Clergy Leadership Transition
Dear Clergy Members:
Saint James Episcopal Church in Preston, Connecticut is looking for a Priest in Charge to direct our vibrant and historic parish. Located in the village of Poquetanuck, the church has existed since 1734 and draws members from several different towns in the area including Norwich, Ledyard and North Stonington. While the church has grown and contracted over time, it has always been a place of light, warmth and worship.
Liturgical Style and Practice: St James liturgical style and practice can be best described as intimate and welcoming. It is a place where we come together as a spiritually motivated congregation driven by what God is doing in the world. We attempt to demonstrate how to live the good news of the Gospel by service to our fellow parishioners on Sunday mornings both in-person and online. Numerous parishioners participate as lay leaders and responsive readers. We also love our music, and on any given Sunday we can have an organist, guitarist and concertina player playing hymns to which we sing to the best of our abilities!
Role in the Community: Our small and deeply caring parish maintains a high level of community involvement that includes providing online religious services every Sunday on Facebook. The parish also organizes a golf tournament and a highly successful road race (The Liz Harris/Cannonball Run) and uses the money raised to fund “Kids to Camp'' scholarships. We sponsor a Scout troop, card-making class and monthly community lunches (the OWL lunch). Donations contributed at the OWL lunch purchase diapers for a local mother’s support organization called Madonna Place. Members of the church participate in the Ledyard Gales Ferry Crop Walk, and Preston food pantry to aid food insecurity. Last but not least, the church has been holding fish fry dinners for 58 consecutive years for the 6 weeks during Lent. During this Lent, roughly a thousand dinners were served to people who came by the parish to share fellowship with the several dozen of the members of the parish who cooked, baked and prepared meals. As one of our members said at the last annual meeting, “we are small but mighty.”
Parish Status - The parish has around 80 active members and emerged from the Covid-19 crisis with renewed enthusiasm but without the benefit of a minister. During the last two years, St. James has been directed by two wardens and a vestry of 11 individuals. The parish has contracted during the last couple of years with a number of supply priests to cover its services; services which are not covered are turned into morning prayer run by lay people.
Additional information: The current structure of the church building (completed just in time for Easter, 1898) is done in a building style best described as Carpenter Gothic. It also features an enormous ten-foot rose window and a separate set of stained glass windows commemorating former Bishop Samuel Seabury, as well as a tower whose pealing bells can be heard across Poquetanuck Cove. Sitting on a wedge of land between Rt 117 and 2A, it is sometimes known as the “church in the middle of the road.” Certainly, it is one of the better known landmarks in Southeastern Connecticut. Our parish also has a community hall and large kitchen that includes a large common room, separate sunroom and a large downstairs with room for at least four classrooms. We do not own a rectory but we would supply a housing allowance in accordance with the Diocese of Connecticut guidelines.
What We are Looking For: The parish is looking to employ a priest for a half-time position that could lead to a full-time position. Applicants should be interested in building a community of worshippers and helping the parish renew itself for the next generation. Long-term strategic goals would include reconstituting a church school and attracting new members to our community of worshippers as well as normal pastoral care duties. Interested applicants looking for more information should contact Co-Wardens Mary Bawza and Bob Peck by calling the church office at 860-889-0150.
If you believe God might be calling you to discern with us, please send a letter of interest, a current resume or CV, and a current OTM profile to ECCT's Diocesan Transition Minister, Ms. Amber Page Gehr, at [email protected] .
Please visit the links on our website to learn more about our parish!
Sincerely yours in God,
The Vestry of St. James
April 18th, 2023
Saint James Episcopal Church in Preston, Connecticut is looking for a Priest in Charge to direct our vibrant and historic parish. Located in the village of Poquetanuck, the church has existed since 1734 and draws members from several different towns in the area including Norwich, Ledyard and North Stonington. While the church has grown and contracted over time, it has always been a place of light, warmth and worship.
Liturgical Style and Practice: St James liturgical style and practice can be best described as intimate and welcoming. It is a place where we come together as a spiritually motivated congregation driven by what God is doing in the world. We attempt to demonstrate how to live the good news of the Gospel by service to our fellow parishioners on Sunday mornings both in-person and online. Numerous parishioners participate as lay leaders and responsive readers. We also love our music, and on any given Sunday we can have an organist, guitarist and concertina player playing hymns to which we sing to the best of our abilities!
Role in the Community: Our small and deeply caring parish maintains a high level of community involvement that includes providing online religious services every Sunday on Facebook. The parish also organizes a golf tournament and a highly successful road race (The Liz Harris/Cannonball Run) and uses the money raised to fund “Kids to Camp'' scholarships. We sponsor a Scout troop, card-making class and monthly community lunches (the OWL lunch). Donations contributed at the OWL lunch purchase diapers for a local mother’s support organization called Madonna Place. Members of the church participate in the Ledyard Gales Ferry Crop Walk, and Preston food pantry to aid food insecurity. Last but not least, the church has been holding fish fry dinners for 58 consecutive years for the 6 weeks during Lent. During this Lent, roughly a thousand dinners were served to people who came by the parish to share fellowship with the several dozen of the members of the parish who cooked, baked and prepared meals. As one of our members said at the last annual meeting, “we are small but mighty.”
Parish Status - The parish has around 80 active members and emerged from the Covid-19 crisis with renewed enthusiasm but without the benefit of a minister. During the last two years, St. James has been directed by two wardens and a vestry of 11 individuals. The parish has contracted during the last couple of years with a number of supply priests to cover its services; services which are not covered are turned into morning prayer run by lay people.
Additional information: The current structure of the church building (completed just in time for Easter, 1898) is done in a building style best described as Carpenter Gothic. It also features an enormous ten-foot rose window and a separate set of stained glass windows commemorating former Bishop Samuel Seabury, as well as a tower whose pealing bells can be heard across Poquetanuck Cove. Sitting on a wedge of land between Rt 117 and 2A, it is sometimes known as the “church in the middle of the road.” Certainly, it is one of the better known landmarks in Southeastern Connecticut. Our parish also has a community hall and large kitchen that includes a large common room, separate sunroom and a large downstairs with room for at least four classrooms. We do not own a rectory but we would supply a housing allowance in accordance with the Diocese of Connecticut guidelines.
What We are Looking For: The parish is looking to employ a priest for a half-time position that could lead to a full-time position. Applicants should be interested in building a community of worshippers and helping the parish renew itself for the next generation. Long-term strategic goals would include reconstituting a church school and attracting new members to our community of worshippers as well as normal pastoral care duties. Interested applicants looking for more information should contact Co-Wardens Mary Bawza and Bob Peck by calling the church office at 860-889-0150.
If you believe God might be calling you to discern with us, please send a letter of interest, a current resume or CV, and a current OTM profile to ECCT's Diocesan Transition Minister, Ms. Amber Page Gehr, at [email protected] .
Please visit the links on our website to learn more about our parish!
Sincerely yours in God,
The Vestry of St. James
April 18th, 2023