The Altar Guild is blessed with a wonderful group of ladies who freely give of their time and energy to see that the altars of St. James and the sacred vessels, linens, and vestments are always ready for the multitude of services throughout the year. Additionally, this group is the one that attends to the decorations of the altars and assists at all the weddings. We consider it a privilege to serve the people of St. James.

Many of our Altar Guild members, assisted by our dedicated parishioners and the ladies from Holy Comforter in LeCompte, continue to make the famous St. James Altar Bread as needed for both our churches.

Members of the Altar Guild generously contribute to a Courtesy Fund. We use this fund to provide flowers, memorial donations and/or gift certificates for meals to our members when they are sick or have lost a loved one. We also use this fund to provide Christmas remembrances to our Sextons and our Altar Guild Laundress.

All Altar Guild funds are administered through the Vestry. In addition to our restricted funds, e.g., our flower funds, courtesy funds, Christmas Cheer fund, and Memorials fund, the Altar Guild receives a general operating budget provided by the Vestry for the purpose of purchasing altar supplies that we need to provide our services (ex: wine, altar bread ingredients, oil for candles, laundry supplies, etc.) We are dependent upon the generosity of donations for the beautiful flowers our ladies arrange to enhance our worship services. Our memorial gifts funds are invested. Our members also freely contribute their own funds which enable the Altar Guild to provide gifts for the needy in our community.

We remain indebted to our parish family for their support of our work. It is our pleasure to serve you, our Rector Fred Tinsley, and our Assisting Priest Rev. Jim Adams.

Altar Guild Groups and Schedule
(February 2010 through January 2011)
Download a copy of the schedule here.

Charlotte Sterling	Co-Directress	487-8480
Kathy Dungan	Co-Directress	443-3363
Nona Pat Yeager	Altar Flower Chairperson	487-0982
1st Sunday Group:
Julie Ann Twilley	Chairperson:	640-1667
Joann Collins		641-1839
Tish Fresh		445-5250
Bertie Lynch		442-4665
Kristina McBride		473-2679
Roy S. Rosenthal		484-4477
Janna Skinner		442-4283
Paige Lawis-Dixon		792-7041
2nd Sunday Group:
Nell Deville	Chairperson:	473-2901
Janet Dawkins		442-8828
Mary Goodwin		793-4111
Ellen Inman		443-7563
Frances Yeager		640-9762
Ann Hall		484-6321
Laura Ford		419-7260
3rd Sunday Group:
Nona Pat Yeager	Chairperson:	443-6653
Gabrielle Brister		442-8725
Kathy Dungan		443-3363
Nadine Larsen		767-1165
Sara Marshall		776-5148
Becky Warren		449-1220
4th Sunday Group:
Charlotte Sterling	Chairperson:	487-8480
Carla-Beth Carlisle		640-0304
Stella Craig		640-3318
Juanita Davidson		443-0728
Elizabeth Deshotel		793-9488
Cissy Galloway		445-3549
Hort Nolan		442-1483
Suzy Randow		776-9026
Harriet Woollett		442-6638
Betty Coe Manuel		483-4487
5th Sunday Group:
May 30		Group 1
August 29		Group 2
October 31		Group 3
January 30, 2011		Group 4
Non-Member Flower Arrangers:
Elizabeth Randall		442-6649
Janet Ahrens		487-1987
Honored, Retired Altar Guild Members:
Carrie Lee Fowler
Gladys Easterling
Phyllis Bloch
Wedding Committee:
Ms. Carla - Beth Carlisle	Chairperson	640-0304
Hort Nolan
Ellen Inman
Tish Fresh
Kathy Dungan
Cissy Galloway
Charlotte Sterling
As of February 2, 2010

 

We seek to offer multiple opportunities of Christian education to all age groups. These small-group offerings are intended to allow all parishioners to expound upon what we hear, say, and do in our corporate worship services, thereby forming and deepening our fellowship with Jesus Christ and with one another. These include our Sunday morning and Wednesday evening classes, as well as the Education for Ministry (EFM) program, Women’s and Men’s Bible Studies, Confirmation/Reception classes, and various multigenerational events.

This vast array of offerings would not be possible if it were not for the devoted leadership of our teachers, clergy, youth and adult leaders. We extend our thanks to all of these individuals for their loving and countless hours of service in our Christian Education program. All of these folks have played a unique and special role in our formation as Disciples of Christ. It takes the participation of us all to be able to know Jesus Christ in the fullness of His love and mercy. So if you have not availed yourselves of these many opportunities, we invite you to come and join us and be formed in His likeness.

God’s Peace, on behalf of the Christian Formation Leaders

The next meeting is Tuesday, June 1st at 5:15 pm.

"Hope does not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." Romans 5:5

The Evangelism Committee hosts a variety of programs to energize the parish and community to follow the Lord. Often these programs lead us to small tasks that improve the facilitation of these events.

Publications to promote St. James and its missions, signs to inform, welcoming gifts and other ways of telling Central Louisiana that St. James is actively working in their community are all part of what the Evangelism Committee does.

Next meeting is Tuesday, May 25th, 2009 at 12 pm.

The Memorial and Fine Arts Committee works to carry out requested memorials and to maintain the upkeep of all St. James' beautiful artwork.

With contributions to this committee items that would enhance the Church and its services can be obtained. Anyone wishing to make a donation towards a gift to St. James in honor or memory of a person or event should first contact the Chairperson of this committee with their proposal. The committee will assess the appropriateness of the gift and then present it to the Vestry for their final approval.

Next meeting is Monday, May 24th at 5:30 pm.

The Misssion Committee has recently become an entity of its own. They will concentrate on completing the mission of St. James by doing good works and spreading the good news.

Statement of Mission

We are the people of God
called to proclaim Christ,
Him crucified and raised from the dead,
until the day of His coming.

Look at The Journal for the Mission Committee Notes

Next meeting is Monday, June 7th at 5:30 pm.

The St. James Outreach Committee meets monthly in order to coordinate projects benefiting those in need in our community. The committee strives to present members of the church with varied and meaningful opportunities to give of their own blessings in order to bless others. Examples of programs include canned food drives, supply drives and the "Angel Tree" Christmas project. The committee welcomes suggestions from church members as well as the community at large. All are invited to attend Outreach Committee meetings which are held in the Parlor on the first Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.

Next Meeting:
Thursday, May 13th at 4 pm.

This Committee oversees the events and maintenance of St. James' Mount Olivet Cemetery. Extensive cleanings of the fence line, removal of trees and weeds from shrubs, and the trimming of shrubs and trees, are just a few of the concerns. Crew are organized and sent to the cemetery several times a year to do work that is not included in the regular monthly maintenance contract.

On March 8, 1858, the Vestry of St. James moved that the Rector Caleb Dowe be authorized to purchase, for the price of $700, the land which became known as Mt. Olivet Cemetery. We celebrate Mt. Olivet’s 150th anniversary this year. Please remember the depth of commitment St. James made in accepting the charge to acquire, maintain and care for this hallowed ground. Mt. Olivet is your cemetery. Be proud of our heritage and continue to support our historic treasure.

The Parish Life Committee coordinates St. James’ participation in a variety of events benefiting the parish and the community. From picnics to luncheons to pancake breakfasts,
this group has their hand in most all of the activites that occur at St. James.

To see what Parish Life is planning right now, click here.

To get involved with the planning and the doing of all these fun activities,
contact June Hendrix.

The next meeting is Thursday, June 3rd at 5:30 pm.

The St. James Property Committee continues to be a very busy group which is obvious by all the construction going on.

The remodeling of the Episcopal Youth Community (E.Y.C.) building turned into a brand new construction. An all new 1900 square foot structure was designed to replace the existing building. The Vestry appointed Jim Weinzettle, architect, for the project design. A contract in the amount of $265,000.00 was awarded and completed by PETRON general contractors. With this new E.Y.C. building and continued guided sponsorships, the future will be promising for our St. James youth program.

The new brick St. James building sign was completed this summer. It contains a wide range of information including name, denomination, service times, phone numbers and web site address.

Additional property improvements that the Committe is working on is the rewiring of the 1926 church building, improving and enlarging the nursery, accessible (ADA) restrooms in the main church area and an elevator to classrooms on the second floor.

The St. James Property Committee appreciates the suggestions, support and continued financial contributions by the church congregation. Careful stewardship of our church facility will assure St. James of its now and future presence in our community.

 

The stewardship committee meets each month year round. It is our belief that stewardship is a way of life and not simply an annual fall pledge drive. Through the Sunday bulletin, the Journal and testimonies by parishioners, we seek to teach that stewardship is a spiritual matter rooted in praise and thanksgiving to God. A Christian steward serves God out of love and gratitude, knowing that it is not how much we have, but what we do with what we have that is important.

Listen God is Calling...

God is calling us to Biblical stewardship. When asked most people know that stewardship has something to do with money. some might say it is about time, talent and treasure While these are correct, true Biblical stewardship involves much more.

The Biblical definition of a steward is one who has been entrusted to take care of another's property and who expects to give a final accounting to the owner. Jesus taught that god holds each steward accountable for the management of what has been committed to him or her.

Using this definition, we can see that Biblical stewardship is about more than time, talent and treasure. It is about how we live our lives. Jesus' parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) shows that stewardship involves personal initiative and active risk taking. we are challenged to re-think our narrow view of stewardship. We are called to turn away from our self-centered lives and to follow Christ without regard to reputation, economic security, or immediate personal satisfaction!

Stewardship rooted in God's demands and promises calls for daily ethical decisions and deeds: personal and social.

As Biblical stewads, we are called to serve not only in the church, but also in the community and the world. We are called to give generously to meet the needs of our neighbor. We are called to become active in government at all levels. We are called to be stewards of the earth and the environment. We are called to be faithful to God's word - which is the supreme test of Biblical stewardship.

(Adapted from the Woment of the ELCAd)