A House of Prayer on Madison Avenue
St. James' Church stands on Madison Avenue between 71st and 72nd Streets, a stone's throw from Lenox Hill on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The parish has worshipped in this part of the city since 1810, when a small white-clapboard summer chapel was consecrated on Hamilton Square, at what is now East 69th Street and Lexington Avenue. The congregation grew up with New York City itself. A second Victorian Gothic building, designed by James Renwick, opened on East 72nd Street in 1869; Renwick would go on to design the Smithsonian Institution and St. Patrick's Cathedral. In 1884, work began on the present Romanesque church, designed by Robert H. Robertson and opened the following year. In 1924, Ralph Adams Cram was hired to enlarge and transform Robertson's building into the neo-Gothic structure worshippers encounter today, complete with the Great Reredos, one of the finest painted and gilded wooden altar pieces created in the twentieth century. Most of the stained glass windows were replaced under Cram's direction, though three windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany Studio were preserved. The tower was topped with its present steeple in 1950, designed by Richard A. Kimball.
The church and parish house were completely rebuilt between 2001 and 2004 according to plans by Lee Harris Pomeroy, with new classrooms, meeting rooms, and a new atrium between the parish house and sanctuary. In 2005, a columbarium was constructed in the bell tower, and Tiffany windows that had been hidden during Cram's renovation were restored. In 2008 to 2009, the parish installed the St. James' Bicentennial Organ, built by Schoenstein & Co. Organbuilders. The building was made fully accessible during the renovation, with the entrance to the parish house reconfigured so the entire complex could welcome people in strollers or wheelchairs.
St. James' has been at the center of important diocesan moments. In 1977, the parish sponsored Carol Anderson for ordination as the first woman priest in the Diocese of New York. In 1996, the parish called as rector the Rev. Brenda G. Husson, the first woman chosen to lead a parish of such size and prominence in the diocese. St. James' was one of the first churches to divest from investments in apartheid South Africa. In 2019, the parish acknowledged that enslaved labor had helped create the wealth that made possible the founding and early operation of the church, installing a memorial plaque near the Madison Avenue entrance. As of 2026, St. James' celebrated its 216th year and its 216th Annual Meeting.
Four Sundays Under One Roof
St. James' is a liturgical church, and the Eucharist on Sunday is the central point of the Christian week. The parish offers four very different Sunday services, each a celebration of the Holy Eucharist but shaped to its own mood. The 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist is a quiet, spoken service in the Chapel, using the traditional language of Rite I, with a short homily and no music. It lasts about forty minutes.
The 9:10 a.m. service is the family-friendly celebration, using the contemporary expression of Rite II with preaching that is described as relevant and engaging. Music is drawn primarily from the classical tradition, including choral anthems and great hymns led by the parish's adult and children's choirs. This service usually lasts an hour and is followed by coffee, fellowship, and formation opportunities for all ages, including Church School, the Middle School Youth Group, and the Coburn Forum. Nursery and toddler care for ages zero to two are available during both the service and the formation hour.
At 11:15 a.m., the Choral Eucharist uses the traditional expression of Rite I language with preaching that is relevant and engaging. Music is drawn from the classical tradition, featuring a choral mass setting, choral anthems, and hymns led by the Compostela Choir, the parish's professional ensemble. This service usually runs sixty to seventy-five minutes and is followed by coffee and fellowship. Nursery and toddler care for ages zero to four are available during the service and the coffee hour.
The 6:00 p.m. Candlelight Communion is an informal, contemplative service to close the day and begin the week. It includes Scripture, poetry, a short meditation by one of the clergy, beautiful instrumental music, and ample time for reflection. The Church is dark and bathed in candlelight, and members of the congregation are invited to get up and light a candle when moved as a symbol of their prayer. This service usually lasts no more than an hour.
On Wednesdays, said Holy Eucharist services are held in the Chapel at 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon, each lasting about thirty minutes. Morning Prayer is said Mondays through Fridays at 8:00 a.m., and Evening Prayer at 5:30 p.m., as part of the Anglican daily office. Services are livestreamed on Sundays at 9:10 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 6:00 p.m.
A Living Music Tradition
Music holds an integral place in the liturgy at St. James'. The parish maintains two adult choirs that lead worship each Sunday. The Canterbury Choir, the principal adult choir at the 9:10 a.m. liturgy, is made up of volunteers. It sings a wide variety of musical styles, from anthems incorporating children's choirs to complex Renaissance motets, maintaining a high standard of choral excellence while allowing members a fairly flexible schedule. The Compostela Choir, which sings each Sunday at the 11:15 a.m. service, is made up of auditioned professionals who represent some of the finest choral singers in New York City. It maintains the legacy of the Anglican choral tradition, singing repertoire representing the finest sacred music from the Renaissance to the present day.
Children have their own chorister program. The Cherub Choir, for ages four to six, rehearses Tuesdays from 3:45 to 4:15 p.m. and sings for monthly Children's Eucharist services. The Primary Choir, for first and second graders, rehearses Thursdays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. and sings for the once-monthly Children's Eucharist and on some third Sundays with the Youth Choir. The Youth Choir, for ages eight through eighteen, rehearses Thursdays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and sings weekly at the 9:10 a.m. services throughout the school year, developing increasing choral ability, independence, and musicianship. Choristers learn healthy singing techniques and musicianship skills through fun and varied activities, including Orff instruments, handchimes, and handbells. All of the children's choirs are directed by Kenneth Miller, the Director of Music and Organist.
Children and adults alike serve as acolytes, readers, and choristers. Kids four and up are encouraged to sing in the choirs. Children in third grade and above are invited to serve as acolytes. Fourth graders lead the Decalogue during Lent. Children in fifth grade and above are invited to read the Lesson. Children and youth in sixth grade and above lead the Prayers of the People. Youth in eighth grade and above serve as ushers. High schoolers who have shown leadership and commitment are offered the chance to serve as Chalice Bearers.
Children, from the Toddler Room to Confirmation
St. James' considers itself a partner with parents in helping children come to know the love of God. Family programming stretches well beyond the Sunday classroom. The Planitzer Nursery in the basement is staffed from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sundays during the 9:10 and 11:15 services and during Sunday School and Adult Formation. The Toddler Class and Primary Class meet in the basement from 9:05 to 11:00 a.m. for ages two through five, with play, a snack, and a Toddler-Primary Chapel Service during the 9:10 service.
Church School is offered for first through fifth grades from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m., using the Bible story-based Spark: Activate Faith curriculum for the youngest members and the Be Bold! curriculum for fourth and fifth graders. The Confirmation Class for eighth graders meets from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. in the Kinsolving Room on the second floor. The Rite of Confirmation is described in the Book of Common Prayer as the mature reaffirmation of baptismal vows. In late April or early May, the Bishop visits St. James' and confirms students and adults who wish to re-affirm their Christian faith.
Thursdays at St. James' is a weekly gathering for families with children from birth through age eight. The program runs from 4:45 to 6:00 p.m. in Coburn Hall in the basement, with separate We Love to Sing and Bible Stories & Legos options and a shorter Thursdays for Families program for older kids at 4:45 p.m. in the Nave.
Playgroups meet throughout the week: caregivers and children ages zero to thirty-six months on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to noon; ages twelve to twenty-four months on Thursdays; ages twenty-four to thirty-six months on Fridays; and ages three to five on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Fees are modest and used to refurbish toys and supplies. Family Fellowship brings families together on Friday nights for movies, bingo, casino nights, Lego building, and service projects like making sandwiches for NY Common Pantry, cards for homebound parishioners, and toiletry kits. Annual events include a Pancake Breakfast, a Valentine-making Party, an Advent Wreath-making event, a Christmas Pageant, a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, an Ash Wednesday Children's Service, a Good Friday Children's Service, Easter Egg Hunts, and a year-end picnic.
Youth Group, Service, and Mission
Youth in sixth through twelfth grade find multiple ways to make the parish their own. Middle School Youth Group meets most Sundays from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m. in the Crowder Youth Room on the third floor. The High School group meets once monthly for brunch after the 9:10 a.m. service, talking about faith and life. Youth serve as ushers, acolytes, choristers, and lay readers at every 9:10 a.m. service during the academic year.
On the second Friday of the month from September through May, sixth through twelfth graders are in charge of the Friday Night Dinner Program. They cook dinner, serve guests, and wash dishes at this seated three-course meal for hungry neighbors. Friends and first timers are welcome. During specific seasons, youth accept donations of food, toiletries, and clothing for Midnight Run, an organization that brings resources to those in need. The high schoolers then participate in a Midnight Run to deliver essentials to underserved communities in New York City. In the fall and spring, all students are invited to join a day of Creation Care at St. Francis Community Garden in North Bellmore, New York.
Throughout the year, middle and high school students participate in overnights at the church, trips out of town, the annual Christmas Pageant, the Good Friday Children's Service, parish-wide events like Homecoming, Advent Wreath-making, and Shrove Tuesday supper. Some activities include Mission Impossible, Life Size Clue, Flashlight Tag, ski trips in the winter, Pizza with the Priests on Ash Wednesday, Youth Stations of the Cross in Lent, and lock-ins at the church overnight. The youth ministry is led by Calvin Bushman, who joined St. James' after a Master of Divinity at Boston University School of Theology and a hospital chaplaincy residency at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Formation for Adults
Adults at St. James' have a full formation calendar. The Coburn Forum meets Sundays at 10:15 a.m. between the 9:10 and 11:15 liturgies for clergy-led discussions on the Christian life, with time for small-group conversation. The Parents' Forum meets in the Courage Room in the basement during the same hour for coffee, fellowship, and Bible study, with monthly forums on what it means to parent as followers of Christ.
The Wednesday Morning Bible Study meets from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in Sunderland Hall and via Zoom. The fall series, titled Empires and Kingdoms, walks through the Books of Daniel and Revelation and the First and Second Epistles of Peter. The Moms' Bible Study meets Tuesday mornings, and Men of St. James' meets Fridays at 9:00 a.m. in person and on Zoom, a weekly small group for men of all ages who gather to discern how God is working in their lives.
Short-term Sunday afternoon classes at 4:30 p.m. rotate through the year. The People with the Prayer Book is a four-week class on what it means to be an Episcopalian. Practicing the Way explores the patterns of living that help followers of Jesus learn the way of Christ in the modern world. Birth Narratives unpacks what the four Gospels had to say about Jesus' origins. Two long-term courses round out the year. Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race grounded in faith, meeting every other Wednesday night as part of the Episcopal Church's long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice. Education for Ministry (EfM), created by the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, meets weekly from September through May to bring Christian tradition into conversation with lived experience through small-group discussion, readings, and media.
For the 55-and-up set, the Roundtable Group hosts multiple events every month, including book discussions, movie nights, and group trips. St. Jamesians, a group for parishioners in their twenties and thirties, partners with Graffiti Church on the Lower East Side to help with the Free Lunch in the Park Program at Tompkins Square Park, making sandwiches and pre-packaging lunches once a month for those in need.
Fifty Years of Meals and Clothing
St. James' has been serving hot meals to its neighbors for almost fifty years. The Tuesday Lunch Program and the Friday Night Dinner Program are parish traditions, focused on cooking delicious food in a welcoming atmosphere so that both guests and volunteers leave feeling nourished. Volunteers prepare and serve the meals in Coburn Hall in the basement. Parishioners of all ages help with the Tuesday meal; youth in sixth through twelfth grade host the Friday meal on the second Friday of each month from September through May.
Samaritan's Closet is a free clothing resource for men, women, and children in need. Volunteers sort donations, welcome visitors, and help them find the clothing and essential items they need. Travel-size toiletries and clean clothing in good condition are always welcome, with comfortable sneakers and walking shoes particularly in demand.
Beyond the parish house, St. James' partners with neighbors on the Upper East Side and beyond. In 1977, then-rector Hays Rockwell helped found the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, a drop-in center providing immediate and long-term assistance to the homeless that also coordinated efforts so that meals might be offered every day of the week on the Upper East Side through houses of worship. The parish continues to partner with the food pantry at St. James Fordham, Graffiti Church's Free Lunch in the Park, and Project Cicero, which provides children's and young adults' books to teachers at New York City public schools. St. James' partners with the Diocese of Southern Malawi to support the Mindanti Health Clinic, which opened in 2023 to provide medical and maternity services in an underserved area of rural Malawi. A newer partnership with the Diocese of New York supports education and sustainability at St. Luke's Episcopal Church and School in Martel, Haiti.
Pastors, Partners, and Prayer
St. James' serves as an extension of Christ's love and care to parishioners and members of the community. The clergy and lay volunteers are ready to listen, visit, pray, and keep confidences for those who are ill, anticipating surgery, bereaved, or experiencing difficulties in life. Prayer requests can be submitted to pastoralcare@stjames.org.
Healing Prayer is offered each Sunday during the 9:10 and 11:15 a.m. services and takes place during Communion in the Chapel. The ministry is open to anyone who desires prayer, including prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving. Ministers are trained to hold everything shared in strict confidence. Lay Eucharistic Visitors, licensed by the Bishop, carry Holy Communion to those who are unable to be present at church due to illness, incapacity, or other reasons.
The clergy team is led by the Rev. Zachary Thompson, who became Rector in May 2023. Before joining St. James', he served as the Episcopal Chaplain to Emory University and as an Associate Rector and Rector in parishes in the Diocese of Atlanta. He holds an M.Div. from Emory and a Master of Sacred Theology from Sewanee: The University of the South. The Rev. Matthew Oprendek serves as Associate Rector, overseeing liturgies, Christian formation, and newcomers' ministries. The Rev. Marisa Sifontes serves as Associate Rector with a focus on Mission, Parish Life, and Pastoral Care. The Rev. Canon Morgan Ladd serves as Director of Children's and Family Ministries.
The Sacraments of a Lifetime
The Episcopal Church has a well-defined tradition of celebrating liturgical sacraments. St. James' baptizes children and adults, with most baptisms involving small children whose parents and godparents make promises on their behalf. Baptisms are scheduled on the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the Feast of All Saints, the Third Sunday of Advent, the Baptism of Our Lord, the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, the Second Sunday of Easter, and Pentecost. Most baptisms involve small children, with parents and godparents making promises on their behalf. The font is open to all.
Weddings at St. James' celebrate Christian marriage and seek God's blessing on a couple's life together. Couples considering marriage at the parish must be members of the parish or in the process of establishing membership through regular attendance at worship services, participation in parish ministries, and a financial commitment to the parish, and at least one of the couple must be baptized. Weddings at St. James' are open to both opposite- and same-gender couples. The Episcopal Church is also open to the re-marriage of divorced persons, though it does require requesting the permission of the Bishop.
Funerals are celebrated with the same care. The columbarium in the bell tower, constructed in 2005, is available for the inurnment of cremated remains. The parish also offers end-of-life planning resources.
What St. James' Believes
St. James' embraces the Episcopal Church's theology of inclusion. The parish is fully affirming and celebrates the presence and leadership of LGBTQ+ parishioners at every level of church life. All sacraments, including Holy Matrimony and Ordination, are open to all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The baptismal font is open to all, and all baptized Christians may receive Holy Communion.
The parish follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection are at the center of Christian life. St. James' is guided by the rich resources of the Episcopal tradition: the Book of Common Prayer as the primary symbol of unity, the Bible understood through tradition and reason, the Baptismal Covenant as a roadmap for Christian living, and the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds as statements of basic belief about God. The Sacraments are understood as outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means for receiving God's grace. In addition to Baptism and the Eucharist, the parish recognizes Confirmation, Reconciliation (private confession and healing), Matrimony, and Unction (anointing of the sick or dying).
In the Eucharist, the parish recognizes that Christ is truly present in the consecrated Bread and Wine received in faith. The Episcopal tradition does not attempt to define precisely how this happens, accepting it as a wondrous mystery of faith, and recognizes that Christ is also known in the gathered community itself, a family meal that is a foretaste of the communion with God and one another for which Christians long.
A Place at the Table
Visitors are welcomed into a community that draws parishioners from six continents and ranges in age from newborn to nearly one hundred. Some have been raised in the Episcopal Church, some in another tradition, and some with no faith at all. What they share is a commitment to worshiping together, growing in faith, connecting with one another, and serving God's people in the city and the world. After any of the Sunday services, one of the clergy will be happy to meet visitors by the bell at the back of the church for a brief conversation about what led them to St. James', where they are in their spiritual life, and what they are likely to experience. The I Am New page offers a short form for visitors to share their interests, and a visitor nametag program helps newcomers connect with the community. The Parish House is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.