Virtual Services 2021
How to Join Sunday Morning Services at 9:00 a.m.
Services from St. James are streamed using Facebook Live. When a Live Event is in progress, you will find it located near the Posts section on the Facebook main page. After clicking the button below, scroll down the Facebook page to find it.
Click here for virtual church service — Sundays 9:00 a.m.
Click here to download the service bulletin
Virtual Coffee Hour follows each Sunday service at approximately 10:00 a.m.
Click here to join Virtual Coffee Hour on Zoom
Click here to view the video archive of St. James services
In accordance with state and county regulations, all in-person worship services (indoor and outdoor) are cancelled until further notice.Wednesday Evening Services at 6:00 p.m.
Click here to join Wednesday service on Zoom
Love is the Way Book Study
St. James along with St. Luke’s and St. Stephen’s will begin a six-week study of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s new book, Love is the Way, Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times on Tuesday, January 19th at 4pm via Zoom. Everyone is welcome, and we will meet weekly at the same time for six consecutive weeks from January 19 to February 23.
If possible, please read the introduction to this profound and uplifting book before the first session. The Zoom link for the study group is below and you can purchase Bp. Curry's book by clicking on his image above.
Click here to join Book Study on Zoom
Bible Beat continues to meet via Zoom
St. James's popular bible study group, Bible Beat, continues to meet on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m.
Click here to join Bible Beat — Thursdays 11:00 a.m.
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St. James is . . .
St. James is . . .- — An historic church
- — A spiritual foundation
- — A place of welcome and acceptance
- — A conduit of beauty, joy, and grace
- — A center for community life
Come and be part of St. James! You are welcomed here. St. James has been part of the Paso Robles community for more than 125 years. It is both a place of welcome, prayer, and growth and a vibrant community of people seeking to grow spiritually through prayer and worship, to proclaim the good news of God made known in Christ Jesus, and to promote justice, peace and love.
We seek to do this through . . .
- worship
- Worship is at the heart of our life as a parish faith community. The sacramental life nourishes us week by week and common prayer strengthens us day by day. St. James' Sunday and weekday services provide a variety of worship opportunities for members, friends, and visitors.
- outreach
- Our parish community provides a strong center for our lives and we seek always to expand our boundaries through involvement in the greater community. St. James supports People's Kitchen and the Saturday Lunch Bunch, the SLO Food Bank, and Loaves and Fishes.
- education
- We believe that Christian formation is a life-long process that nurtures us intellectually and spiritually, equipping us to live out our baptismal promises. St. James hosts both one-time and on-going educational opportunities.
- parish Life and pastoral care
- The fabric of our life as a community of faith is maintained and nurtured through pastoral care and fellowship opportunities. We seek to support each other in the life of faith: in joy and in sorrow, in good times and in bad.
- buildings and grounds
- We are blessed with a beautiful church and a patio and garden area that provides an oasis ofcalm in the midst of our bustling downtown area. Church facilities are used by a variety of community groups.
Your contribution helps support our virtual services, projects and programs. A gift of any amount is a statement of support and commitment to our work in our community and our world. Thank you for supporting St. James!
St. James on Facebook
Rector Barbara Miller
Christmas Message 2020
Christmas is here once again, although for me that is hard to grasp. Even though I have lit Advent candles, sent presents to family, and decorated the house; I'm struggling to feel the joy and excitement that is usually a part of this season for me. That is not surprising considering the nine months of pandemic we have lived through this year. There is much that is different. I'm lamenting not being in church together, especially the cancellation of our outdoor Christmas Day service. I miss seeing each of you in person. I'm sad that so many of the seasonal events we do as a church community haven't happened or have taken place in such a different way. We didn't go caroling or green the church. The normally intimate and personal Blue Christmas Service happened online. It feels more like Advent, the season of waiting, is just going to continue for months to come.
I remember feeling that way towards the end of my pregnancies. The waiting became so hard. I was tired of being pregnant and excited to see and hold my child. But it felt like the baby was never going to be born!
This year we have had nine months of waiting for relief from Covid-19. What are we hoping will be born from this pandemic where we have lost so many to this illness? What are we hoping for?
And there is hope. A vaccine is available and being distributed. We have learned new ways of worshiping. We have learned to be flexible and innovative as a church and as people. We have cared for one another as a parish family. We have seen amazing work by nurses, doctors and hospital staff in the face of unprecedented hardships. We have seen many people step up to help their neighbors with kindness and gifts of time and money.
Maybe what we are birthing is a renewed dependency on God and each other. With so much out of our control, the best way to manage is to reach out to our loving, liberating, life-giving God. It is through God that we find joy and peace in God’s gift to us of Jesus as infant, Jesus as man, and Jesus as Christ.
And in this Christmas season we are reminded that despite the strangeness of Christmas 2020 we celebrate the birth of Emmanuel, God with us. God came to us in the form of a vulnerable baby and lived among us experiencing humanity in order to show us divinity. And God is still with us, loving us through the pandemic and all the trials of life.
This year I pray that you will find Christmas joy in knowing that God is with you this moment and always.
With Christmas Joy,Barbara+
©St. James Church