We gather for worship every Sunday morning at 10:00 am in person and live-streamed on YouTube.

What is worship?

Worship is a dedicated time that we set aside each week to intentionally centre ourselves in the Divine. It's not that different from the time you set aside for your yoga class or to go to the gym. Worship is dedicated time spent deliberately nourishing your soul.

Worship includes singing, praying, meditating, and learning. We explore ancient stories of faith and wisdom and learn how to apply their ancient spiritual lessons to our lives today. We give thanks to the Divine for the spritual guidance we receive in our lives.

The weekly worship service lasts roughly an hour to an hour-and-a-quarter, depending on the content. It varies from week to week. We don't measure worship by the clock. We focus on our spiritual nourishment.

Diversity in unity; unity in diversity

God has made each of us unique, with a multitude of genders, races, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, backgrounds, nationalities, and even styles. Worship unites us as One Body in Christ, without negating each person's blessed individuality. Come as you are. Be who God uniquely created you to be. Experience belonging together. Receive the nourishing love of the Divine Spirit.

You are not required to hold any specific beliefs about anything in order to be with us in worship. Come and explore. See what the Divine has in store for you. Respect the differences in those around you and be respected for your own blessed uniqueness.

Be comfortable

Come as you wish. Be yourself. Be comfortable. Be casual (most are) or dress up (some like to.)

Worship with infants, children, and youth

Worship is child-friendly. Some children even like to dance in the aisles. Worship begins with a time of gathering for all ages with announcements, singing and prayer. About 15 minutes into the service, young children are invited to go to our dedicated children's space with our qualified children's team where they experience singing, praying and learning geared to their young age. They rejoin their parents/caregivers after the service.

• Nursery care (ages 0-3) is provided by Ms. Frieda, a certified Early Childhood Educator.
• Children's program (ages 4-8) is provided by Ms. Ruth, a retired school teacher.
• Youth program (ages 9+) is provided by Ms. Jessica, a student teacher. Our junior and senior youth gather on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM for outdoor fun and spiritual growth. On Sunday mornings, youth are invited to worship with their parents/caregivers.

Communion

To "commune" means "to be at one with." In this case, being at one with the Divine. We follow an ancient ritual given to us by Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. It involves words, prayers and consuming small amounts of bread and (non-alcoholic) wine in remembrance of Jesus.

Communion is served on the first Sunday of each Christian season. Our Christian seasons are:

• Advent - The season of four weeks leading up to Christmas. This is a time of getting ready for Christmas.
• Christmas - The season of twelve days following Christmas, starting Christmas Day. (Christmas communion is celebrated on Christmas Eve.)
• Epiphany - The season after the Twelve Days of Christmas, beginning on January 5. The length of Epiphany season varies each year depending on the date of Easter (which also varies each year.) It ends on Shrove Tuesday (famous for its pancake dinners), otherwise known as Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday").
• Lent - The season of preparation before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday (the day after Mardi Gras) and lasts for 40 days plus Sundays. It is traditionally a season when people willingly give up something that they are overly dependant on in order to remind themselves of their true dependance on the Divine. (The traditional practice of self-denial is optional.)
• Easter - Easter begins with the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs on or just after the spring equinox. (It's pretty hard for us to deny the pagan roots of that!) Easter season lasts for 50 days.
• Pentecost - This season begins Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter (usually late May or early June), when we celebrate the gift of the Divine Spirit being given to humanity. The season which follows the Day of Pentecost lasts until the next Advent.
• Additional special communion services are held on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) and World Communion Sunday (the first Sunday in October).

Check our Online Calendar for communion dates for this year.

COVID Safety Protocols for live, in-person worship

1. St. James would strongly encourage anyone entering the church to please do a covid self-assessment and consider wearing a face mask for the health of our seniors and those with a compromised immune system. Thank you for your consideration.
2. Proof of vaccination is no longer required to attend worship services.