry that distributes lunches to those experiencing homelessness in downtown Wichita; and in supporting Breakthrough Episcopal Social Services through donations of food, hygiene items, and other supplies.
Stewardship and the Legacy Society
St. James supports its ministry through pledges, endowments, and one-time gifts. The parish's Perpetual Memorial and Endowment Fund, established to honor loved ones and to support the long-term mission of the church, is open to gifts of $100 or more. The Legacy Society, started in 2014, recognizes members who have included St. James in their estate plans through bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, endowments, or beneficiary designations. The parish office publishes Final Affairs Forms with templates for documenting end-of-life wishes and planning a funeral service.
Online giving is available through the parish's Realm portal, and pledges and one-time gifts can also be made by mail or during the offertory at any service. The parish also participates in the Dillons Community Rewards program, allowing shoppers to direct a portion of their purchases back to St. James.
The parish office at 3750 E. Douglas Avenue is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with summer hours closing at noon on Fridays. The phone number is (316) 683-5686. The weekly eTower newsletter, with a message from the leadership and a calendar of upcoming events, is the way the parish keeps in touch with its members throughout the week.