OUR FUTURE VISION

Living the future vision:

St. James is poised to be a beacon for Episcopalians in Western Cincinnati. With our eager parishioners and good financial standing, we are always looking for new and better ways to serve God, each other, and our community. We were the first congregation in the diocese to hold an Appreciative Inquiry Summit. From this gathering, we were able to distill and voice who we are as a congregation and who we want to become. We are looking for a minister to inspire, empower, and walk with us as we realize these dreams.

We recently entered into a partnership with St. Luke’s in Sayler Park. Just a 20 minute drive away from our own parish, this quaint and beautiful church on the Ohio River could be the site for inventive services. Currently, we plan to have a Saturday night service there once a month and extend our ministry by preserving theirs.

Ask anyone at St. James and they will tell you that among the things they want most for the church is growth with diversity. We thoroughly enjoy and embrace the Episcopal liturgical tradition. We would like to be an open church, welcoming all of God’s children. We reach out to the com-munity in many ways, as shown by our extensive outreach programs (detailed in “Our Ministries”). We have a very loyal core of parishioners; we want to get more people involved and attending worship services regularly.

The people of St. James would like to continue on our pathways to a deeper connection with God, each other, and the surrounding communities. We are also a congregation that is thirsty for knowledge about the Word of God. We would like to see our Adult and Youth education programs expand. We would also like them to be a more profound part of our lives.

What enriches us the most is service to others. Our outreach programs are the most popular facets of our church life. We hope to expand our outreach opportunities!

St. James is a well of possibility. Join us as we walk into our next Century of love, worship, and fellowship.

OUR NEXT RECTOR

We would like our new rector to be a person who:• Has the ability to inspire and empower increasing lay involvement and participation in ministry and outreach.• Has a passion for outreach and service.• Can lead in achieving our vision for growth and service.• Has a special gift for preaching to teach and inspire older and younger parishioners, and who would like to facilitate additional Christian educational opportunities.• Enjoys and is good at planning and conducting liturgies.

OUR PARISH

We are about relationships: our relationships with God, our relationships with each other, and our relationships with our community.

After our congregation-wide self study and visioning inquiry here is how we perceived ourselves and our needs.

This fall, members of our parish shared with one another our stories of faith and how that brought us to St. James, why we have remained, and what is our vision for our future. The most frequently mentioned experience is the accepting and welcoming nature of the congregation.

One parishioner remembered the closing of her home parish. As she began attending St. James, she was strengthened by the support she received while her husband was hospitalized with a serious illness. During his confirmation classes, another parishioner was inspired to return to school to finish his degree, and to find a different job that

would allow him to give back to the community. Finally, a young couple unexpectedly received custody of their three nieces just before Christmas. The church supported them and helped provide a cherished Christmas for their new family. The couple also encouraged a strong spiritual life and has raised the girls to be active participants in the youth program. Our relationship with God has guided us in our compassion for our fellow parishioners and our service to our neighbors. The people of St. James value the traditions of the Episcopal Church and have also participated in varied liturgies for extra and special services. We regularly pray, worship, and share our money and talents in order to serve our mission.

St. James, Westwood is the primary Episco-pal parish serving Southwestern Hamilton County. Only about 20% of our fami-lies reside in Westwood. Since 2009 our average Sunday attendance is 111, which represents about 50% of our total mem-bership. We have attracted some young families in the past four years, but our numbers lean toward an older congrega-tion.

Our lay leadership is dedicated and strong, and anxious for continued spiri-tual direction. We have a vibrant parish Health Ministry, our outreach ministries do far more work than our numbers would suggest, and our social ministries contribute to the caretaking and fundraising of the church, as well as provide outlets for fellowship.

When our rector of fifteen years resigned in January of 2005, we hired a permanent, part-time interim in order to give ourselves some needed time before calling a new rector. We participated in The Bridge

Builder Program, designed for congregations in transition. One year later, after various seminars on healing and forgiveness, we hired a permanent pastor.

Our new pastor and his family were embraced by the congregation, and an invigorated period of commitment was experienced. We strengthened our youth program by hiring a youth minister. Extra evening services were added offering wider selections of music and liturgy. Our outreach program was extended to include a monthly com-munity dinner served to our neighbors.

We were surprised and saddened by the sudden departure of our rector to another parish at the end of 2009, but through the encouraging guidance of our present interim and lay leadership, we have contin-ued to serve our ministries of faith and service.

OUR MINISTRY

Despite its small size, there are two dozen plus ministries and service organizations that support and complement its diversified activities. The Community Dinner, Health Ministry, and Coffee Hour stand out as the most popular. We care about our church and each other and demonstrate that every day. For example, one young parishioner had an inspiration to provide school supplies for a neighborhood school. All the members of St. James came around this youth in full support to develop and support this ministry. Today, outreach includes school supplies, Christmas gifts, tutoring, and an end of the year party.

Another example of pride is our monthly Community Dinner. Begun three years ago, a few people serving 30 community members has grown to a church wide ministry serving an average of ninety neighbors and church members each month. This ministry is so popular, the Vestry is considering updating the 1960s era kitchen to support and facilitate an ever growing Community Dinner ministry.

A important program we are proud of is our Health Ministry. Given leadership by a nurse on the church staff, this ministry includes a semi-annual Health & Wellness Fair for the community, outreach Blood Pressure Screenings, a Prayer Shawl Ministry, and food coordination for sick congregation members, among other outreaches.

OUR FACILITY

The current church was built in 1962. Over the years many upgrades and remodels have been performed including the addition of an ADA compliant restroom on the main sanctuary level and motorized chairlift to accommodate disabled parishioners and visitors. In 2000, the sanctuary underwent a major remodeling project.

In 2009, a new vestry meeting room was constructed on the lower level in order to make room for a spacious new nursery immediately adjacent to the main parish hall.

In 2010, a new columbarium was built in the main sanctuary. The vestry is currently reviewing potential energy-efficiency upgrades including replacement of the original heating, cooling, and lighting systems in the building.

OUR HISTORY

In 1910, the St. James Episcopal mission was formed at the Westwood Tennis Club. After purchasing an abandoned neighborhood church in 1927, the congregation grew to parish status by 1955. Since 1955, only four full-time rectors have served St. James: the Rev. Thomas Spitler (1955-1966), the Rev. Christopher Neely (1967-1988), the Rev. Gretchen Wood (1990-2005), and the Rev. David Halt (2006-2009).

Highlights:

In October 2010, St. James began our year-long centennial celebration with a weekend of festivities includ-ing a four-course dinner marking the Feast of St. James, with all proceeds going to our outreach programs. The service on Sunday was conducted by Bishop Breidenthal and our Choir performed a new piece of music commissioned for the St. James Centennial. Additional activities and festivities are planned throughout the following twelve months.

Also in October, the congregation reveled in a half day Appreciative Inquiry Summit. Members of the Profile/Search Committee read Creating an Appreciative Inquiry Sum-mit, compiled information, organized our own summit, garnered support and enthusi-asm from the congregation, did a trial run with a consultant, and conducted a Sunday Summit on 10-10-10.

In 2006, youth teams began traveling internationally on mission trips. Since this time, international missions have become an

increasing ministry. Several adult missions have also gone out from St. James, and missionaries in the Dominican Republic

have been supported for more than ten years.

St. James offered an Education for Ministry program continuously for almost twenty years which was

mentored entirely by St. James EFM graduates. There have been over fifty

graduates of this program, some of whom remain at St. James today.

The St. James Day Care Center operated out of the lower level of the church building for twenty years. In 1989 they outgrew our space and moved into their own facility, two miles away. Some of our parishio-ners are still on their board of directors.

Since 1984, St. James has sponsored and supported seven people in their pursuit of ordained ministry.

OUR FINANCES

OUR STAFF

The Rev. Angelo Puopolo, Interim RectorRev. Ken Clark, DeaconKaren Corbett, Parish AdministratorDick Wesp, Music DirectorZack Cornelissen, Director of Religious EducationMarian Riestenberg RN, Parish NurseLisa Jones, Nursery Attendant

OUR LOCATION/COMMUNITY

St. James is part of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, home to nearly 20,000 Episcopalians.

St. James is located in the Greater Cincinnati area. Located along the Ohio River, the city and its 2.1 million people are at the intersection of three states, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The region is known for its rolling hills, wooded suburbs, revitalized downtown and riverfront as well as a dynamic workforce and environment where businesses grow and people thrive. Fortune Magazine calls it one of the top ten places in the country to live and work. Cincinnati is home to an internationally renowned arts, cultural, and entertainment scene in addition to over a dozen universities. The Greater Cincinnati/Northern Ken-tucky International Airport is located just across the river.

St. James is situated in Westwood, the largest of more than fifty neighborhoods that comprise the city of Cincinnati. Much has changed in the 200 years since its founding. Once a rural village, Westwood over time has attained an urban character with a strong sense of community and access to the substantial transportation and educational benefits of a nearby metropolitan area. This racially and socio-econom-ically diverse neighborhood is home to more than 35,000 people who are represented by five strong community organizations. The center of Westwood is the historically registered Town Hall, just down the street from St. James.

St. James serves several communities in western Hamilton County. During the last 20 years, this area has exploded with development that is expanding westward toward Indiana. As farms are transformed into neighborhoods, the parishioners of St. James realize the importance in spreading the good news of our faith and Anglican heritage to the fast-growing population of western Hamilton County.

ADDITONAL INFORMATIONFor additional information, please check the following links on the internet:

St James Episcopal Churchwww.stjamescincy.orgAlso on Facebook, search for St. James Episcopal Church, Cincinnati

Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohiowww.episcopal-dso.org

City of Cincinnatiwww.ci.cincinnati.oh.us