During COVID, the people of St. James’ church, its rector, Chuck Kramer, and its parishioners and vestry, were determined to continue the worship and life of the parish to the degree that it was possible, while minding pandemic-related safety protocols. In the process, we found strength in our resilience, teamwork, and collective faith. In-person worship was suspended or modified for over a year. The rector worked with tech-savvy members of the vestry and parish to set up livestreaming for worship. All services were available over both Zoom and YouTube. The first full year of COVID, we instituted daily evening prayer over Facebook and Zoom; it was carried forward by members of the parish, with people taking turns as officiant. As conditions and weather permitted, we held worship in the meditation garden over the warmer months of 2020, while still streaming for those who remained at home. Many members of the parish, who had previously been unfamiliar with Compline and Evening Prayer, have now come to greatly appreciate the beauty and value of these devotions. The clergy and lay people took extra pains to reach out by email and phone to vulnerable members.

The people of St. James love their church, their town, and each other. As a group, they are keen to reach out to Hyde Park, to the region, and the world. For a relatively small parish, the scale, range, and type of outreach they consistently undertake is remarkable. In addition, there is an abundance of artistic, musical, culinary talent among the parishioners. Even though there is no formal program for lay pastoral care, such as Stephen Ministry, the degree to which the people look out for each other in times of need is also well developed. TALENTED COMMITTED LOVING OUTREACHING

The two chief challenges facing St. James’ are common across the world of mainline Protestants in the West: aging infrastructure, and a wider society that is less oriented toward church affiliation. We need more people, BUT: soccer teams now have practice on Sunday mornings. COVID broke the habit of putting one’s body in a car and taking oneself to church to gather in person. Economic trends in recent years means more adults need to work more hours, or two jobs, and often on Sundays. The need to reconceive how to be and to do church is real.

Church website: https://stjameshydepark.org/

Parish Profile and OTM Community Ministry Portfolio, available from the Diocese of New York's Positions Open webpage:
https://www.dioceseny.org/administration/for-clergy/transition-ministry-office/positions-open/

Receiving Names Until: May 30, 2022

If you sense that God may be calling you to St. James', please send your application documents (cover letter, resume, and
OTM profile) to stjames.search.hydepark@gmail.com, with a copy to the Canon for Transition on Ministry, Canon Nora
Smith, at nsmith@dioceseny.org, by 5/30/22 with "St. James' Hyde Park" in the subject line.